Dear Readers,
ECA wishes to extend a very Happy Holidays to you and your loved ones. the ECA Update will not publish Dec. 24 through Jan. 1. We look forward to resuming operations after the start of the New Year.
Cheers,
The ECA Team
End-of-Year ECA Rundown: Possible Government Shutdown Ahead; Looking Forward to FY 2020 Budget
ECA Staff | 12/20/2018
FY 2019 Appropriations:
Wednesday evening, the Senate passed a continuing resolution (CR) to fund certain agencies within the federal government through February 8. As of now, the House is expected to take a vote
Thursday night to avert the looming partial government shutdown on Friday, December 21.
In September, Congress passed funding for several agencies (including the Department of Energy) for the full fiscal year (FY) 2019 but could not come to an agreement on other agencies, such as the EPA and National Parks Service. However, there may not be complete agreement between Republicans about how to proceed with the CR in the House due to a lack of funding for a wall on the Southern border. According to White House Press
Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders on Thursday morning, “The President is having a meeting with Republican House Members at noon today. At this moment, the President does not want to go further without border security, which includes steel slats or a wall. The President is continuing to weigh his options.”
DOE had put pressure on Congress to include funding for Yucca Mountain in the CR. In legislative language prepared by DOE and provided to members of Congress, the agency recommended pulling $84 million funding from DOE's Office of Nuclear Energy, $11 million from the Office of Environmental Management, and $22 million from nuclear nonproliferation to provide nearly $120 million for the project. Ultimately, however, the CR did not include funding for Yucca Mountain.
FY 2020 White House Budget:
While Congress seeks a deal for the remaining FY 2019 funding, the White House Office of Management and Budget is currently developing its budget proposal for FY 2020, which is expected to be released in February (the administration also released its FY 2019 proposal last February). President Trump recently called
for an increase in the Department of Defense’s budget but has asked Cabinet secretaries of other federal agencies to cut five percent of their budgets for the upcoming fiscal year. It is not yet clear which parts of the DOE budget would be reduced in the proposal or whether Congressional appropriators would fulfill the requested budget cuts in FY 2020 funding bills.
Upcoming Deadlines:
January 9 is the deadline for the public to submit comments on the Administration’s interpretation of the definition of the statutory term “high-level radioactive waste”. The Administration is expected to release a final decision on its interpretation in March or April
next year.
After receiving feedback on its draft Request for Proposals (RFP) for the Hanford Central Plateau Cleanup Contract, DOE released a modified End State Contracting Model (ESCM). Interested parties may provide comments on the modified ESCM by 5 p.m. on December 21.
ENVIRONMENTAL CLEANUP
STORAGE & DISPOSITION
NEW NUCLEAR
NUCLEAR SECURITY
NUCLEAR WASTE
2018-2019 UPCOMING EVENTS
|
|
Learn more about DOE's cleanup sites with ECA's new DOE Site Profiles
ECA's new site profiles detail DOE's 13 active Environmental Management cleanup sites and national laboratories, highlighting their history, missions, and priorities. The profiles are a key source for media, DOE stakeholders, and other parties who may be interested in learning more about DOE site activities, contractors, advisory boards, and their surrounding local
governments.
|
|
|
|
