The Senate late Monday approved a fiscal 2019 National Defense Authorization Act that would clear the way for the Department of Energy to build one, and possibly more, low-yield nuclear warheads.
The Senate bill also would prohibit DOE from dismantling the unfinished Mixed Oxide Fuel Fabrication Facility in South Carolina for at least a year, and require the U.S. comptroller general to review the savings achieved by combining the management and operations contract for the Pantex nuclear weapons assembly plant and the Y-12 National Security Complex: DOE’s hub for national-defense uranium programs.
The upper chamber’s bill also would repeal a provision of law that requires DOE to get permission from Congress to start developing new nuclear warheads, or modifying existing warheads. Under current law, the agency may only perform conceptual and feasibility studies for new or modified warheads without congressional authorization. Sen. Jack Reed (D-R.I.), ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee that wrote the 2019 NDAA, tried and failed to amend the bill to preserve Congress’ authority to authorize new warhead developments.
The Senate overwhelmingly approved its NDAA 85-10, setting the stage for a bicameral conference committee to produce a unified bill that could be signed into law by President Donald Trump. The House passed its 2019 NDAA in May. Congressional leaders had not scheduled the conference at deadline Monday for Weapons Complex Morning Briefing.
All told, the Senate’s 2019 NDAA authorizes more than $15 billion in spending for active nuclear-weapons programs managed by DOE’s National Nuclear Security Administration, and more than $5.5 billion for agency’s Office of Environmental Management, which cleans up former nuclear-weapon sites. The overall DOE cleanup budget includes funding besides that authorized by annual NDAAs.
Meanwhile, the Senate also voted Monday to proceed with debate on a 2019 appropriations package that includes about $35 billion for DOE. That encompasses almost $15 billion for the National Nuclear Security Administration and around $7 billion for the Environmental Management office.
Debate on the spending bill will begin Tuesday.
