Budget & Policy

WRAP UP: IN CONGRESS, IN DOE

Monday, June 23, 2014

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 Emerging Threats and Capabilities Subcommittee also announced this week that it will hold a hearing April 1 on threat reduction programs in the Department of Energy and Department of Defense. Testifying at the 2:15 p.m. hearing will be National Nuclear Security Administration nonproliferation chief Anne Harrington, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction Rebecca Hersman, and Defense Threat Reduction Agency Director Ken Myers.

IN DOE

After a long stint heading up the Department of Energy’s cleanup program, Dave Huizenga is returning to the National Nuclear Security Administration and his position of Principal Assistant Deputy Administrator for Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation, according to a message Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz and Deputy Energy Secretary Dan Poneman sent to DOE employees late this week. Huizenga will “continue to provide senior leadership in the Department’s critical worldwide efforts to secure nuclear materials in support of President Obama’s key nonproliferation objectives,” according to the message. Huizenga will remain in DOE’s Office of Environmental Management as acting Assistant Secretary through the roll out of DOE’s Fiscal Year 2015 budget proposal and help “lay the foundation for a smooth transition for the new EM management team,” Moniz and Poneman said.

Budget & Policy

Dems ‘blue wave’ expands into gubernatorial election results

ExchangeMonitor

Wednesday, November 4, 2026

The same momentum that saw Democrats take control of the House and Senate, helped the party win most governorships in play during Tuesday’s election.

As of Wednesday afternoon, the Associated Press projects that the Democratic Party will gain five states on the gubernatorial level. While the election results are unofficial, Democrats are expected to have 28-Democratic led states to the Republicans 20-Republican led states, with two other states, Alaska and Kansas, undecided as of now.

The gubernatorial results listed are from states that currently have commercial operating nuclear power plants and are put in alphabetical order.

Alabama: Incumbent Republican Sen. Thomas Tuberville has defeated Democratic nominee Doug Jones in a narrow race to become the next Alabama governor.

Arizona: Incumbent Democrat Gov. Katie Hobbs is projected to win reelection bid for governor, defeating Republican nominee Andy Biggs. Hobbs has been serving as the governor of Arizona since 2022.

Arkansas: Incumbent Republican Gov. Sarah Huckabee was reelected, defeating Democratic nominee Fred Love. Huckabee has served as the governor since 2022.

California: Democratic candidate Xavier Becerra currently leads Republican Steve Hilton in their race. According to Associated Press, only 59% of the votes have been recorded in the race as of Wednesday morning.

Connecticut: Incumbent Democrat Ned Lamont is the projected winner as governor of Connecticut, beating out Republican Ryan Fazio. Lamont has been the governor since 2018.

Florida: Florida Republican Congressman Byron Donalds edges out Democratic nominee David Jolly.

Georgia: Keisha Lance Bottoms (D) gets the nod over Republican nominee Rick Jackson to become the governor of Georgia.The victories by Donalds in Florida and Bottoms in Georgia gives these two neighboring Southern states their first African American governors.

Illinois: Incumbent Democrat Gov. JB Pritzker is projected to be reelected as the governor of Illinois. Pritzker took down Republican nominee Darren Bailey. Illinois is home to 11 operating reactors, the most in the nation, and could add more nuclear power following the full repeal of its nuclear moratorium.

Maryland: Incumbent Democrat Gov. Wes Moore has won reelection, defeating Republican nominee Dan Cox. Moore and Cox raced against each other in the 2022 election, in which Moore won 64% of the vote then.

Michigan: Jocelyn Benson (D) defeated incumbent Republican Congressman John James. Michigan is home to the Palisades Nuclear Plant, which is on the verge of restarting its operations.

Minnesota: Incumbent Democratic Senator Amy Klobuchar is projected to defeat Republican nominee Lisa Demuth.

Nebraska: First-term incumbent Republican Gov. Jim Pillen is on track to be reelected as Nebraska governor, defeating Democratic nominee Lynne Walz.

New Hampshire: Kelly Ayotte, incumbent Republican governor, is projected to defeat Democratic nominee Cande Warmington. New Hampshire elects its governor every two years. Since 2024, Ayotte has sought to add advanced nuclear power, particularly small modular reactors, to the state’s energy portfolio.

New York: Incumbent Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul is projected to defeat Republican nominee Bruce Blakeman. Hochul, the sitting governor since 2021, hopes to add 5,000 megawatts of new nuclear power to New York.

Ohio: Democratic nominee Amy Acton defeated Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy to become governor of Ohio

Pennsylvania: Josh Shapiro, incumbent Democratic governor, will be reelected as governor after garnering 60% of the vote against Republican nominee Stacy Garrity. Shapiro, who has been in office since 2023, supports nuclear power as part of his energy approach.

South Carolina: South Carolina State Attorney General Alan Wilson (R) , who is the adopted son of a Republican Rep. Joe Wilson, expected to win the governor race against Democratic nominee Jermaine Johnson. South Carolina is home to several operating reactors and DOE’s Savannah River Site.

Tennessee: Incumbent Republican Senator Marsha Blackburn is projected to be elected as the next governor over Democratic nominee Jerri Green. Tennessee, home to DOE’s Oak Ridge Site, is ranked as the number one state in new nuclear developments. Much of the nuclear projects take place near or at Oak Ridge.

Texas: State lawmaker Gina Hinojosa (D) edges out incumbent Republican Gov. Greg Abbott to become the next governor of Texas. The state operates four reactors across two sites, but more advanced nuclear developments are in the pipeline. Texas also houses DOE’s National Nuclear Security Administration Pantex Plant.

Wisconsin: Democrat David Crowley is projected to defeat Republican nominee Tom Tiffany to become the next governor.

Budget & Policy

Shipbuilding leads HII to strong third quarter

ExchangeMonitor

Tuesday, November 3, 2026

Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) reported strong third quarter financial results driven by strong shipbuilding sales, profit on the Virginia-class attack submarine program, and milestones achieved in unmanned maritime systems.

Net income soared 50% to $217 million, $5.48 earnings per share (EPS), from $145 million ($3.68 EPS) a year ago. Sales increased 11% to $3.5 billion from $3.2 billion a year ago.

All three of HII’s operating segments contributed to the higher sales, led by Newport News Shipbuilding, followed by Ingalls Shipbuilding and a scant increase at Mission Technologies. Mission Technologies more than doubled operating income due to higher sales and “milestone achievements” related to its unmanned surface vessel and underwater vehicle work, and higher equity income from its joint ventures in the nuclear and environmental areas.

Operating income at Newport News was also up handsomely on the submarine and carrier work, and higher sales. Ingalls was the lone segment with lower operating profit, which was due to a slow ramp-up in hiring new employees this year and getting through the test program on three ships—the amphibious transport dock ship LPD-30, the amphibious assault ship LHA-8, and destroyer DDG-129—that are set to deliver this year and in early 2027.

Segment operating margin was 7.4%, 1.8% higher above the 2025 third quarter. Shipbuilding margin was 6.8% in the quarter.

Chris Kastner, HII’s president and CEO, said on an earnings call that so far in 2026 throughput at the two shipyards is up 9% versus the same period in 2025 and that shipbuilding milestones for 2026 and 2026 are on track. HII’s goal is to increase shipbuilding throughput by 15%.

Sales through the first nine months of 2026 are up 12 percent to $10.1 billion and net income is up 29 percent to $574 million ($11.35 EPS). Based on the strong results so far, HII increased its 2026 outlook for shipbuilding to between $10.5 billion and $10.7 billion. Mission Technologies is still forecast to generate between $3 billion and $3.2 billion in sales.

Free cash flow in the quarter was $429 million and so far this year is a $182 million outflow.

HII tallied $32.8 billion in orders during the quarter driven by a large multi-submarine order for Virginia-class boats and Columbia-class ballistic missile subs. The strong orders lifted the total backlog to $86.2 billion, up 62% from $53.1 billion at the end of 2025.

Exchange Monitor affiliate Defense Daily first published a version of this story.

In This Issue

More on This Topic

Popular

In This Issue

More on This Topic

Popular

In This Issue

More on This Topic

Popular