Number: RL33256
Title: Nuclear Weapons Complex Reconfiguration: Analysis of an Energy Department Task Force Report
Authors: Jonathan Medalia, Foreign Affairs, Defense, and Trade Division 
Abstract: The U.S. nuclear weapons complex (the Complex) consists of eight government-owned, contractor-operated sites (see Appendix) that study, maintain, and disassemble U.S. nuclear weapons. The National Nuclear Security Agency (NNSA), a semiautonomous part of the Department of Energy (DOE), manages it. Some in Congress have expressed concern that the U.S. nuclear stockpile and the Complex are becoming increasingly difficult and costly to maintain, that security costs are rising sharply, and that the Complex is not sufficiently responsive to the needs of its "customer," the Department of Defense (DOD). Further, they maintain, it is difficult for Congress to judge the merits of various large expenditures for the Complex, such as for major research facilities, without a long-term road map. (In this report, "site" refers to an entire laboratory or plant, or the Nevada Test Site, while "facility" refers to a structure within a site, such as for production of a specific item or for experiments or computation.) To address these concerns, the House Energy and Water Development Appropriations Subcommittee asked the Secretary of Energy to conduct a study of the Complex looking out 25 years, and to make recommendations on restructuring the Complex.
Pages: 39
Date: February 1, 2006