Today the House Armed Services Committee held a markup hearing for the FY 2024 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), the annual defense bill that sets policies for the Department of Energy’s national security programs.

The Committee examined hundreds of amendments discussed today and included a handful related to the National Nuclear Security Administration’s (NNSA) nuclear modernization efforts and environmental cleanup mission.

Authorized Funding Levels

The House bill would authorize:

• $23.8 billion for NNSA, about $20 million above the President’s budget request.
• $7.1 billion for defense environmental cleanup, which is about $400 million below the President’s budget request.
• $196 million for the Office of Legacy Management, matching the President’s budget request.

Environmental Cleanup

Rep. Mike Rogers (R-AL) introduced language requesting a report by the Secretary of Energy that includes an analysis of possible alternatives to replace the C-100 program support facility at the Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant (PGDP). The language notes that maintenance expenses at the facility have “become unsustainable and a new facility is desperately needed. This new facility will be needed to support current and future cleanup efforts at the site, which are estimated to take in excess of four decades.”

In the report, the Secretary would “examine all possible solutions, including private financing to replace the antiquated C-100 support facility and include a cost-benefit analysis of each option as well as detailed requirements for each option including land use and conveyance.”

NNSA and Plutonium Pit Production

The House bill includes a provision to codify NNSA’s plans to construct new facilities related to high explosives production at the Pantex Plant, Amarillo, Texas, and tritium activities at the Savannah River Site, Aiken, South Carolina. According to the Committee, “These new facilities were designed to reduce operational risk associated with continuing to operate legacy facilities, and ensure the necessary capacity is availability to meet future workload and mission requirements.”

NNSA-related amendments also include:

• An independent assessment of plutonium pit aging milestones and progress.
• A report on acceleration of nuclear modernization priorities, including additional authorities and reforms necessary to allow the Department of Defense to accelerate its current nuclear modernization priorities.
• Requiring an integrated master schedule that incorporates all programs of record for nuclear warhead development, including pit production activities, production, and sustainment at NNSA, including a briefing to Congress by the Administrator by May 2024.
• Requiring the NNSA Administrator to brief Congress about the potential of plutonium pit re-use for the W-93 warhead.
• Requiring a briefing on physical security measures and protocols at NNSA sites, including (1) an overview of the process for assessing physical security and determining both enterprise-wide and site-specific security requirements; (2) A description of measures in place to evaluate security readiness; (3) A discussion of the process for updating security postures to account for emerging threats; and (4) A description process for evaluating new technologies and innovative concepts to enhance physical security.

Looking Ahead

The Senate Armed Services Committee also marked up its version of the bill in a closed hearing today. An executive summary of the bill is expected to be available in the coming weeks. Meanwhile, House and Senate appropriations committees will continue working on advancing the FY 2024 spending bills throughout the summer before the September 30 deadline when the current fiscal year ends.