ECA Update: Recap of Senate Hearing for NNSA Administrator Nominee; What the Budget Deal Actually Does; & more

Published: Fri, 02/09/18

ECA UPDATE
Feb 9, 2018
FEATURED
NUCLEAR SECURITY
Senate Holds Hearing to Consider NNSA Administrator Nominee
ECA Staff | February 9, 2018

On February 8, the Senate Armed Forces Committee held a hearing to consider Ms. Lisa Gordon-Hagerty's nomination to be the Under Secretary of Energy for Nuclear Security and the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) Administrator. Gordon-Hagerty was nominated by the White House for the position on December 11, 2017. 

Following Gordon-Hagerty's opening statement, Ranking Member Senator Jack Reed (D-RI) asked her what her priorities would be as head of NNSA. Gordon-Hagerty replied that her number one priority would be infrastructure modernization to "make sure we have a sustained capability to produce the number of war reserve [plutonium] pits as outlined by the Nuclear Weapons Council."

When questioned by Senator Martin Henrich (D-NM) about the recent, NNSA-conducted analysis that evaluated the moving of pit production from Los Alamos National Laboratory to the Savannah River Site (SRS), Gordon-Hagerty replied that she is committed, if confirmed, to "take a look at all the relevant data--current and past data--and the plutonium analysis of alternatives and commit to you that I will look at it from an objective viewpoint."

Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) questioned the nominee about the Mixed Oxide (MOX) Facility in South Carolina, asking if she would be "open-minded" with the Administration's current position that a dilute-and-dispose method of reducing the stockpile of weapons-grade plutonium at the SRS is less costly that the MOX program. Gordon-Hagerty stated that she believed the Administration's cost assessment of the program was accurate, but that she would be committed to reviewing all available data and working closely with the Senator and his staff on this issue. 

During the hearing, Gordon-Hagerty also stressed the importance of predictable funding for the modernization of the nuclear enterprise. 

"In order for the United States to ensure that we have an effective nuclear deterrent, it depends on [NNSA] and DOE," said Gordon Hagerty. "We must be able to modernize and have a robust, modern, flexible, and appropriately-tailored system throughout the nuclear weapons complex. In order to do that, we need reliable and sustained funding."

View the full hearing here.
 
BUDGET & APPROPRIATIONS
What the budget deal does
Politico | ​​​​​​​February 9, 2018

Congress on Friday cleared its biggest fiscal package in nearly a decade, which sets new limits on how much the government can spend in the next two years.

The deal keeps the government operating on another temporary funding patch until March 23. But Congress must still pass another bill, known as an omnibus, with detailed spending levels for each government program for the rest of this fiscal year, which ends Sept. 30.

As part of the deal, Congress finally decided exactly how much to spend on the Pentagon and other government agencies. Military spending will rise to $700 billion for fiscal 2018, roughly 10 percent above current levels. Domestic spending will also get a boost to $591 billion.
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Those record increases, however, will only go into effect after Congress has drafted and passed the full-year spending bill.
 

IN OTHER NEWS
UPCOMING EVENTS
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​​​​​​​​​​​​​​Feb 14  EM Site-Specific Advisory Board, Oak Ridge Reservation; Oak Ridge, TN

Feb 20-22  2018 Nuclear Deterrence Summit; Arlington, VA


March 18-22  2018 Waste Management Symposia; Phoenix, AZ

April 12 2018 ECA Annual Conference; Washington, DC

Sept 11-13  2018 National Cleanup Workshop; Alexandria, VA