National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA)

The Senate Armed Services Committee released bill language for its version of the 2026 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) that would set the spending cap for the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) at $26.87 billion. That is over $400 million more than the House Armed Services Committee authorized in its version of the NDAA that […]

Oklo has completed its Nuclear Regulatory Commission pre-readiness assessment of Phase 1 of the combined license application for its Aurora project at Idaho National Laboratory. The Santa Clara, Calif. based advanced nuclear company, has been working with NRC on the application since 2016. The company intends to submit its full combined license application to the […]

The House Armed Services Committee Tuesday approved fiscal 2026 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) provisions to, among other things, create a new Rapid Capabilities Program within the National Nuclear Security Administration. The NDAA passed late Tuesday 55-2 and now advances to a full House markup. The provision within the committee’s Strategic Forces subcommittee segment of […]

The House appropriations committee voted to advance a fiscal 2026 appropriations bill Thursday that would give $25.317 billion to the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA). That’s around $1.182 billion above the fiscal 2025 levels, although the funding for the Department of Energy as a whole is $1.396 billion below 2025 levels at $48.774 billion.  The […]

BWX Technologies, based in Lynchburg, Va., announced Thursday the award of $2.6 billion in contracts, including future year options, to manufacture naval nuclear reactor components. The contracts, which build on the $2.1 billion in awards BWXT announced in February, would support Virginia- and Columbia-class submarines, and any production from these awards would come in the […]

Robert (Bob) Alvarez, a former Senate staffer, 1990s Department of Energy official and nuclear watchdog, died July 1 following a years-long battle with Parkinson’s disease at age 78.  The Institute for Policy Studies and the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists published remembrances of Alvarez in recent days.  Among other things, Alvarez worked on the Senate […]

Rep. John Garamendi (D-Calif.) used a House Armed Services Committee hearing on a must-pass national defense policy bill Tuesday to bemoan proposed cuts to the Government Accountability Office (GAO) budget. The House Appropriations Committee last month advanced a fiscal 2026 funding bill that could cut GAO’s appropriation by nearly half. This is bad news for […]

The House Armed Services Committee Tuesday approved fiscal 2026 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) provisions to, among other things, create a new Rapid Capabilities Program within the National Nuclear Security Administration. The provision within the committee’s Strategic Forces subcommittee segment of the markup, is meant “to enhance our ability to respond to growing nuclear threats […]

The House appropriations subcommittee on energy and water passed a fiscal 2026 appropriations bill 10-5 Monday that would give $25.317 billion to the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA). That’s around $1.182 billion above the fiscal 2025 levels, although the funding for the Department of Energy as a whole is $1.396 billion below 2025 levels at […]

The House Armed Service’s starting version of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) would authorize $25.4 billion to the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) and establish a New Advanced Nuclear Energy Working Group. The House Armed Services Committee (HASC) will mark up the bill at 10 a.m. Eastern time Tuesday, July 15 in Rayburn House […]

President Donald Trump signed into law last week the massive reconciliation bill that would appropriate millions in extra funds to the National Nuclear Security Administration. The funds, part of Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill” that includes $150 billion for defense purposes, would be available in fiscal 2025 through the end of fiscal 2029. The National […]

The U.S. Supreme Court Tuesday said the White House can go ahead with plans for major layoffs and restructuring of the federal government while legal challenges play out, according to media reports. The Washington Post  and other media outlets reported Tuesday afternoon that the high court elected not to block planning for mass layoffs at […]

President Donald Trump signed into law last week the massive reconciliation bill that would appropriate millions in extra funds to the National Nuclear Security Administration. The funds, part of Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill” that includes $150 billion for defense purposes, would be available in fiscal 2025 through the end of fiscal 2029. The National […]

The House Appropriations subcommittee on Energy and Water will mark up its fiscal 2026 budget bill, which would appropriate funds to the Department of Energy and National Nuclear Security Administration, on Monday July 7. The hearing is scheduled to start on Monday at 6 p.m. Eastern Time. Also, on Thursday, July 17, the full House […]

The Columbia-class nuclear ballistic missile submarine (SSBN) is now projected to be ready by early 2029, Navy officials told lawmakers last week. The Navy says its highest priority program is the Columbia-class, starting with the future USS District of Columbia (SSBN-826), which it intends to gradually replace the aging Ohio-class SSBNs. Acting Chief of Naval […]

In a study on the environmental effects of nuclear war, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine said to focus less on extreme cases and more on the “realm of possible outcomes,” the organization said in a public panel announcing the study. The nonprofit, in tandem with the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), released […]

The Government Accountability Office, which serves as Congress’s watchdog over federal programs, would see its budget nearly cut by nearly half in fiscal 2026, under a bill advanced by the House Appropriations Committee on Thursday June 26. The Legislative Appropriation Act for fiscal 2026, which passed through the committee Thursday 34-to-28, provides  $415.4 million for […]

The Senate on Tuesday narrowly passed the massive reconciliation bill with $150 billion for defense that the Pentagon has built into its fiscal year 2026 spending plans, sending the measure to the House. The lower chamber is expected to take up the “One Big Beautiful Bill” this week, to include the changes the Senate made […]

In a study on the environmental effects of nuclear war, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine said to focus less on extreme cases and more on the “realm of possible outcomes,” the organization said in a public panel announcing the study. The nonprofit, in tandem with the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), released […]

The Columbia-class nuclear ballistic missile submarine (SSBN) is now projected to be ready by early 2029, Navy officials told lawmakers last week. The Navy says its highest priority program is the Columbia-class, starting with the future USS District of Columbia (SSBN-826), which it intends to gradually replace the aging Ohio-class SSBNs. Acting Chief of Naval […]

The National Nuclear Security Administration transitioned into the final stage of construction at the Uranium Processing Facility at the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge, Tenn., the agency announced Tuesday. The Uranium Processing Facility (UPF) is the National Nuclear Security Administration’s (NNSA) next-generation factory for nuclear-weapons secondary stages. Once construction is complete, UPF will […]

The National Nuclear Security Administration will conduct helicopter flights at low-altitude over Las Vegas for the remainder of 2025 and into 2026, the agency said on its website with aims to alert the public of low-flying aircraft to avoid alarm. NNSA’s Nuclear Emergency Support Team’s (NEST) aerial measuring system (AMS) aircraft, a Leonardo AW139 helicopter […]

Corey Hinderstein, the former National Nuclear Security Administration’s deputy administrator for defense nuclear nonproliferation during the Joe Biden administration, said increasing weapons and slashing nonproliferation spending in the budget is a “recipe for national security failure.” “Cutting nonproliferation funding would be lose-lose: harming programs with valuable near-term threat-reduction benefits and making deterrence less sustainable for […]

The Idaho National Laboratory has concluded a first-of-a-kind safety experiment with high burnup fuel the Department of Energy’s Office of Nuclear Energy announced this week. Test results should provide data that could help boost performance and lower the amount of waste generated at nuclear plants, the Office of Nuclear Energy said in its Tuesday press […]

Paul Dabbar, a Department of Energy executive during the first Donald Trump administration, was confirmed by the U.S. Senate 56-to-40 Wednesday as Deputy Secretary of Commerce. Dabbar was undersecretary of energy for science during the first Trump administration. As part of that position during the first term, Dabbar had authority over the Office of Environmental […]

The National Nuclear Security Administration transitioned into the final stage of construction at the Uranium Processing Facility at the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge, Tenn., the agency announced Tuesday. The Uranium Processing Facility (UPF) is the National Nuclear Security Administration’s (NNSA) next-generation factory for nuclear-weapons secondary stages. Once construction is complete, UPF will […]

The Idaho National Laboratory has concluded a first-of-a-kind safety experiment with high burnup fuel the Department of Energy’s Office of Nuclear Energy announced on Tuesday. Text results should provide data that could help boost performance and lower the amount of waste generated at nuclear plants, the Office of Nuclear Energy said in its press release. […]

Corey Hinderstein, the former National Nuclear Security Administration’s deputy administrator for defense nuclear nonproliferation during the Joe Biden administration, said increasing weapons and slashing nonproliferation spending in the budget is a “recipe for national security failure.” “Cutting nonproliferation funding would be lose-lose: harming programs with valuable near-term threat-reduction benefits and making deterrence less sustainable for […]

A welding machine reportedly caught fire in April during welding activities in the Principal Underground Laboratory for Subcritical Experimentation (PULSE) at Nevada National Security Site. The fire was reported in a June 6 report by the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board (DNFSB). According to the report, a welding machine caught fire and the fire watch […]

Centrus Energy, headquartered in Bethesda, Md., has been awarded an extended contract with the Department of Energy, worth about $110 million, to produce high-assay low-enriched uranium through June 30, 2026. In 2022, Centrus was awarded a three-phase follow-on contract to bring the cascade into production and produce HALEU for DOE’s use. DOE has exercised its […]