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.