“ The Trump administration will furlough about 1,400 employees of the agency that manages the U.S. nuclear arsenal by Monday due to a shutdown. Source: Reuters citing US Department of Energy, Politico Details: Energy Secretary Chris Wright said on social media that the furloughs would affect employees of the National Nuclear Security Administration who are “critical to modernizing our nuclear arsenal.” According to Politico, the number of furloughed NNSA employees will reach about 80%. An agency official said nearly 400 employees will remain at NNSA, a division of the Energy Department that also works around the world to keep nuclear materials safe, including in Ukraine, where Russia is at war. Federal NNSA personnel oversee about 60,000 contractors who maintain and test weapons at national laboratories and other locations throughout the United States. According to Wright, the agency will not place emergency workers on furlough. But he noted that the situation with forced vacations could affect the nuclear weapons modernization program aimed at replacing outdated weapons. “We’re just gaining momentum in this area,” he said of the program. “If all the employees don’t get paid and don’t go to work, it won’t do any good.” Reuters adds that according to an April report by the independent Congressional Budget Office, the cost of maintaining and modernizing US nuclear forces is projected to rise to $946 billion by 2034, a 25% increase over the 2023 estimate. Nuclear weapons costs are split between the Pentagon and the NNSA. The Energy Department said Wright will visit the National Nuclear Security Center in Nevada on Monday to discuss the shutdown’s impact on the nuclear arsenal. Background: The U.S. government largely shut down on Oct. 1 — a so-called shutdown — as deep partisan divisions prevented Congress and the White House from reaching a funding agreement. On Wednesday, the US Senate blocked for the ninth time a bill passed by the House of Representatives on the temporary funding of the federal government, necessary to end the government “shutdown”, which has lasted for more than two weeks. The Treasury Department estimates that the shutdown is costing the US economy $15 billion a day, but Republicans and Democrats stand firm, showing no signs of compromise.”, — write: www.pravda.com.ua
Chris Wright, photo: Getty Images Source: Reuters citing US Department of Energy, Politico
Details: Energy Secretary Chris Wright said on social media that the furloughs would affect employees of the National Nuclear Security Administration, who are “critical to modernizing our nuclear arsenal.”
Advertising:
According to Politico, the number of furloughed NNSA employees will reach about 80%.
An agency official said nearly 400 employees will remain at NNSA, a division of the Energy Department that also works around the world to keep nuclear materials safe, including in Ukraine, where Russia is at war.
Federal NNSA personnel oversee about 60,000 contractors who maintain and test weapons at national laboratories and other locations throughout the United States.
According to Wright, the agency will not place emergency workers on furlough.
But he noted that the situation with forced vacations could affect the nuclear weapons modernization program aimed at replacing outdated weapons.
“We’re just gaining momentum in this area,” he said of the program. “If all the employees don’t get paid and don’t go to work, it won’t do any good.”
Reuters adds that according to an April report by the independent Congressional Budget Office, the cost of maintaining and modernizing US nuclear forces is projected to rise to $946 billion by 2034, a 25% increase over the 2023 estimate. Nuclear weapons costs are split between the Pentagon and the NNSA.
The Energy Department said Wright will visit the National Nuclear Security Center in Nevada on Monday to discuss the shutdown’s impact on the nuclear arsenal.
Prehistory:
- The U.S. government largely shut down on Oct. 1 — a so-called shutdown — as deep partisan divisions prevented Congress and the White House from reaching a funding agreement.
- On Wednesday, the US Senate blocked for the ninth time a bill passed by the House of Representatives on the temporary funding of the federal government, necessary to end the government “shutdown”, which has lasted for more than two weeks. The Treasury Department estimates that the shutdown is costing the US economy $15 billion a day, but Republicans and Democrats stand firm, showing no signs of compromise.