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Wednesday, March 5, 2014

FY2015 Budget Request: Preserving President Obama’s Nuclear Security Vision

NNSA Press Release
FY2015 Budget Request: Preserving President Obama’s Nuclear Security Vision
Mar 4, 2014

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The President’s FY2015 Budget Request for the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), delivered to Congress today, includes $11.7 billion to support NNSA’s continued efforts to keep the American people safe by modernizing the U.S. nuclear stockpile, executing an aggressive international nuclear nonproliferation agenda and supporting U.S. Navy requirements.

“NNSA’s budget reaffirms the President’s commitment to nuclear security and nonproliferation. The FY15 request provides the resources we need to modernize and maintain an aging nuclear weapons stockpile and supporting infrastructure, keep dangerous nuclear material out of the hands of proliferators and terrorists, respond to a nuclear or radiological emergency and ensure that our nuclear Navy has the power it needs to sail the globe,” said NNSA Acting Administrator Bruce Held. “NNSA has an enduring responsibility to steward the taxpayer’s dollar effectively and efficiently, which is why we are pursuing mission-effective and cost-efficient solutions to the most high risk nuclear security challenges facing our country.”

The budget request allows the NNSA to fund activities that deliver on the President’s nuclear vision while also recognizing that NNSA must continue to seek efficiencies in the way it operates and ensure that it get the most out of its infrastructure investments.

The $11.7 billion request represents an increase in funding relative to the FY2014 enacted and FY2013 annualized Continuing Resolution (CR) levels and builds on last year’s jointly conducted planning process with the Department of Defense to meet the goals of the Nuclear Posture Review within the current fiscal constraints of the Bipartisan Budget Act. The request ensures a safe, secure and reliable nuclear deterrent through our stockpile Life Extension Programs (LEPs); continues to make the world a safer place by securing vulnerable nuclear materials around the world; ensures the safe and reliable operation of the Navy’s nuclear powered fleet; and provides world class nuclear counterterrorism and emergency response tools.

It requests $8.3 billion for the Weapons Activities appropriation, up $534 million from FY2014, including $2.7 billion to modernize the stockpile, particularly the B61 LEP; $1.7 billion to strengthen the science, technology and engineering base in support of life extension activities; and $2.4 billion to keep the President’s commitment to modernize the NNSA’s nuclear security capabilities, including continued design activities for the Uranium Processing Facility. It includes $1.6 billion for NNSA nonproliferation efforts and reflects the decision to place the MOX project in cold standby to further study more efficient options for plutonium disposition. Finally, the budget request includes $1.4 billion for Naval Reactors, up $282 million from FY2014, to support our naval nuclear propulsion systems, including three major initiatives: the Ohio-class Replacement submarine; refueling of the Land-Based Prototype reactor; and the Spent Fuel Handling Recapitalization Project.

34 comments:

Anonymous said...

As with all "President's" budgets, it is dead on arrival. Presidents should read the Constitution. Presidents have no role in the budget process except to sign or veto. Whatever staff salaries and expenses are expended to produce this joke are just "the King" making noise, as usual.

Anonymous said...

March 5, 2014 at 7:15 PM

The Budget and Accounting Act of 1921 requires the President to submit a budget request to Congress for each fiscal year which is the 12-month period beginning on October 1 and ending on September 30 of the next calendar year.

Anonymous said...

Unconstitutional law that created the OMB and the GAO. Under the constitution, the House must originate all spending bills. This law just gave away authority from Congress to the Executive Branch, as continues apace today.

Anonymous said...

It's not a bill, it's a budget request. Something strange in that tea you drank at the party.

Anonymous said...

So who has a link to the complete request? Even if it gets changed over the next year (it will), it does say a lot about administration priorities.

Anonymous said...

According to today's news, the President's budget "request" has been declared "dead on arrival" by all concerned in Congress.

Anonymous said...

Can any of you say budget cuts to LLNL until the national debt is paid in full?

Anonymous said...

Oh you made me spill my coffee. The debt will never be paid in full, and it's not even important that it is.

Anonymous said...

The debt will never be paid in full, and it's not even important that it is.

March 6, 2014 at 10:50 AM

Absolutely correct. The ability to borrow gives the federal government much more flexibility than state governments have. It is essential to borrow in order to effectively run the country, much as it is essential for businesses to borrow day-to-day in order to stay in business. That said, borrowing 40 cents of every dollar spent over the long term will result inevitably in the loss of that option through lowered credit rating due to apparent inability to repay, just as it would for a business. Fiscal restraint and responsibility are also essential.

Folks like to cite the ratio of debt to GDP, but what they really mean, whether they know it or not, is the ratio of debt to *ability to tax* in order to repay that debt. Government obviously cannot collect the entire GDP in taxes, so it is a false measure. The real measure is subtle, imprecise, and complex, and is in the minds of the US and foreign credit-rating agencies.

Anonymous said...

I say cut all spending and borrowing until the debt is paid in full and by no means increase taxes for any reason on anyone

Anonymous said...

I say cut all spending and borrowing until the debt is paid in full and by no means increase taxes for any reason on anyone

March 6, 2014 at 5:50 PM

You are extremely ignorant of economics and despite knowing that, you persist with your blatherings. Why should anyone pay you any attention? At least tell us your math: what should be cut and by how much, and how much would those cuts affect the debt? Do some homework for a change, although you never did any in school. PS - demanding cuts in something without specifying the dollars that would save doesn't count.

Anonymous said...

Macro-Economics 101:

The government's borrowing isn't that different from borrowing by a household. If a family has secure cash-flow to cover the interest payments on their debt then they can keep the debt floating for as long as they like.

While the current federal debt level at $16 T seems high, our government is still well within the bounds of being able to service the interest payments ** so long as interest rates continue to remain low ** so that roll-over of expiring bonds can be replaced with more low interest debt.

That's the key. Interest rates must remain low for this scheme to work. However, since the interest rates are largely controlled by the Fed, you can reasonably guess that our Central Bank will work hard to keep these rates ultra-low for many years to come.

Eventually, America will face a severe shortage of workers as the "Baby Boom" generation retires en-mass whether they want to retire or not. That period is starting now but will begin to accelerate in a few years, say by 2020. When that happens, the shortage of workers will cause wages to go up and the infamous "wage/price" inflation spiral will begin.

Here's a hint: The federal government is planning on this inflation period to occur at some future date so that they can cheapen our dollars and pay back the trillions owed to our bond holders with a devalued (cheapened) currency. It's one of the oldest games in the book and has been used time and again by governments all over the world. The fact that our US dollars are the world's "reserve currency" (i.e., the 'value' used to facilitate most global transactions) works hugely in America's favor in pulling off this scheme.

As for now, the compression of wages is causing slight impulses of deflationary action throughout the US economy and minor deflation is not all that bad. Deflation can be the friend of retired people because it means that you can buy goods that are declining in price with your fixed income dollars in retirement. It is especially advantageous if you worked when wages were relatively high and are now living off a pension based on your previous "high" salary.

For additional college credit, google the term "petrodollar" and you'll learn what really drives most American foreign policy and our wars. It has little to do with "spreading freedom" and lots to do with achieving economic benefits in the growing global markets. As Henry Kissinger would say, it's all about "realpolitiks".

Anonymous said...

You are so very sure of your predictions. I wonder why. Economists are notoriously lousy at predictions. Your final screed on "petrodollars" marks you as a MoveOn/Occupy type who just hates capitalism and all that it stands for. The US is about to become a net exporter of oil, and already is for natural gas. At least get your terminology right: it's "realpolitik" not "realpolitiks."

Anonymous said...

"Eventually, America will face a severe shortage of workers as the "Baby Boom" generation retires en-mass whether they want to retire or not. That period is starting now but will begin to accelerate in a few years, say by 2020. When that happens, the shortage of workers will cause wages to go up and the infamous "wage/price" inflation spiral will begin. "

False, we will have mass immigration to fill the gap.

Anonymous said...


Someone asked for the links. Here they are. As of today, only the Budget Highlights and a few others are "live" (meaning there are actually posted documents and not dead links where documents will eventually get posted).

http://energy.gov/cfo/downloads/fy-2015-budget-justification
FY 2015 Budget Justification

The following document reflects the FY 2015 Department of Energy's Budget Request to Congress:
FY 2015 Highlights - A high-level narrative summarization of the Department's budget request
Summary Table - A short summarization of the request by appropriation account and by first tier organization (not yet available)
Control Tables - A longer summarization of the request at the decision unit level available in order by appropriation account or in first tier organization order (not yet available)
Statistical Table - Shows the budget request at the level at which Congress controls our spending and is more detailed than the Control table (not yet available)
Laboratory Table - Summarizes funding by decision unit and by the laboratories at which DOE does work (not yet available)
State Table - Summarizes funding by decision unit and by each State at which DOE does work (not yet available)
Detailed Budget Justifications - Energy and Water Development Appropriations
Volume 1
National Nuclear Security Administration (not yet available)
Weapons Activities (not yet available)
Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation (not yet available)
Naval Reactors (not yet available)
Federal Salaries and Benefits (not yet available)
Volume 2
Other Defense Activities (not yet available)
Departmental Administration (not yet available)
Inspector General (not yet available)
Working Capital Fund
Crosscutting Activities (not yet available)
Pensions (not yet available)
Volume 3
Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (not yet available)
Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability (not yet available)
Nuclear Energy (not yet available)
Fossil Energy Research and Development (not yet available)
Naval Petroleum and Oil Shale Reserves (not yet available)
Strategic Petroleum Reserve (not yet available)
Northeast Home Heating Oil Reserves (not yet available)
Elk Hills School Lands Fund (not yet available)
Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing Loan Program (not yet available)
Title 17 Innovative Technology Loan Guarantee Program (not yet available)
Office of Indian Energy Policy and Programs (not yet available)
Energy Information Administration (not yet available)
Volume 4
Science (not yet available)
Advanced Research Projects Agency - Energy (ARPA-E)
Volume 5
Environmental Management (not yet available)
Volume 6
Southeastern Power Administration
Southwestern Power Administration
Western Area Power Administration
Bonneville Power Administration

Anonymous said...

ummm last year our net migration (documented and undocumented) was 3.62 per 1000 citizens. That is not a "mass immigration" to fill any gap!

Anonymous said...

That is not a "mass immigration" to fill any gap!

March 8, 2014 at 1:51 PM

The demographic shift in workers caused by Baby Boom retirements and the ongoing failure of the US educational system will force drastic changes in immigration policies, most notably increases in quotas for EB visas and increases in quotas and duration for H1B visas.

Since we are failing to create our future workforce in the US we will have to import it. Get prepared for English being a second language everywhere in the country.

Anonymous said...

"Get prepared for English being a second language everywhere in the country."

This blog is proof that it already is.

Anonymous said...

"Your final screed on "petrodollars" marks you as a MoveOn/Occupy type who just hates capitalism and all that it stands for." - 8:52 PM

Label much? What screed? I like capitalism. I enjoy seeing small and medium size business succeed with hard work and the owners getting their monetary rewards. Large business that are honest and well run can also be a huge asset to this nation.

However, what we have here in America is not capitalism. It's more like a corporate kleptocracy that has bought off our political system. If that marks me as "Occupy Wall Street" then count me guilty. However, I found the Occupy protests to be totally unfocused and down right laughable in scope. Not a group I'd want to support.

I want to see less regulation, not more. It's the incredibly complex government regulations that allow the corporate world to use their army of lawyers to walk all over small & medium size businessmen. They use political connections to both federal and state regulatory bodies to constantly increase regulatory complexity and then use this regulatory complexity as an unfair economic weapon against their much smaller competition.

The Fed and their manipulation of our US economy into bigger and bad-er (yeah, I know, it's not a legit word) Boom/Bust cycles is yet another example of regulatory excess here in America. The Fed is owned by the huge banks and works primarily for their benefit, not ours. Get rid of it.

If you can't guess by now, I'm a libertarian. A big dose of freedom, common sense and simplicity is what this country badly needs. Get rid of the bloated bureaucracies and the growing hordes of entitled "Toll Road Keepers" who leech off of our swag-based American political system. Stop the encroachment of our growing "surveillance state" and the illegal bugging of the America public. Get back to the amazing Constitutional freedoms that our Founding Fathers based this nation upon. They knew what they were doing.




Anonymous said...

"If you can't guess by now, I'm a libertarian"

If you are really a libertarian than you must respect the capitalistic systems. In such a system there are winners and losers, the system evolves over time and some people will get more and more and some less and less. That is the name of the game you either a hunter or a Gazelle.
If you are loser than do not blame the system. All you people that have a problem with LLNLs and LANs should have become managers or leaders, rather than the workers. The world has changed and you need to change with it or shut up. We are not going back folks. In the new economy there is a fortune to made if you have what it takes. Perhaps you are happier not stepping up to the plate and being a winner, fine you will still get keep a reasonable lifestyle compared to the most of the world but please shut up. Do not blame the managers at LLNs for making it big, you would have done the same thing if given the choice.

Anonymous said...

All might be forgiven if management was effective, but self-evidently it is not. From the top LLNS people down to at least the mid-level managers, who do their bidding and fail to feed up and just feed down. You absolutely have to blame the managers, because there is no one else to blame.

Anonymous said...

"All might be forgiven if management was effective, but self-evidently it is not. From the top LLNS people down to at least the mid-level managers, who do their bidding and fail to feed up and just feed down. You absolutely have to blame the managers, because there is no one else to blame.

March 8, 2014 at 9:13 PM"

I have to call BS on you. The lab is for profit now, if you are in management than part of the profit can be yours. You can move up by pleasing those at the top. The managers are just doing what is best in terms of getting more money for themselves and moving up. I am not saying that is how all for profit places work but it is the way this one works. You cannot blame a managers for trying to get as much of the pie as they can using the rules of the game as they are. The same is true everywhere it is just that rules are different. You may say that the labs are in bad shape however there are significant number of managers who are making the big bucks who think it is working great. There is a corporation who keeps getting 80% more profit plus whatever else they can leverage and to them it is going great. The contract never said anything about having happy productive workers or even serving the United States so you have no say. The message is clear get some, get out, or shut the hell up.

Anonymous said...

What a wonderful point of view, and I hope you truly enjoy working at the lab.

Anonymous said...

If you can't guess by now, I'm a libertarian. A big dose of freedom, common sense and simplicity is what this country badly needs.

"Get rid of ... Stop the encroachment of... Get back to...

March 8, 2014 at 7:59 PM

Inconsistent much? Who exactly are you exhorting to do all those things? Government, right??

I thought libertarians were in favor of leaving people alone. Seems you want to control them. Just another liberal neo-fascist.

Anonymous said...

March 6, 2014 at 7:14 PM


I predict another 1929 or worse and when shit hits the fan everyone will pay for idiots like Obama and his cartel followers. It is going to crash, period. You can not go on going in debt and not pay your BILLS, you also cannot keep growing a $126T of unfunded liability debt. They need to put the brakes on NOW, stop spending, pay off the debt completely and find a way to fund the $126T in UNFUNDED LIABILITIES w/o raising taxes on any one for any reason.

Anonymous said...

That's crazy talk, ignorant too.

Anonymous said...

"I predict another 1929 or worse and when shit hits the fan everyone will pay for idiots like Obama and his cartel followers. It is going to crash, period. You can not go on going in debt and not pay your BILLS, you also cannot keep growing a $126T of unfunded liability debt. They need to put the brakes on NOW, stop spending, pay off the debt completely and find a way to fund the $126T in UNFUNDED LIABILITIES w/o raising taxes on any one for any reason.

March 9, 2014 at 8:46 AM"

That is the plan, the rich are going to get much richer when this happens, and this is what they want. Obama has nothing to do with this, this has been in works for a long long time.

Anonymous said...

I think your windmill is already dead.

Anonymous said...

Who says that Obama hates America? Not all Muslims hate America.

Anonymous said...

http://energy.gov/cfo/downloads/fy-2015-budget-justification
FY 2015 Budget Justification

I checked the link earlier today, and no budget request details are available. Most of the documents are still not posted.

Unknown said...

Prodigy oil and gas is watching developments of reserves in and across the borders of these United States

Anonymous said...

Looks like most details are available now, http://energy.gov/cfo/downloads/fy-2015-budget-justification.

Anonymous said...

"I checked the link earlier today, and no budget request details are available. Most of the documents are still not posted."

Federal workers have shitty health care options, so they are mostly busy trying to get on the Obamacare program before March 31st. No time to waste for posting budget crap !

Anonymous said...

Federal workers have shitty health care options...

March 24, 2014 at 5:04 PM

You are delusional. FEHB offers many, many plans to federal employees, with many, many choices. In all cases, the government picks up at least 72% of the premium, and there are HMOs, PPOs, Health Savings plans, high-deductible plans, many drug plans, nationwide plans, etc. Why do you think all the congressional staff were so upset when Harry Reid made them sign up for Obamacare? Federal employees have the best health care insurance in the country, bar none. Obamacare is a sick joke - wait until next year when everyone with Obamacare has to pay 150% more in premiums than they are paying now because healthy young people are not signing up. The "5 million" that the administration is crowing have recently signed up just happens to be the same number whose previous plans were cancelled by Obamacare. Net result: no increase in the number of new people insured. Epic failure.

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