A House Appropriations panel wants to give the federal government’s independent safety watchdog for nuclear weapon sites almost as much money as the White House requested, a bill published Wednesday shows.
On Wednesday, the House Appropriations energy and water development subcommittee chaired by Rep. Chuck Fleischmann (R-Tenn), released its draft budget plan Wednesday that would provide the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board (DNFSB) with $45 million for fiscal 2024.
The House Armed Services Committee meanwhile wants to authorize DNFSB for $47.2 million the White House requested for fiscal year starting Oct. 1, under the “Chairman’s Mark” of the National Defense Authorization Act bill released Tuesday.
Either level would be a big boost from the $41.4 million approved by Congress for fiscal 2023. The appropriations subcommittee was set to mark up its bill Thursday. The Armed Services Committee planned to mark up its bill on June 21.
The DNFSB continues to beef up staffing levels to make up for pandemic-era attrition, according to President Joe Biden’s (D) March budget request.
The board has said it is looking for engineers and other professionals to offset attrition and raise its staffing level to 125, up from 120 during fiscal 2023.
The DNFSB was created by Congress in 1988, and while it has no actual regulatory power, it is set up to provide outside advice and recommendations on safety at DOE nuclear installations to the secretary of energy. The secretary of energy must publicly agree or disagree with the recommendations the DNFSB makes.
There are currently three members on DNFSB’s five-seat board and one of those, Jessie Hill Roberson, is expected to depart when her current term ends Oct. 18.