First Information: House Funding Bill for DOE Office of Science and NNSA
Tomorrow morning the House Energy and Water Development Appropriations Subcommittee will meet to approve its FY 2016 funding bill. The subcommittee released the text of the draft 58-page bill ; the all-important committee report providing detailed funding levels and recommendations for various programs will be released in coming days after the full committee passes the bill. This report will be reviewed in a future FYI.
The subcommittee issued a short summary of the provisions of its bill. Excerpts follow:
Overall Bill:
Subcommittee Chairman Mike Simpson (R-ID) commented:
“This is a responsible bill that prioritizes national security needs and improving our nation’s infrastructure within tight budget caps. It makes critical investments in the maintenance and safety of our nuclear weapons stockpile, while also funding important infrastructure projects and research that will increase U.S. economic competitiveness and growth.”
“The bill includes $5.1 billion for science research -- an increase of $29 million above the fiscal year 2015 enacted level. This funding will help strengthen the nation’s science and technology innovation by supporting basic energy research, development of high-performance computing systems, and research into the next generation of clean energy sources. This basic research will lay the groundwork for more efficient and practical domestic energy solutions to help reduce the nation’s dependence on foreign oil, and help promote future growth in American businesses and industries.”
No further detail is known about Office of Science programs.
National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA):
“The bill provides a total of $12.3 billion for DOE’s nuclear weapons security programs, including Weapons Activities, Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation, and Naval Reactors. This is a $922 million increase above the fiscal year 2015 level. This critical national defense funding will allow the U.S. to uphold its nuclear deterrence posture and prepare for current and future nuclear threats by maintaining the safety and readiness of our nuclear stockpile. This includes:
$8.7 billion for Weapons Activities -- $526 million above the fiscal year 2015 enacted level;
$1.3 billion for Naval Nuclear Reactors -- $86 million above the fiscal year 2015 enacted level; and
$1.9 billion for Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation -- $291 million above the fiscal year 2015 enacted level.”
Within NNSA:
Weapons Activities: The current budget is $8,180.4 million. The FY 2016 request was $8,847.0 million, an increase of $666.6 million or 8.2 percent.
Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation: The current budget is $1,615.3 million. The FY 2016 was $1,940.3 million, an increase of $325.0 million or 20.1 percent.
Naval Reactors: The current budget is $1,233.8 million. The FY 2016 request was $1,375.5 million, an increase of $141.7 million or 11.5 percent.
No further detail is known about NNSA programs.
