The federal watchdog for Department of Energy nuclear defense sites continues to pursue “an aggressive staffing plan” initiated over the past two years to make up for workforce brain-drain, according to an agency budget justification document issued last week.
For fiscal year 2024, the administration of President Joe Biden (D) requested $47.2 million for the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board (DNFSB) up from $41.4 million authorized by Congress in fiscal 2023, according to the independent agency’s 50-page budget document, dated March 13. The board’s budget has increased from $36 million in fiscal 2022.
The DNFSB report adds agency-level detail to the larger budget documents released by the White House already.
In fiscal 2022 and 2023 the board launched an aggressive staffing plan “focused on hiring highly skilled engineers, scientists, and professionals to support the agency’s mission,” according to the report. The document goes on to say that DNFSB “reversed a significant decrease in staffing in prior years when board staffing dropped precipitously by over 20 percent.”
The board is requesting the equivalent of 125 full-time positions, which would be up from 120 in the current year. The DNFSB staff ceiling is the equivalent of 130 full-time positions. The board is also stressing greater racial diversity in its hiring, according to the document.
The report says 66% of the board’s budget goes toward salaries and benefits. The fiscal 2024 request “includes capabilities and improvements to cybersecurity, physical security, secure communications, information technology modernization,” and other efforts, according to the report.
The DNFSB was created by Congress to provide independent safety advice and recommendations to the secretary of energy. While the board lacks regulatory teeth, the head of DOE must publicly explain any agency decision to reject a DNFSB safety recommendation.
The board is designed as a five-member, Senate-confirmed panel with bipartisan representation. It currently has three members and Biden has announced plans to nominate a fourth.
