Publications: Nuclear Security & Deterrence Monitor

Todd Jacobson NS&D Monitor 3/07/2014 On top of the $11.9 billion in Fiscal Year 2015 President Obama is requesting for the National Nuclear Security Administration, the Administration wants another $600 million for weapons and nonproliferation spending, though the additional request received a chilly response on Capitol Hill this week. The additional funds are part of […]

Kenneth Fletcher NS&D Monitor 3/07/2014 USEC filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy this week after reaching an agreement with the majority of bondholders and investors on its financial restructuring plan. The moves comes after the company announced in December it planned to file for bankruptcy due to a market downturn, but it would need to convince […]

Staff Reports NS&D Monitor 3/07/2014 The National Nuclear Security Administration may have options to meet the nation’s plutonium pit needs short of large-scale new construction, according to a new report from Congressional Research Service analyst Jonathan Medalia. Such options “have the potential to produce 80 (pits per year) and permit other plutonium activities at relatively […]

Todd Jacobson NS&D Monitor 3/07/2014 It took nearly two years, but Rose Gottemoeller was finally confirmed as Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security by the Senate this week—but not without a fight. Gottemoeller was confirmed March 6 in a 58-42 vote despite concerns raised by a handful of GOP Senators over […]

Todd Jacobson NS&D Monitor 3/07/2014 Timed just before the Obama Administration released its Fiscal Year 2015 budget request this week, Sens. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) and Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) reintroduced legislation late last week that would cut $100 billion in nuclear weapons spending over the next decade. Markey first introduced the “Smarter Approach to Nuclear Expenditures […]

Todd Jacobson NS&D Monitor 3/07/2014 A National Nuclear Security Administration pilot project to strengthen physical security at radiological facilities in Mexico City and Peru is being criticized by the Government Accountability Office for not involving several key agencies that could have helped the project. In a report released this week, the GAO said the “radiological […]

Staff Reports NS&D Monitor 3/07/2014 The number of nuclear engineers emerging from U.S. colleges and universities continues to rise, according to a new report by the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education. According to the report, there’s a significant increase at all levels, bachelor’s, master’s and Ph.D. Overall, 655 students received […]

RAD MATERIALS FOUND DURING UPF HAUL ROAD CONSTRUCTION NS&D Monitor 3/07/2014 Work on a haul road for the Uranium Processing Facility was temporarily stalled last week after radioactive materials were discovered during some of the earth-moving work at the site on the west end of the Y-12 nuclear weapons plant. According to a spokesman for […]

NRC PANEL RULES IN FAVOR OF MOX CONSTRUCTION LICENSE NS&D Monitor 3/07/2014 A Nuclear Regulatory Commission legal panel late last week ruled in favor of the Mixed Oxide Fuel Fabrication Facility contractor in a longstanding challenge to the facility’s license application over security concerns. The NRC’s Atomic Safety and Licensing Board released an initial decision […]

NS&D Monitor 3/07/2014 IN CONGRESS A House Armed Services Committee hearing with Strategic Command and Pacific Command was postponed this week because of snow in Washington, D.C. Strategic Command chief Adm. Cecil Haney is likely to appear before the committee in early April, though a date has not been formally set. The Senate Armed Services […]

Increase Comes At Expense of Nuclear Nonproliferation Programs Todd Jacobson NS&D Monitor 3/04/2014   Forced to prioritize between National Nuclear Security Administration programs in its Fiscal Year 2015 budget request, the Obama Administration sent a clear signal that it would support the agency’s weapons program today, drawing criticism from nonproliferation advocates. The Administration requested $8.31 […]

NNSA to Issue Partial Stop Work Order to Contractor Shaw AREVA MOX Services Todd Jacobson NS&D Monitor 3/04/2014 The Obama Administration is moving to formally shut down the Mixed Oxide Fuel Fabrication Facility, with the President’s Fiscal Year 2015 budget request submitted to Congress today providing money to place the project into “cold-standby,” and the Administration […]

Todd Jacobson NS&D Monitor 2/28/2014 Babcock & Wilcox-led Nuclear Production Partners is weighing its options after the Government Accountability Office late this week rejected its latest protest of the National Nuclear Security Administration’s Y-12/Pantex contract award. The GAO upheld NNSA’s selection of Bechtel-led Consolidated Nuclear Security for the new contract, whittling down the potential moves […]

Kenneth Fletcher NS&D Monitor 2/28/2014 After recent steps pointing toward the potential termination of the project, more clarity on the future of the Mixed Oxide Fuel Fabrication Facility is expected to come with the release of the Obama Administration’s Fiscal Year 2015 budget request next week. Bruce Held, acting head of the National Nuclear Security […]

Report Describes Apparent Tensions Between Technical Director, Staff Mike Nartker NS&D Monitor 2/28/2014   There appear to be significant tensions between the technical staff at the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board and the Board’s Office of the Technical Director, according to a report NS&D Monitor obtained this week. The report provides the full, unredacted version […]

Todd Jacobson NS&D Monitor 2/28/2014 Expanding on previous comments about a “public interest” model for managing the nation’s national laboratories, acting National Nuclear Security Administration chief Bruce Held said this week that the agency need to move toward a “more agile” governance relationship between the labs and its federal overseers. Speaking at the Energy Communities […]

Todd Jacobson NS&D Monitor 2/28/2014 Faced with a barrage of questions from Republicans on the Senate Armed Services Committee about modernizing the nation’s nuclear deterrent, new Strategic Command chief Adm. Cecil Haney this week signaled that investing in the nation’s nuclear deterrent should remain a priority for the Obama Administration. Haney appeared before the committee […]

Todd Jacobson NS&D Monitor 2/28/2014 The nuclear triad will survive the proposed Pentagon spending cuts in President Obama’s Fiscal Year 2015 budget request, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said this week. Offering a preview of the President’s budget request to reporters at the Pentagon Feb. 24, Hagel outlined a series of spending cuts across the Department […]

Todd Jacobson NS&D Monitor 2/28/2014 An Obama Administration official said this week that the Senate was informed of a possible issue involving Russian compliance with an arms control treaty in the fall of 2010, several months before the Senate cleared the New START Treaty. Testifying before the Senate Armed Services Committee Feb. 25, Brian McKeon, […]

Senate Could Vote on State Department Arms Control Nominee, Rose Gottemoeller, Next Week Todd Jacobson NS&D Monitor 2/28/2014 An attempt to get two top Department of Energy nominees confirmed hit a roadblock this week when an anonymous hold was placed on the pair. Senate Republicans attempted to “hotline” the nominations of Frank Klotz, the Administration’s pick […]

Todd Jacobson NS&D Monitor 2/28/2014 An interim report from the Congressionally established panel examining governance options for the National Nuclear Security Administration is expected to be completed in late March when members of the panel are set to testify before the House Armed Services Committee on their initial findings, study co-chairman Norm Augustine told NS&D […]

Mike Nartker and Todd Jacobson NS&D Monitor 2/28/2014 Labor union officials are so far taking a wait-and-see stance toward the Department of Energy’s recently announced plans for reorganizing its health, safety and security functions, though the anticipated role going forward of DOE’s current Chief Health, Safety and Security Officer, Glenn Podonsky, is giving organized labor […]

Mike Nartker NS&D Monitor 2/28/2014 A senior Department of Energy official late this week confirmed DOE has been examining the possible creation of a new organization that would be responsible for major line-item construction projects, but stressed that the idea was one among many under consideration to help improve how DOE manages projects. “There are […]

Todd Jacobson NS&D Monitor 2/28/2014 Babcock & Wilcox recorded an increase in profits of $126.5 million during the fourth quarter of 2013 but offered a muted forecast for 2014 as it released its latest earnings report. While the company said it made a profit of $165.6 million during the fourth quarter of 2013, up from […]

Kenneth Fletcher NS&D Monitor 2/28/2014 In a another step in a proposal to construct a new laser enrichment plant at the Paducah site, Global Laser Enrichment intends to submit a license application by September to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the company told the NRC last week. “GLE expects to submit the license application for the […]

Kenneth Fletcher NS&D Monitor 2/28/2014 The Department of Energy has made “significant progress” on commitments for improving work planning and control in response to concerns from the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board, DOE told the DNFSB this month. In August 201,2 the DNFSB sent a letter to DOE detailing issues with the implementation of work […]

The following interview with retired Air Force Maj. Gen. Donald Alston was conducted by Nuclear Security & Deterrence Monitor Editor Todd Jacobson. NS&D Monitor 2/28/2014 In 2007, you were tasked with repairing the Air Force’s nuclear mission after a series of miscues, including the unauthorized transport of nuclear weapons on the wing of a bomber, […]

LAWMAKERS PUSH FOR NIF FUNDING NS&D Monitor 2/28/2014 A group of 17 lawmakers—all but one from California—late last week urged President Obama to provide “strong and sustained” funding for the National Ignition Facility and inertial confinement fusion activities at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. In a letter to President Obama Feb. 21, the lawmakers, led by […]