National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA)

A bipartisan group of Congressional representatives want to expand the National Nuclear Security Administration’s authority to develop counter drone technology, according to a press release by Rep. Susie Lee (D-Nev.).  The Nuclear Ecosystem Drone Defense Act (NEDD) was introduced by: Reps. Lee and Mark Amodei (R) from Nevada, Chuck Fleischmann (R-Tenn.), and Seth Moulton (D-Mass.), […]

Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) Wednesday told the commander of the Strategic Command Gen. Anthony Cotton that he thinks adding a nuclear warhead to the nation’s submarines could be “disruptive” to the maritime program. A planned nuclear-armed, sea-launched cruise missile (SLCM-N) would be deployed on the Virginia-class submarines and would include a variant of the W80-4 […]

President Donald Trump has nominated a trio of officials to lead key Department of Energy branches serving the weapons complex, although as of mid-week Senate committees had not scheduled confirmation hearings on any of them. All three would report to the already confirmed Secretary of Energy Chris Wright. Exchange Monitor will update the nominees’ progress […]

Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah), chair of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, sent letters to directors of Oak Ridge, Los Alamos and Argonne National Laboratories on reports of researchers leveraging supercomputers from the Chinese military. Lee, a proponent for examining vulnerabilities at national labs particularly concerning foreign nationals, published the letters Wednesday on the […]

Secretary of Energy Chris Wright announced orders Thursday to “ease burdensome permitting rules” for construction on the nation’s nuclear weapons facilities and national labs. Wright immediately directed that the National Nuclear Security Administration’s (NNSA) “OSHA-plus” framework for subcontracted construction projects at the labs be expanded with aims to increase competition and reduce costs while maintaining […]

Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) Wednesday told the commander of the Strategic Command Gen. Anthony Cotton that he thinks adding a nuclear warhead to the nation’s submarines could be “disruptive” to the maritime program. A planned nuclear-armed, sea-launched cruise missile (SLCM-N) would be deployed on the Virginia-class submarines and would include a variant of the W80-4 […]

A bipartisan group of Congressional representatives want to expand the National Nuclear Security Administration’s authority to develop counter drone technology, according to a press release by Rep. Susie Lee (D-Nev.).  The Nuclear Ecosystem Drone Defense Act (NEDD) was introduced by: Reps. Lee and Mark Amodei (R) from Nevada, Chuck Fleischmann (R-Tenn.), and Seth Moulton (D-Mass.), […]

EnergySolutions appointed Laszlo von Lazar as vice president of operations on Thursday. Lazar has served in previous roles that involved managing operations in the power sector including gas, offshore wind, nuclear and solar. He previously served as president of the Energy and Process Industries and was a member of the board at Black and Veatch.  […]

Work crews at the Department of Energy’s Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California will soon start removing the concrete slab from the site of Building 251, DOE’s Office of Environmental Management said Tuesday. Once the slab is gone, Building 251 or the Heavy Elements Facility will become available for future work by DOE and its […]

Work crews at the Department of Energy’s Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California will soon start removing the concrete slab from the site of Building 251, DOE’s Office of Environmental Management said Tuesday. Once the slab is gone, Building 251 or the Heavy Elements Facility will become available for future work by DOE and its […]

The Government Accountability Office said in a report last week that the National Nuclear Security Administration “does not clearly communicate” its needs to Congress on risks to its industrial base. The industrial base includes the supply chain, facilities, transportation and workforce “that combine to maintain the stockpile,” the highlights of the report said. The report […]

Three House members on Thursday March 13 introduced a bill that would create a new maritime industrial base commission to study and make recommendations on the U.S. maritime industry. The Save Our Shipyards (SOS) Act of 2025, would specifically “investigate the condition of the U.S. maritime industry and impediments to its growth. With a laser […]

The Government Accountability Office said last week that the National Nuclear Security Administration and six of its management and operating contractors incorrectly reported small business contracts awarded in fiscal 2018-2022. According to a report released by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) March 13, the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) awarded $1.1 billion of its $16.8 […]

Reps. Adam Smith (D-Wash.) and Melanie Stansbury (D-N.M.) criticized the Department of Government Efficiency last week, around the time DOGE began reviewing contractors to the National Nuclear Security Administration’s franchise. According to publication Semafor, which broke the story last week, the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), created by President Donald Trump and led by Trump […]

In response to a recent environmental report, Santa Fe County commissioners reportedly plan to raise concerns about impacts of a potential expansion of the Department of Energy’s Los Alamos National Laboratory on regional resources. According to an article last week in the Santa Fe New Mexican newspaper, the county commissioners are preparing to respond to […]

The Government Accountability Office last week said the National Nuclear Security Administration could do more to develop a resiliency strategy to mitigate risks to its explosives supply chain, manufacturing and infrastructure. According to a report published March 12, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) found 66 total risks, identified by the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), […]

The Government Accountability Office last week said the National Nuclear Security Administration could do more to develop a resiliency strategy to mitigate risks to its explosives supply chain, manufacturing and infrastructure. According to a report published March 12, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) found 66 total risks, identified by the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), […]

The Government Accountability Office said last week that the National Nuclear Security Administration and six of its management and operating contractors incorrectly reported small business contracts awarded in fiscal 2018-2022. According to a report released by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) March 13, the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) awarded $1.1 billion of its $16.8 […]

Work crews at the Department of Energy’s Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California will soon start removing the concrete slab from the site of Building 251, DOE’s Office of Environmental Management said Tuesday. Once the slab is gone, Building 251 or the Heavy Elements Facility will become available for future work by DOE and its […]

The Government Accountability Office said in a report last week that the National Nuclear Security Administration “does not clearly communicate” its needs to Congress on risks to its industrial base. The industrial base includes the supply chain, facilities, transportation and workforce “that combine to maintain the stockpile,” the highlights of the report said. Teresa Robbins, […]

Laura McGill will be Sandia National Laboratories’ 17th director effective May 1, following the retirement of James Peery at the end of April. McGill has worked as the deputy laboratories director for Nuclear Deterrence at Sandia, as well as chief technology officer, since January 2021, according to a press release on Sandia’s website. She will […]

The National Nuclear Security Administration partnered with other government agencies to conduct an exercise on how a team would gather evidence to support the president make decisions in a nuclear attack scenario. The Prominent Hunt exercise series, which the recent exercise was part of, took place Jan. 26 to 31 around Schenectady, N.Y., the Pentagon […]

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said Thursday he intends to vote to advance a Republican-drafted stopgap funding bill to keep the federal government operating through the rest of fiscal 2025. Unless a continuing resolution was approved Friday, the government would partially shut down at 12:01 a.m. Saturday. A vote was expected Friday after Exchange […]

Over the weekend, House Republicans Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) released a seven-month funding patch that would cut non-defense spending, including programs in the Department of Energy, by about $13 billion. The bill could reach the House floor as soon as Tuesday. The 100-page stopgap funding bill, which would need to pass both chambers of Congress […]

The National Nuclear Security Administration partnered with other government agencies to conduct an exercise on how a team would gather evidence to support the president make decisions in a nuclear attack scenario. The Prominent Hunt exercise series, which the recent exercise was part of, took place Jan. 26 to 31 around Schenectady, N.Y., the Pentagon […]

At the International Atomic Energy Agency’s Board of Governors meeting Monday, Director General Rafael Grossi briefed the board on the situations in Ukraine and Iran. Grossi visited Ukraine in February, and said there was “no room for complacency” in his opening statement. He also said that he had visited Iran since the last Board session, […]

The Community Reuse Organization of East Tennessee (CROET), a nonprofit organization dedicated to repurposing older Department of Energy facilities at the Oak Ridge Site, has begun the first phase of turning a uranium enrichment area into a private park. The organization will conduct road improvement projects, lighting and landscaping as part of a closure plan […]

Outlays at the Department of Energy as well as the Department of Defense are two areas that remain among the federal government’s “high-risk areas needing significant attention,” Comptroller General Gene Dodaro said last week in testimony before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. DOE Acquisition and Program Management at EM and the National Nuclear […]

Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-N.Y.) introduced a bill last week with the aim of safeguarding and securing radioactive materials, and reducing the risk of bad actors developing a so-called “dirty bomb.”  The Securing our Radioactive Materials Act, would mandate the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to implement recommendations on a Government Accountability Office (GAO) report from September, […]

The Community Reuse Organization of East Tennessee (CROET), a nonprofit organization dedicated to repurposing older Department of Energy facilities at the Oak Ridge Site, has begun the first phase of turning a uranium enrichment area into a private park. The organization will conduct road improvement projects, lighting and landscaping as part of a closure plan […]