SENATE RELEASES THEIR VERSION OF THE NDAA

This week, the Senate Armed Services Committee released their version of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) following a week of closed session markups. The Senate NDAA includes authorizations of $41.4 billion for national security programs in the Department of Energy. Focusing in on Defense Environmental Cleanup, all authorizations in the Senate bill remained at the levels stated in DOE's FY27 budget request aside from Savannah River Site which is seeing an increase of $5,000,000. 

An overview of the authorizations included in the Senate version of the NDAA and Committee Report are included in the graphic and list below (in thousands of dollars): 

Carlsbad/Waste Isolation Pilot Plant: $472,020

Idaho National Laboratory: $480,021

Los Alamos National Laboratory: $293,937

Lawrence Livermore National Lab: $1,955

Nevada Site: $64,835

Oak Ridge Reservation: $511,525

Office of River Protection: $1,945,000

Richland/Hanford: $876,624

Savannah River Site: $1,715,289 ($5,000 increase from budget request)

Separations Process Research Unit: $950

Sandia National Laboratory: $1,030

A few highlights in the Senate NDAA include: 

Briefing on defense reactor spent fuel management 

Given the Department of Defense's stated plans to deploy nuclear reactors on military installations, the committee believes that the Department of Defense should fully assess and share with the Congress its plans for managing used nuclear fuel no later than March 1, 2027 which should include Identification of opportunities to align Department of Defense initiatives, as appropriate and consistent with applicable law, with Department of Energy Nuclear Lifecycle Innovation Campus efforts to strengthen domestic fuel-cycle, advanced manufacturing, and waste-management capabilities supporting defense requirements.

Limitation on availability of funds pending submission of report on restoration of a domestic uranium enrichment capability 

The committee recommends a provision that would limit the obligation or expenditure of fiscal year 2027 travel funding for the Administrator for Nuclear Security to no more than 80 percent until the Administrator submits the report required by section 3123 of the Servicemember Quality of Life Improvement and National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2025 (Public Law 118-159).

Genesis Mission 

The committee commends the Department of Energy for its strategic vision in the initiation of the Genesis Mission. An integrated platform connecting cutting-edge, high-performance computing, experimental facilities, artificial intelligence systems, and unique datasets across every major scientific domain will have a significant impact on scientific discovery and should provide significant value to national security. The National Nuclear Security Administration should capitalize on the successful model from the Exascale Computing Initiative to bring together industry, academia, and government in partnership to drive the Genesis Mission and accelerate security improvements and the effectiveness of U.S. strategic assets.

The House version of the NDAA passed committee earlier this month and may be scheduled for debate on the House floor as early as next week! Both the House Appropriations Bill and the House NDAA have been released, and once the Senate Appropriations Bill is passed from committee the two chambers will negotiate a joint appropriations and authorizations. As the appropriation and authorization process continues in Congress, stay up to date by visiting the newly updated ECA Federal Budget Tracker.