To account for inflation, the National Nuclear Security Administration has petitioned Congress and been approved to bump up the threshold for minor construction projects to $34 million.
That is up from a $30 million threshold set by the fiscal 2023 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). The NDAA also provided the NNSA with “pilot authority” to adjust its minor construction threshold to account for inflation at any time until Dec. 1, 2025.
NNSA Administrator JIll Hruby took no time in submitting the necessary paperwork to the congressional defense committees, which she did on Jan. 9. The NDAA required that the administrator submit a report on how the adjustment would be calculated.
A mandatory 30-day review period ended Thursday, the same day a notice of the raise was published in the Federal Register, as required.
The threshold for minor construction projects limits how much the NNSA can spend on these projects without having to identify them as specific line items in its budget for congressional authorization and appropriation. Line item projects that cost more than the threshold trigger more stringent federal oversight.
NNSA plans to initiate up to 437 minor construction projects over the next five fiscal years totaling about $5 billion, according to a recent Government Accountability Office (GAO) report.
In that study, the GAO found that NNSA does not consistently monitor the performance of minor construction projects of fewer than $30 million in total cost.
From fiscal year 2019 through July 2023, NNSA offices undertook 414 minor construction projects that cost an estimated total of about $3 billion. The agency plans to initiate up to 437 minor construction projects over the next five fiscal years totaling about $5 billion, according to the GAO report.
