Mike Nartker
WC Monitor
5/1/2015
The House Armed Services Committee voted 60-2 late this week to approve its version of the Fiscal Year 2016 defense authorization bill, which sets authorized funding levels for defense environmental cleanup sites. During a lengthy markup hearing on the bill April 29, lawmakers rejected an amendment proposed by Rep. John Garamendi (D-Calif.) that would have boosted authorized funding levels for a number of the Department of Energy’s cleanup sites, which would be offset by a significant reduction in the authorized funding level for the Mixed Oxide Fuel Fabrication Facility project.
Lawmakers did agree, though, to an amendment that requires the Secretary of Energy to brief Congress by Jan. 31, 2016, on cost-of-living adjustments for pensions held by former workers from DOE cleanup sites and National Nuclear Security Administration sites. “The committee is aware that retired employees from various facilities of the National Nuclear Security Administration’s nuclear security enterprise and the Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management defense environmental cleanup program have been under financial strain due to fixed pension payments,” states the amendment, proposed by Rep. Joe Wilson (R-S.C.). “With an increase in inflation of 30 percent since that time, the committee is concerned that the lack of pension adjustments may not be commensurate with other government and public sector pension plans over that period of time.”
Bill Calls for Increases in Authorized Funding Levels for Hanford, SRS
Only a small portion of the massive defense policy bill deals with DOE’s cleanup program. Overall, the bill would authorize a total of approximately $5.143 billion for work at defense environmental cleanup sites, an increase of approximately $88 million from DOE’s FY 2016 budget request. The increase would go to DOE’s two major cleanup sites—Hanford and the Savannah River Site. At Hanford, the House bill would authorize a funding level of approximately $916 million for work overseen by the Richland Operations Office, an increase of $72 million from DOE’s request; while at Savannah River, the bill would authorize a funding level of approximately $1.22 billion, an increase of approximately $12 million from the request.
The House bill would reject DOE’s request for a contribution to a federal fund used to help cover cleanup costs at the Paducah, Portsmouth and Oak Ridge sites. The bill would not authorize any of the approximately $472 million DOE is seeking for a new federal contribution to the Uranium Enrichment D&D fund, according to the Chairman’s mark of the bill. Notably, House appropriators have backed DOE’s entire request for funding for a new contribution in their version of the FY 2016 Energy and Water appropriations bill.
Bill Matches DNFSB’s FY16 Budget Request
The House bill would also authorize a funding level matching the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board FY 2016 budget request of $29.15 million. In addition, the bill would require the DNFSB Chairman to obtain the approval of the Board before either appointing or removing senior Board staff members related to one of three areas: budgetary and general administration matters; general counsel; and technical matters. Currently, the Board’s enabling statue allows the DNFSB Chairman to exercise the appointment of Board employees “subject to such policies as the Board may establish,” but does not contain language explicitly calling for Board approval of senior hiring decisions.
