US agency that protects America’s nuclear arsenal to furlough workers
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Energy Secretary Chris Wright said the shutdown may compromise a programme to replace the US’ ageing nuclear weaponry.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Tim Balk
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WASHINGTON – The federal agency responsible for managing the US arsenal of nuclear bombs and warheads plans to furlough 1,400 workers by Oct 17, as the government shutdown’s effects stretch into a third week.
The Energy Department said on Oct 17 that about 400 workers would remain at the agency, the National Nuclear Security Administration, to protect “property and the safety of human life”, the department said in a statement.
The agency, which is semi-autonomous but overseen by the Energy Department, was created in 2000.
It is responsible for maintaining the US nuclear stockpile and for preventing the proliferation of nuclear weapons around the world. Its precursors include the Atomic Energy Commission and the Energy Research and Development Administration.
The agency employs nearly 100,000 contractors and subcontractors, according to the Energy Department. It had never furloughed any government employees during a government shutdown, the department said.
“We are left with no choice this time,” Mr Ben Dietderich, a spokesman for the Energy Department, said in an e-mail. “We’ve extended funding as long as we could.”
The department said the agency’s Office of Secure Transportation, which moves nuclear weapons and materials, had funding to operate until Oct 27.
Energy Secretary Chris Wright will visit a nuclear security station on Oct 20 to discuss the effects the government shutdown
In an interview with Bloomberg News, Mr Wright said the US nuclear stockpile would remain secure, but that the government shutdown could compromise a programme to replace ageing nuclear weaponry.
The Congressional Budget Office has estimated that the plans to modernise the US nuclear arsenal will cost more than US$900 billion (S$1.2 trillion) over the coming decade.
During US President Donald Trump’s second term, his administration has pursued a sharp increase in spending on the National Nuclear Security Administration.
Representative Mike Rogers, a Republican and chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, expressed alarm at the impending furloughs.
“These are not employees that you want to go home,” he said at a news conference on Oct 17. “They’re managing and handling a very important strategic asset for us. They need to be at work and be paid.” NYTIMES
