Senate Hearing on 2017 National Nuclear Security Administration Budget

• •The President's fiscal year 2017 budget request for the NNSA is $12.9 billion, a 2.9 percent increase over 2016.
• •The NNSA manages three major construction projects: the Uranium Facility (Tennessee), the MOX Fuel Fabrication Facility (South Carolina), and the Plutonium Facility (New Mexico).
• •The Uranium Facility project is capped at $6.5 billion with a completion deadline of 2025.
• •The NNSA has proposed stopping construction of the MOX Fuel Fabrication Facility in favor of a 'Dilute and Disposal' process.
• •The budget includes $1.3 billion for four ongoing nuclear weapons life extension programs.
• •The Naval Reactors program currently supports 73 submarines and 10 aircraft carriers, totaling 97 operating reactors.
• •The subcommittee requires that the design of the Uranium Facility be at least 90 percent complete before construction begins.

The committee is evaluating a $12.9 billion budget request for nuclear security, which includes funding for major construction projects in Tennessee, South Carolina, and New Mexico, as well as the maintenance of the nation's nuclear weapons stockpile and naval reactor programs.

Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.