$30.3 billion authorized for DOE defense programs

NDAA conference report released, addressing NNSA’s workforce, pit production, and contracting issues. Concern over whether NNSA can accomplish its Nuclear Weapons Pit Production Goals

Last night, Congress revealed the conference report for the FY 2023 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). Legislators are expected to vote on the bill in the coming days, marking the 62nd consecutive year of the annual defense bill’s passage.

The FY23 NDAA authorizes $847.3 billion in defense funding, $45 billion more than requested in President Biden’s budget. Of the total amount, $816.7 billion is for the Department of Defense, and $30.3 billion is for the Department of Energy’s national security programs.

 Topline DOE/NNSA Authorized Funding

• $22.3 billion for the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA)
• $6.8 billion for defense environmental cleanup (EM)
• $156.6 million for nuclear energy activities
• $196.1 million for the Office of Legacy Management

Pit Production

While the final bill does not include any new provisions related to NNSA’s expansion of plutonium pit production, the conference committee wrote extensively about its concerns with the program. The committee wrote:

“We note the significant challenges that the Department of Energy and [NNSA] have experienced in attempting to reestablish a plutonium pit production capability over the past two decades…While we recognize the progress NNSA has made in maturing and advancing the current two-site solution, and appreciate NNSA’s stated commitment to produce no fewer than 80 war reserve plutonium pits per year as close to 2030 as possible, we remain deeply concerned that these projects are not expected to meet statutory requirements. The schedule risk of the plutonium pit production projects has been widely acknowledged.”

The committee is now directing the Nuclear Weapons Council and NNSA to “jointly conduct a review of plutonium pit production and submit a plan to the congressional defense committees, not later than March 31, 2023, that includes high-confidence assessments of projected dates for the achievement of a production capacity of no fewer than 80 war reserve plutonium pits per year.”

Workforce

The final bill addresses several workforce issues for NNSA, as the agency continues to find ways to recruit and retain the next generation of its workforce. One provision would eliminate the cap on the number of full-time employees within NNSA and require an annual briefing on “the current and projected employees of the Office of the Administrator.”

Another provision authorizes workforce development and training partnership programs. Under this measure, NNSA’s management and operating contractors at Los Alamos National Laboratory and Savannah River Site would receive funds to “develop and implement workforce development and training partnership programs to further the education and training of employees or prospective employees.”

Contracting

The conference report expresses concerns about NNSA’s contracting schedule, noting a “lack of predictability” in the schedule for large M&O contracts, pointing to the recently cancelled contracts at Pantex and Y-12. To address this issue, NNSA will be required to brief Congress on recommended changes to improve the M&O contract awarding process.

Uranium Supply

The conference report includes a provision that would require consideration of “uranium production by private industry and how uranium enrichment options would reduce reliance on importing uranium from foreign adversaries.” The provision comes after last week’s testimony by Dr. Katy Huff, Assistant Secretary for Nuclear Energy, who noted that the U.S. “need[s] to be prepared for a disruption in supply” of highly enriched uranium, which is currently supplied by Russia.

Click below to read the:

Final NDAA summary
Final bill text
Joint explanatory statement