Many Feds Face Furloughs Twice
Lawmakers Push Retroactive Furlough Pay
How Long Has the Shutdown Lasted?
In Focus: Who Faces Furloughs?
No TSP Contributions During a Shutdown
How Contractors Might Weather a Shutdown
AUTHOR ARCHIVES
New York Wonders Where Nuclear Cleanup Funds Would Come From
September 25, 2013
FROM NEXTGOV
Who -- and what pot of money -- would drive cleanup after a severe nuclear-power-plant incident is a question still left unanswered by the federal government, New York state officials say in a recent legal filing with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Under the Price-Anderson Act, which Congress first passed in ...
EPA Nuclear Event Guidance Draws Heat From Industry, Lawmakers
September 24, 2013
FROM NEXTGOV
The nuclear-power industry and some Senate Democrats are at odds over the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s new nuclear-response guidelines, with some lawmakers concerned the benchmarks don't protect public health while industry officials want to relax the guidance further. The new protective-action guide, which the agency issued in April and accepted ...
Does U.S. Advice on Disposing Fukushima Waste Apply Back Home?
September 13, 2013
FROM NEXTGOV
A presentation the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency made to Japanese officials dealing with the aftermath of the Fukushima power plant disaster is adding to critics’ concerns that the federal government may be looking to relax disposal rules for the type of radioactive waste a nuclear attack or accident in the ...
EPA Documents Raise Doubts Over Intent of New Nuclear-Response Guide
September 13, 2013
FROM NEXTGOV
Newly obtained government documents are prompting concern among critics that Environmental Protection Agency officials are seeking to use the organization’s new guide for nuclear-incident response to relax public health standards, but the agency is denying the claim. The Freedom of Information Act release comes as the agency has yet to ...
Report Flags Weapons Lab Oversight
September 10, 2013
FROM NEXTGOV
A new National Academies of Science report released Tuesday flags some concerns about how the Energy Department oversees its nuclear-weapons laboratories, rekindling debate over controversial proposals by some House Republicans to scale back that oversight. The assessment identifies some issues “that, if not addressed, have the potential to erode the ...
To Counter Nuclear Smuggling, Officials Look to Mobile Detection Technology
August 23, 2013
FROM NEXTGOV
A recently completed White House-led strategic review could shift priorities for a program intended to prevent the smuggling of nuclear-weapon material across international borders, a top U.S. National Nuclear Security Administration official tells Global Security Newswire. Anne Harrington, deputy NNSA administrator for defense nuclear nonproliferation, said in an interview that ...
Reliance on Industry May Have Led to Texas Oversight Lapse, Official Says
July 11, 2013 A reliance on industry to provide information about facilities that handle dangerous chemicals might have contributed to the Homeland Security Department’s failure to regulate the site of a major explosion in Texas earlier this year, a DHS official suggested Wednesday. “It is absolutely a shared responsibility,” David Wulf, director of ...
House Could Withhold DHS Funds While Waiting for Chemical Security Report
May 16, 2013
FROM NEXTGOV
House appropriators are looking to withhold $20 million in fiscal 2014 funds from the Homeland Security Department until it delivers a spending plan and progress report for its beleaguered chemical security program. A spending bill released on Tuesday by the Republican-controlled House Appropriations Committee allocates $77.1 million for the DHS ...
EPA Nominee Declines Comment on Controversial Nuclear Incident Guide
April 11, 2013
FROM NEXTGOV
The Obama administration’s nominee to lead the Environmental Protection Agency declined on Thursday to answer questions about a controversial new guide that suggests public health standards could be relaxed dramatically in the event of a nuclear attack or accident. Asked to comment on concerns that the guide references drinking water ...
EPA Relaxes Public Health Guidelines For Radiological Attacks, Accidents
April 9, 2013
FROM NEXTGOV
After years of internal deliberation and controversy, the Obama administration has issued a document suggesting that when dealing with the aftermath of an accident or attack involving radioactive materials, public health guidelines can be made thousands of times less stringent than what the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency would normally allow. ...
