House FY 2016 National Nuclear Security Administration Funding Bill

The full House Appropriations Committee approved its FY 2016 Energy and Water Development Appropriations Bill yesterday morning. The House is scheduled to consider this bill next week.

As stated in FYI #53, Committee Chairman Harold Rogers (R-KY) said this was the earliest in the year, since at least since 1974, that House appropriators have met to approve funding bills. (The committee also acted on the Military Construction and Veterans Affairs bill.) The committee has been off to a fast start, holding more than 100 hearings this year on various federal programs. Rogers described his and Ranking Member Nita Lowey’s (D-NY) commitment to the committee’s historic tradition of congeniality. With changes in the Senate, Rogers spoke optimistically of sending individual bills to the White House.

“This is a strong bill” Energy and Water Development Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman Mike Simpson (R-ID) said when introducing the $35.4 billion bill. Minority Member Marcy Kaptur (D-OH) thanked Simpson for his cooperation in drafting the bill, but noted the difficulty the subcommittee had working within its funding allocation.

The Appropriations Committee has posted the draft report accompanying its funding bill with extensive language and tables on NNSA. Introductory material is found on page 6 and 7, stating “As in previous years, the Committee considers the national defense programs run by the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) to be the Department of Energy’s top priority. The recommendation strongly supports the Department’s proposals to modernize the nuclear weapons stockpile, increase investment in the NNSA’s infrastructure, prevent the proliferation of nuclear materials, and provide for the needs of the naval nuclear propulsion program.” The committee’s recommendations regarding the NNSA’s programs are found on pages 113-124; also see funding tables on pages 147-158.

Total National Nuclear Security Administration:
The FY 2015 appropriation was $11,399.0 million
The FY 2016 request is $12,565.4 million, an increase of $1,166.4 million or 10.2 percent
The House bill provides $12,329.0 million, an increase of $930.0 million or 8.2 percent

Within NNSA are the following selected programs:

Weapons Activities:
The FY 2015 appropriation was $8,180.4 million
The FY 2016 request is $8,847.0 million, an increase of $666.6 million or 8.2 percent
The House bill provides $8,713.0 million, an increase of $532.6 million or 6.5 percent

Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation:
The FY 2015 appropriation was $1,615.3 million
The FY 2016 request is $1,940.3 million, an increase of $325.0 million or 20.1 percent
The House bill provides $1,907.6 million, an increase of $292.3 million or 18.1 percent

Naval Reactors:
The FY 2015 appropriation was $1,233.8 million
The FY 2016 request is $1,375.5 million, an increase of $141.7 million or 11.5 percent
The House bill provides $1,320.4 million, an increase of $86.6 million or 7.0 percent