The Senate Armed Services Committee voted 22-3 Friday to advance the 2025 National Defense Authorization Act to the Senate floor with provisions that would authorize $25 billion to the National Nuclear Security Administration and $150 million to the Department of Energy’s nuclear energy activities.
The Senate committee’s version of the national defense policy bill would also approve $7 billion in defense environmental cleanup money, which represents the biggest tranche of funding for DOE’s Office of Environmental Management, according to a bill summary.
The full Senate will debate provisions in the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) that include requiring DOE to establish two to four possible locations for a uranium enrichment facility no later than 2027, directing the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) and the Department of Defense to strategize developing a skilled manufacturing workforce for expanding the nuclear security enterprise, and directing the NNSA to reviews construction costs, schedule performance, and nuclear modernization projects.
“This bill shows there is bipartisan support for doing more to maintain deterrence and protect American interests,” Senate Armed Services Committee’s ranking Republican Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) said in a press release by the committee.
The bill would also direct a briefing on the justification for the Tritium Finishing Facility at Savannah River Site in South Carolina for stockpile maintenance, as well as a briefing on outstanding issues with land use at Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico. It also would require 450 Sentinels, the restoration of the B-52 bomber’s nuclear capabilities, modification or development of the B61-13 gravity bomb, and $70 million to support development of the W80-X ALT-SLCM as a warhead for the nuclear armed sea-launched missile.
Similar to the House’s version of the bill, the Senate NDAA would also authorize $252 million to support the Navy’s development of the nuclear-armed sea-launched cruise missile, and would support the construction of a second Virginia-class submarine with additional funding in fiscal year 2025.
The Senate has not released a schedule for when it will debate and vote in full on the bill.
