Language in the Fiscal Year 2015 National Defense Authorization Act passed by the Senate Armed Services Committee last week would require the National Nuclear Security Administration to come up with cost estimates for life extension programs and major construction projects when projects are in the concept definition phase of development. The provision, which would align NNSA practices with the requirements of the Weapons Systems Acquisition Reform Act, would accelerate the creation of cost estimates for major projects, which would give decisionmakers an earlier sense of how much projects will cost. In recent years, NNSA projects have been plagued by massive cost overruns, drawing considerable criticism from Congress. Such an approach is designed to avoid projects that get “too big to fail” after a significant amount of work is done.
Only select details of the bill have been released, and the full bill is not likely to be publicized until the Senate returns from recess next week. Among the details that were released late last week is information about increased authorized funding for the NNSA’s nonproliferation account. In addition to a $145 million increase for the Mixed Oxide Fuel Fabrication Facility, the committee added $140 million in authorized funding for nonproliferation work, including an extra $40 million for the Global Threat Reduction Initiative, $30 million for the Nonproliferation Research and Development, and $70 million for International Materials Protection & Cooperation, primarily for the Second Line of Defense program.
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