The Donald Trump administration has requested that Congress again budget $45 million for the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board (DNFSB) for fiscal 2027, partly due to increased nuclear weapons work.
The $45 million was equal to the White House request for fiscal 2026, which ends Sept. 30, although Congress appropriated less, $42 million in fiscal 2026.
The White House also requested the equivalent of 120 full-time staffers for the board that is tasked with providing independent safety research and recommendations to the Department of Energy for its defense-related nuclear facilities. The budget justification document was recently posted on the DNFSB website.
The $45-million budget request represents DNFSB’s “commitment to enhancing nuclear safety within the weapons production complex, given the NNSA’s [National Nuclear Security Administration’s] significant planned increases in weapons production and weapons refurbishment into the future,” according to the document.
The Atomic Energy Act “mandates that the board review the content and implementation of DOE standards, facility and system designs, and events and practices at DOE defense nuclear facilities to provide independent analysis, advice, and recommendations to inform the secretary of energy,” according to the justification document. DNFSB carries out this job through various inspections, reviews and reports.
During fiscal 2025, the board addressed various legacy safety issues at the NNSA’s Pantex plant in Texas, DNFSB said.
During the past two years, DNSFB has also studied cast-iron fittings used in fire suppression systems at Pantex as well as at the Savannah River Plutonium Processing Facility in South Carolina, according to the justification.
Although the agency is set up to be led by a five-member panel, DNFSB is currently down to a single member, Patricia Lee, PhD., whose term is scheduled to end Oct. 18, 2027. Although the board lacks a quorum, President Trump has not made any nominations to the panel since starting his second term in January 2025.
DNFSB has several items on its short-term to-do list, according to the document. These include updating Freedom of Information Act practices and producing the fiscal 2026-2030 Strategic Plan.