    [Senate Hearing 115-]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]

        ENERGY AND WATER DEVELOPMENT APPROPRIATIONS FOR FISCAL YEAR 2019

                                  ----------

                           WEDNESDAY, APRIL 11, 2018

                                           U.S. Senate,
               Subcommittee of the Committee on Appropriations,
                                                        Washington, DC.
        The subcommittee met at 2:30 p.m. in room SD-138, Dirksen
    Senate Office Building, Hon. Lamar Alexander, (chairman)
    presiding.
        Present: Senators Alexander, Hoeven, Kennedy, Feinstein,
    Murray, Tester, Udall, Shaheen, and Merkley.

                              DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

    STATEMENT OF HON. RICK PERRY, SECRETARY
    ACCOMPANIED BY:
            HON. LISA E. GORDON-HAGERTY, UNDER SECRETARY FOR
                NUCLEAR SECURITY ADMINISTRATOR, NATIONAL NUCLEAR
                SECURITY ADMINISTRATION
            HON. PAUL M. DABBAR, UNDER SECRETARY FOR SCIENCE
            HON. JOHN VONGLIS, CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER

                  opening statement of senator lamar alexander

        Senator Alexander. Thank you for your patience. The
    subcommittee on Energy and Water Development will please come
    to order.
        I brought with me the walking stick from Sam Houston. He
    left this stick in Nashville, Tennessee at the Hermitage when
    he brought his son to see Andrew Jackson as Jackson lay dying
    and Jackson died just before Houston arrived. Reason I brought
    it was because Houston grew up in Maryville, Tennessee and was
    trained in Tennessee as Governor before he became the Governor
    of Texas. And I always mention that to Secretary Perry, who is
    the longest-serving Governor of Texas ever, and I bring the
    stick with me in case we need it.
        So, usually we don't. But it's a great privilege to work
    with Secretary Perry, who is off to a very quick start with his
    background in government and politics and coming from an energy
    State.
        It's a privilege to continue to work with Senator
    Feinstein, who sometimes is chairman and sometimes is vice
    chairman of the subcommittee, but whether--it really doesn't
    make much difference because we take our differences of opinion
    and we find a way to work them out. And usually we are the
    first appropriations bill on the Senate floor and usually we
    pass our bill. And I hope that we will be able to do that this
    year since we have, we already know the overall number of the
    budget. It ought to make it easier for us as a Senate to do it
    all.
        Today's hearing will review the Administration's fiscal
    year 2019 budget request for the Department of Energy and the
    National Nuclear Security Administration, NNSA. This is the
    subcommittee's first budget hearing this year. We will have
    hearings on the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the Corps of
    Engineers and the Bureau of Reclamation budget requests over
    the next 2 weeks.
        In the past the subcommittee has had one hearing to examine
    the Department of Energy's budget request and a separate
    hearing to examine the NNSA budget request. This year, because
    of time constraints, we have combined both hearings into one. I
    appreciate the Secretary's flexibility in accommodating our
    hearing schedule this year.
        I will then recognize each Senator for up to 5 minutes for
    an opening statement alternating between the majority and
    minority in the order in which they arrive. Then we will turn
    to Secretary Perry for his testimony on behalf of both the
    Department and NNSA. And at the conclusion of Secretary Perry's
    testimony I'll recognize Senators for a five minute round of
    questions.
        First, I'd like to thank the Secretary, as I just did, for
    being here and being responsive to us. I want to thank Senator
    Feinstein, whom I just did, for the privilege of working with
    her. She's a former mayor, she's result-oriented. I'm a former
    governor, so am I, and we try to get results.
        Our witnesses today include Secretary Rick Perry, Secretary
    of Energy. Ms. Lisa Gordon-Hagerty, the Administrator of the
    National Nuclear Security Administration. The Secretary is also
    accompanied by Mr. Paul Dabbar, the Under Secretary of Energy
    for Science. And John Vonglis, the Chief Financial Officer at
    the Department of Energy.
        I'm very pleased with the fiscal year 2018 energy and water
    appropriations bill, which provided $6.26 billion, record
    funding in appropriations bills, for the third consecutive year
    for the Office of Science which supports the Department of
    Energy's 17 national laboratories.
        The bill also included $353 million for ARPA-E (Advanced
    Research Projects Agency--Energy) to continue the important
    research and development investments in high impact energy
    technologies, another record funding level. The bill also
    supported our national security programs providing $14.7
    billion for the National Nuclear Security Administration,
    including record funding levels for our weapons program and
    naval reactors.
        Now we are turning our--while I'm at it, I would like to
    say about that bill, there's been some discussion about the
    spending levels in the omnibus bill 2 weeks ago. I didn't like
    the process. I don't like the process when we do our work in
    the appropriations committee and then the full Senate doesn't
    have a chance to offer amendments on the floor.
        The main problem is that Democratic Senators object to
    Republican Senators' amendments and then Republican Senators
    object to Democratic Senators' amendments. There's an old
    practice in the Senate of actually voting on amendments, which
    would be a good practice we might try to introduce this year.
        As far as the funding levels in the omnibus spending bill,
    it is true, in my opinion, that we have a very significant
    Federal debt problem, but you are shooting at the wrong target
    when you shoot at the appropriations spending.
        The problem with the Federal debt is with the mandatory
    spending. The appropriations spending, which we approved 2
    weeks ago, is a 2 year budget agreement that spends $296
    billion over the next 2 years. According to the Congressional
    Budget Office report, that's about a 2.7 percent average growth
    rate, which is just a little above the inflation rate for the
    next 10 years.
        Over the last 10 years the growth rate was a little below
    the inflation rate. So over that entire 20 years, the last 10
    and the next 10, the growth of the 30 percent of the budget
    that is, that is discretionary spending, that's national
    defense, more than half of it, some of it reflected here in
    this hearing. National parks, national laboratories, national
    institutes of health, opioids, and disasters, all of that
    spending is growing about the rate of inflation. That's not the
    source of the Federal debt problem.
        The source of the Federal debt problem, which neither party
    has been willing to address, is the entitlement programs which
    have gone up at this rate. The entitlement programs, according
    to the same Congressional Budget Office report that said that
    discretionary spending would go up 23 percent over the next 10
    years, said that mandatory entitlement programs would go up
    nearly 100 percent over the next 10 years. Clearly an
    unsustainable, unsustainable level.
        So I think it's important that when we are talking about
    Federal spending that we aim our shots at the right target. And
    we do have good funding levels for the Office of Science, for
    the Corps of Engineers, for a whole variety of programs under
    the jurisdiction of this committee, but they are funding levels
    that we should have and they are within the budget caps and
    they are at a rate of spending increase that's about the level
    of inflation and they are not the source of the Federal debt
    problem.
        Now we are turning our attention to the Administration's
    2019 budget request for the Department of Energy, a Federal
    agency with three critical missions; nuclear security, science
    and energy, and environmental management. We are here today to
    review the Department of Energy's budget request for that year,
    which begins October 1 and is approximately $30.6 billion,
    about 4.3 below what Congress provided in the fiscal year 2018,
    the year in which we are today.
        The budget requests fifteen one--$15 billion for the
    National Nuclear Security Administration, which is $400 million
    more than the fiscal year 2018 enacted level. I'm also pleased
    to see the Department's 2019 budget request prioritizes
    supercomputing. That continues a several years of priority
    through the Obama Administration, through Senator Feinstein's
    chairmanship and my chairmanship of this committee.
        We try to make sure that the United States is first or
    close to first in the world in computing. It includes
    approximately $672 million to deploy exascale systems in the
    early 2020s.
        Unfortunately, the budget request this year proposes to
    decrease spending on federally funded research and development,
    terminates ARPA-E and recommends reduced funding levels below
    what Congress provided last year. $870 million less for the
    Office of Science. $1.6 billion less for the energy efficiency
    and renewal energy. $448 million less for nuclear energy.
        So that's why we are holding this year, to give the
    Secretary an opportunity to discuss that, so Senator Feinstein
    and I, and other members of the committee, can make informed
    decisions as we write the energy and water appropriations bill
    over the next few weeks.
        I'd like to focus my questions on three main areas. Support
    for science and energy research. Number two, safe and effective
    nuclear weapons stockpile. Number three, solving the nuclear
    waste dispute.
        Research funding for the Department of Energy laboratories
    has produced technologies for unconventional natural gas
    development, supercomputing, 3-D printing, nuclear imaging
    devices used for medicine, MRI scanners, optical digital
    recording technologies, batteries and energy storage systems,
    precision detectors, and pharmaceuticals.
        It's hard to think of a major technological advance since
    World War II that hasn't had some sort of Federal research
    support. That's made us a world leader in science and
    technology. It's one important reason why the United States
    produces nearly one out of every four dollars in wealth
    produced in the world.
        A key pillar of our national defense is a strong nuclear
    deterrent. In February, the Administration issued an updated
    nuclear policy, the Nuclear Posture Review. It recommends
    continuing many things we worked on for several years. Things
    that I support, including continuing life extension programs,
    continuing to invest in facilities to maintain our weapons
    stockpile, including the Uranium Processing Facility and the
    plutonium facility.
        I'm pleased to know the department approved the design of
    the nuclear buildings for the uranium facility last month which
    allows the contractor to begin construction. Senator Feinstein
    and I have worked for several years to try to bring that
    facility on time and on budget and we believe that we have.
        The Nuclear Posture Review, which calls for two low-yield
    warheads to be added to the stockpile, I'd like to hear more
    about that today.
        Then there's the nuclear waste stalemate. We need to solve
    this problem. This has been a priority, especially of Senator
    Feinstein, but with my equally strong support over the last
    several years. I compliment her for her leadership. She has
    been especially sensitive to California's needs in this
    respect, as well as to the Country's.
        This year's budget request for the Department of Energy
    includes a $110 million to restart Yucca Mountain and $10
    million to study ways to open an interim storage site or use a
    private interim storage site. I believe Yucca should be a part
    of the solution to the nuclear waste stalemate. Federal law
    designates Yucca Mountain as the Nation's repository for used
    fuel and the commission's own scientists have told us that we
    can safely store nuclear waste there for up to one million
    years.
        But even if Yucca Mountain were open today we would still
    need to look for another permanent repository. We have more
    than enough used fuel to fill Yucca Mountain to its legal
    capacity. So Senator Feinstein and I, along with the leaders of
    the Committee of Energy, Murkowski and Bingaman and Wyden and
    Cantwell, have had a bill to implement the recommendations of
    the President's Blue Ribbon Commission on America's Nuclear
    Future, which we are working to reintroduce this year.
        This legislation compliments Yucca Mountain. It would
    create a new Federal agency to find additional permanent
    repositories and temporary facilities. But the quickest and
    probably least expensive way for the Federal Government to
    start to meet its used nuclear fuel obligations is for the
    Department of Energy to contract with a private storage
    facility for used nuclear fuel.
        Last year the Secretary told the subcommittee that the
    Department of Energy has the authority to take title to used
    nuclear fuel, but you were hesitant, Mr. Secretary, to agree it
    has the authority to store the used fuel in a private facility
    without more direction from Congress. I understand that two
    private companies have submitted applications to the Nuclear
    Regulatory Commission for consolidated storage facilities. One
    in Texas, one in New Mexico. I'll be asking some questions
    about that.
        So, Mr. Secretary, I look forward to working with you, and
    Administrator Gordon-Hagerty, as we begin putting together our
    energy and water appropriations bills. I will need the
    Secretary's assurance that the Department will continue to fund
    projects consistent with Congressional intent in the 2018
    omnibus appropriations bill. And we would also like to hear
    your priorities for the 2019 bill, which will reflect funding
    levels much like the 2018 bill and will provide the department
    with more, not less money than the budget request.
        [The statement follows:]
                 Prepared Statement of Senator Lamar Alexander
        First, I would like to thank Secretary Perry for being here today.
    This is Secretary Perry's second year before the subcommittee.
        I also want to thank Senator Feinstein, with whom I have the
    pleasure to work again this year to draft the Energy and Water
    Appropriations bill.
        Our witnesses today include: Secretary Rick Perry, the Secretary of
    Energy; and Ms. Lisa Gordon-Hagerty, the Administrator of the National
    Nuclear Security Administration.
        The Secretary is also accompanied by Mr. Paul Dabbar, the
    Undersecretary of Energy for Science and John Vonglis, the Chief
    Financial Officer at the Department of Energy.
        I am very pleased with the fiscal year 2018 Energy and Water
    Appropriations bill, which provided $6.26 billion, record funding in a
    regular appropriations bill for the 3rd consecutive year, for the
    Office of Science, which supports the Department of Energy's 17
    national laboratories.
        The 2018 bill included $353 million for ARPA-E, to continue the
    important research and development investments into high-impact energy
    technologies--another record funding level in a regular appropriations
    bill.
        The 2018 bill also supported our national security programs,
    providing $14.7 billion for the National Nuclear Security
    Administration, including record funding levels for our Weapons Program
    and Naval Reactors.
        Now we are turning our attention to the administration's fiscal
    year 2019 budget request for the Department of Energy, a Federal agency
    with three critical missions: nuclear security, science and energy, and
    environmental management.
        We're here today to review the Department of Energy's budget
    request for fiscal year 2019, which begins on October 1st of this year,
    and is approximately $30.6 billion dollars. This amount is about $4.3
    billion below what Congress provided in the fiscal year 2018 Energy and
    Water Appropriations bill for the Department.
        The budget requests $15.1 billion for the National Nuclear Security
    Administration, which is $400 million more than the fiscal year 2018
    enacted level.
        I'm also pleased to see that the Department's 2019 budget request
    prioritizes supercomputing, and includes approximately $672 million to
    deploy exascale systems in the early 2020's.
        Unfortunately the budget request this year again proposes to
    decrease spending on federally funded research and development,
    terminates ARPA-E, and recommends reducing funding levels below what
    Congress provided last year: the Office of Science by $870 million;
    Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy by $1.6 billion; Nuclear Energy
    by $448 million; and Office of Electricity by $91 million.
        And that is why we are holding this hearing: to give Secretary
    Perry an opportunity to discuss the Department's priorities, so Senator
    Feinstein and I can make informed decisions as we begin to write the
    fiscal year 2019 Energy and Water Appropriations bill over the next few
    weeks.
        Governing is about setting priorities, and we always have to make
    some hard decisions to ensure the highest priorities are funded.
        Today, I'd like to focus my questions on three main areas, all with
    an eye toward setting priorities: prioritizing Federal support for
    science and energy research; maintaining a safe and effective nuclear
    weapons stockpile; and solving the nuclear waste stalemate.
        Research funding for Department of Energy laboratories has produced
    technologies for unconventional natural gas development,
    supercomputing, 3D printing, nuclear imaging devices used for medical
    diagnosis, MRI scanners, optical digital recording technology used to
    make DVDs, batteries and energy storage systems for cars and trucks and
    the electric grid, precision detectors, and pharmaceuticals.
        The Department of Energy's research programs have made the United
    States a world leader in science and technology, and these programs
    will help the United States maintain its brainpower advantage to remain
    competitive at a time when other countries are investing heavily in
    research.
        The Federal budget cannot be balanced by cutting discretionary
    spending, which is only 30 percent of Federal spending.
        Mandatory spending, which amounts to more than 63 percent of
    Federal spending, is the cause of the more than $21 trillion Federal
    debt.
        The Federal debt is not the result of Congress overspending on
    science and energy research each year.
        A key pillar of our national defense is a strong nuclear deterrent.
    In February, the administration issued an updated nuclear policy,
    called the Nuclear Posture Review.
        The updated Nuclear Posture Review recommends continuing many of
    the things we have been working on for the last several years--things
    that I support, including continuing Life Extension Programs to make
    sure our current nuclear weapons remain safe and effective, continuing
    to invest in the facilities we need to maintain our nuclear weapons
    stockpile. This includes the Uranium Processing Facility and the
    Plutonium Facility.
        I'm pleased to know the Department approved the design of the
    nuclear buildings for the Uranium Processing Facility last month, which
    allows the contractor to begin construction, and I'll be asking some
    questions about that project today.
        The Nuclear Posture Review also calls for two low yield warheads to
    be added to the stockpile, largely in response to capabilities being
    developed by Russia and other countries.
        I'd like to hear more about that today, and look forward to hearing
    the reasons the administration determined these warheads are needed for
    our national defense.
        To ensure that nuclear power has a strong future in this country,
    we must solve the decades' long stalemate over what to do with used
    fuel from our nuclear reactors.
        Senator Feinstein and I have been working on this problem for
    years, and I'd like to take the opportunity to compliment Senator
    Feinstein on her leadership and her insistence that we find a solution
    to this problem.
        To solve the stalemate, we need to find places to build geologic
    repositories and temporary storage facilities so the Federal Government
    can finally meet its legal obligation to dispose of nuclear waste
    safely and permanently.
        This year's budget request for the Department of Energy includes
    $110 million to restart work for Yucca Mountain repository and $10
    million to study ways to open an interim storage site or use a private
    interim storage site.
        I strongly believe that Yucca Mountain can and should be part of
    the solution to the nuclear waste stalemate. Federal law designates
    Yucca Mountain as the nation's repository for used nuclear fuel, and
    the Commission's own scientists have told us that we can safely store
    nuclear waste there for up to one million years.
        But even if we had Yucca Mountain open today, we would still need
    to look for another permanent repository. We have more than enough used
    fuel to fill Yucca Mountain to its legal capacity.
        So Senator Feinstein and I, along with the leaders of the Committee
    on Energy and Natural Resources, Senator Murkowski and then Senators
    Bingaman, Wyden, and now Senator Cantwell, have a bill to implement the
    recommendations of the President's Blue Ribbon Commission on America's
    Nuclear Future, which we're working to reintroduce this year.
        The legislation complements Yucca Mountain, and would create a new
    Federal agency to find additional permanent repositories and temporary
    facilities for used nuclear fuel.
        But the quickest, and probably the least expensive, way for the
    Federal Government to start to meet its used nuclear fuel obligations
    is for the Department of Energy to contract with a private storage
    facility for used nuclear fuel.
        Last year, you told this subcommittee that the Department of Energy
    has the authority to take title to used nuclear fuel, but you were
    hesitant to agree that it has the authority to store the used fuel at a
    private facility without more direction from Congress.
        I understand that two private companies have submitted applications
    to the NRC for consolidated storage facilities, one in Texas and one in
    New Mexico. I'll be asking some questions about this today.
        I look forward to working with Secretary Perry and Administrator
    Gordon-Hagerty as we begin putting together our Energy and Water
    Appropriations bill for fiscal year 2019.
        I will need the Secretary's assurance that the Department will
    continue to fund projects consistent with congressional intent in the
    fiscal year 2018 Omnibus Appropriations bill.
        I would also like to hear what Secretary Perry's priorities are for
    an fiscal year 2019 Energy and Water Appropriations bill, which will
    reflect funding levels much like the fiscal year 2018 bill, and will
    provide the Department more, not less money, than the budget requests.

        Senator Alexander. I will now recognize Senator Feinstein.

                     STATEMENT OF SENATOR DIANNE FEINSTEIN

        Senator Feinstein. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. And I
    thank you for your remarks about me. I would double them with
    respect to you.
        I've said for many years now that one of the great treats
    of my Senate service has been the ability to work with you and
    to listen to big problems and we have done a lot of that. The
    new Secretary has become a part of that problem-solving.
        Some of them are very difficult to solve, but you've always
    been constructive, you've always been forward-looking, and
    you've always been reasonable. And I can't say that for
    everyone. So thank you very much.
        Mr. Secretary, I want to welcome you. I look forward to
    your statement. So far, what I can see, you've been strong and
    ready and able. And so that's delightful.
        Madam Administrator, I have had the opportunity to have a
    meeting with you, which I very much enjoyed, and look forward
    to working with you particularly on matters of mutual concern.
        And Mr. Dabbar, I would say the same for you as well. So
    thank you very much.
        Mr. Chairman, you were very nice in your remarks about the
    cuts in this budget. But this budget, in parts, is just cut,
    cut, cut. The Administration proposes to cut energy efficiency
    programs by 70 percent. It proposes to cut electricity delivery
    and energy reliability programs by 75 percent. It proposes to
    cut scientific research programs by 14 percent and it proposes
    to entirely eliminate ARPA-E. It even proposes to cut the
    peaceful nuclear energy programs I know you care so much about
    by 37 percent.
        So I am really deeply disappointed in this part of the
    budget that it fails to adhere to the spending cap agreement
    that this Administration has just supported. Instead, it
    proposes to cut $3.9 billion from nondefense programs while
    increasing defense funding for the National Nuclear Security
    Administration. That's not the kind of parity between defense
    and nondefense that Congress just agreed to and that the
    President signed into law.
        Speaking of ever-increasing defense spending at the expense
    of everything else, let me say a few words about the
    Administration's Nuclear Posture Review. In 2010, as part of
    the New START Treaty negotiations in the Senate, Chairman
    Alexander and I agreed to a straight-forward deal. We would
    fund the modernization of our nuclear arsenal in exchange for
    an overall reduction in the number of deployed nuclear
    warheads--nuclear weapons and the specific elimination of the
    B83 warhead.
        In keeping with that agreement, the Obama Administration
    requested $85 billion over 10 years for warhead life extension
    programs, facility upgrades and scientific research activities.
        By the end of this year, Mr. Chairman, this subcommittee,
    both under your leadership and mine, has kept our word and
    appropriated 98 percent of the funds requested, a total of
    $65.6 billion. The only reason it's not a hundred percent is
    because of the imposition of sequestration in 2013.
        With the President's 2019 and projected 2020 request the
    total will reach nearly $89 billion. So we have more than held
    up our end of the bargain. However, the Trump Administration's
    Nuclear Posture Review jeopardizes the Executive Branch's end
    of the bargain by proposing new nuclear weapons and other
    unnecessary and costly changes to our nuclear arsenal.
        I'd like to mention just two of the most egregious
    examples. First, the Nuclear Posture Review proposes to retain
    the B83-1 and the B61-11 nuclear gravity bombs, which were
    supposed to be retired in the 2020s. The exact size is
    classified, which makes for an uninformed discussion. But I can
    say that the B83 is the largest warhead in America's arsenal.
    It is capable of not only wrecking mass destruction and human
    misery on any target country, but it would also create
    devastating problems for innocent neighboring countries.
        Times have changed since World War II. The world is more
    interconnected and knowledgeable about nuclear weapons and I
    simply don't believe the American people would ever sanction
    the use of such a massive weapon capable of such devastating
    destruction.
        In 2013, this subcommittee agreed to the modernization of
    the B61 family of bombs in exchange for the retirement of the
    B83 in the mid 2020s. The ongoing B61 modernization program
    replaces aging components. But, most importantly, it
    consolidates five current variants of the B61 into a single
    model and reduces the overall number of warheads. At the time,
    I expressed concerns about the cost and management of the B61
    Life Extension Program.
        In 2013, I wrote to President Obama saying ``I am concerned
    that the NNSA proposed B61 Life Extension Programs are
    unaffordable and the proposed scope of work is not the lowest
    cost option that meets military requirements.''
        Now, despite my reservations, I relented because I
    understood that the B61 Life Extension Program would lead to a
    reduction in the overall number of nuclear weapons and the
    eventual retirement of the B83 gravity bomb, which was my
    original goal.
        I have a letter here from former Defense Secretary Hagel
    and former Energy Secretary Moniz from 2013. They wrote that
    the B61 Life Extension Program ``would allow us to pursue
    retirement of the B61-11 and the B83 gravity bomb.''
        I'd ask that that letter be included in the record.
        Senator Alexander. It will be.
        [The information follows:]

        Senator Feinstein. Thank you.
        And Frank Kendall, then Chairman of the Nuclear Weapons
    Council wrote to me in 2014 that ``fielding the B61-12 enables
    the retirement of the B83-1 bomb in mid to late 2020s.''
        And I ask consent to add that letter to the record too. And
    also my recent letter to Secretary Perry and Secretary Mattis
    in the record.
        [The information follows:]

        Senator Feinstein. Thank you.
        Mr. Chairman, we had a deal. We agreed to modernize the B61
    in exchange for retiring the B83 and reducing the total number
    of nuclear warheads in the arsenal. Now the Trump
    Administration is reneging on that deal and they aren't even
    providing any justification at all for retaining this huge
    warhead, the B83.
        Why should this subcommittee agree to fund the B61 life
    extension at all if this Administration is just going to retain
    the B61, B83 anyway?
        Mr. Chairman, as I said in my letter to you this week, I'd
    like to work with you in drafting an energy and water
    appropriations bill that adheres to our agreement and keeps in
    place the plan to retire the B83. If we can get rid of this
    gigantic, terrible weapon while ensuring our ongoing national
    security, I feel we will have done something good for the
    American people and for the world.
        And let me say this, Mr. Chairman, this is extremely
    important to me. I'm one of the few people in this room that
    was old enough to remember our dropping the bombs on Hiroshima
    and Nagasaki. I was in California in San Francisco, a little
    girl. I remember reading the San Francisco Chronicle with
    horrible pictures, people running and skin falling off their
    back. And it's followed me my whole life and what I want to do
    is bring some sanity to the issue.
        The size of these bombs, all of which is classified, so we
    can't go out and tell people how big or how small they are. And
    this is very frustrating because the average public doesn't
    know. We can't talk about 3 to 1 in the hedge. And it's not
    necessary to have 3 to 1 in the hedge. So I want to tell both
    you and the Secretary, I will not support the energy and water
    bill now or in the future that violates our agreement and
    retains the B83. The second egregious failing of this
    Administration's Nuclear Posture Review is the proposal for a
    low yield variant of our submarine launched ballistic missile.
    This comes at the eleventh hour of efforts to modernize our sub
    launched missile force. And we already have low-yield options
    in our nuclear arsenal that are already undergoing
    modernization. Why are those insufficient?
        I hope somebody can answer that question. I see a naval
    uniform with a lot of stripes on the sleeve.
        Mr. Chairman, I understand each Administration sets its own
    goals and policies. And that's fine. But Congress is also a co-
    equal branch that should have its own independent priorities
    and this subcommittee should not simply take this latest
    Nuclear Posture Review as gospel.
        For the last 8 years now there has been a bipartisan
    consensus in Congress for maintaining and modernizing our
    nuclear arsenal. And this Chairman and I have worked together
    to do so. And I think we have achieved comity, we have achieved
    agreement. We have been getting the job done, we have been
    getting the funds funded.
        If the Trump Administration wants to throw out the current
    agreement with Congress then let's discuss it all and question
    everything. All the new and expensive facilities, every
    warhead, every science project, let's have a real debate about
    what's really necessary to defend this country and leave the
    world safer for future generations than we found it.
        I'd like to finish with just one more example of the
    inability to stick to prior agreements. It's been widely
    reported in the press that this Administration is considering
    submitting a rescission package to Congress that would undo
    parts of the recently passed 2018 spending bill, the parts that
    the President doesn't like.
        The 2018 spending bill contained things we all liked and
    did not like and that's what happens in a negotiation. A deal
    is a deal. Trying to undo the deal after the fact is really the
    height of bad faith and it would poison the appropriations
    process and imperil our ability to work together to ensure our
    shared priorities are funded in 2019.
        Mr. Secretary, welcome to the heat. I hope you are here
    today to tell me that I'm wrong about the Administration's
    intentions and that you are ready to work with this committee
    to robustly fund the important mission of the Department of
    Energy. I hope you're here to tell us that you will leave your
    department, our country and our world better off than you found
    it when you entered this present office.
        Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
        Senator Alexander. Thank you, Senator Feinstein.
        We will now see if Senator Shaheen, Senator Merkley would
    like to make any comments before we hear the Secretary.
        Senator Shaheen. I will wait until my questioning time.
    Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
        Senator Alexander. Senator Merkley.
        Well, thank you both for being here.
        Mr. Secretary, if you could summarize it in about 7 minutes
    or so that will leave us more time to go back and forth.
        Secretary Perry. I'll try to leave you more time than that,
    sir.
        Senator Alexander. Welcome.

                      SUMMARY STATEMENT OF HON. RICK PERRY

        Secretary Perry. Let me just say how refreshing it is for
    me to have two people on different sides of the aisle, but have
    such great admiration for each other and been working. I've
    been watching you for a lot longer than when I was privileged
    to be the Secretary and I appreciate you both greatly. Working
    with both of your staffs, and you, has been a great privilege
    and I thank you for that. And so let me just say it's a
    privilege and an honor for me to get to sit here in front of
    you as the 14th Secretary of Energy.
        I'm proud to be joined today and, quickly, Lisa is
    relatively new to come on board, but she's not new to the
    business at all. I'm really proud to have her as a colleague
    and be working together. She's headed up the nuclear security
    side of things and Lisa Gordon-Hagerty.
        And Paul Dabbar down on the other end. At one time a young,
    not that you're getting any--not that you're old, Dabbar, but a
    young, bright Naval Academy grad who now finds himself in the
    Office of Science and Under Secretary of Science. And Paul,
    thank you.
        John, thanks for your standing here to my left as well.
    Thank the members of the committee for each of you.
        Mr. Chairman, you mentioned this, but thank you for your
    flexibility in allowing us all to come here and be here
    together. That was very much of a help to us.
        This budget represents a request to the American people,
    through their representatives in Congress, to fund the
    priorities of this department and it underscores the DOE's
    (Department of Energy) commitment to stewardship,
    accountability, service. I hope that our interactions with you
    and other committees of Congress over the past year have
    underscored that commitment.
        Our DOE leadership team has appeared before Congress now 23
    times in 2017 and we are proud of the strong relationship that
    has been built with Congress. This is my fifth hearing in 2018
    and I am very proud of our standard of transparency.
        When I first appeared before this committee last year, I
    committed DOE to advancing several key objectives. I noted at
    that time that we needed to modernize our nuclear weapons
    arsenal, continue addressing the environmental legacy in many
    of your States and further advance domestic energy production,
    better protect our energy infrastructure and accelerate our
    Exascale computing capacity. The fiscal year 2019, $30.6
    billion budget request for the Department, seeks to advance
    these and other goals.
        Mr. Chairman, plain and simple, the United States
    Government has no greater or more solemn duty than to protect
    its citizens. The geopolitical environment has changed and it's
    changed significantly since the 2010 Nuclear Posture Review.
        Because nuclear deterrents is critical to our defense last
    year we promised a much needed upgrading of our arsenal. This
    year we have requested an 8.3 percent increase for that purpose
    and to align ourselves with the President's Nuclear Posture
    Review and the Nuclear Security Strategy.
        The current Nuclear Posture Review supports and improves
    our deterrent policy and existing capabilities to counter
    nuclear threats.
        We are also focusing on addressing the environmental legacy
    left at the Department site which produced the materials that
    helped us into world war and secure the peace. Last year we
    promised to focus on that obligation and this year we are
    requesting additional funds to do so. We also have a duty to
    advance a fundamental mission of our Department and that is
    energy independence for our country.
        And thanks to American ingenuity and innovation we are on
    the cusp of realizing that mission objective for the first time
    since the old shortages of the 1970s. In the coming years we
    are producing an abundance of energy from a diverse number of
    sources. Not only are we becoming energy independent, we are
    also exporting to our friends and our allies and our partners
    as well.
        Just last year we became a net exporter of natural gas.
    Today we are exporting LNG (liquefied natural gas) to 27
    countries on five continents. The Energy Information
    Administration reports that the U.S. LNG exports quadrupled
    from 2016 to 2017. But, in addition to this progress, something
    else has happened. Our environment has become better. Even as
    our economy expanded and energy development reached new heights
    from 2005 to 2017 we lead the world in reducing carbon
    emissions cutting them by 14 percent over that period of time.
    And as I speak, we continue our world-leading performance in
    this arena.
        The lesson is clear, we don't have to choose between
    growing our economy and caring for our environment. By
    embracing innovation we can benefit both. That's the heart of
    the new energy realism doctrine that I recently described.
        To drive further energy innovations we are requesting
    continued funding of our energy program offices as well as more
    funding for research in fossil fuels and nuclear power
    including advanced modular reactors.
        Now, if we have a duty to advance domestic energy
    production, we also have a duty to ensure that our energy
    actually gets delivered without interruption. My great focus as
    the Secretary of Energy is to ensure that our grid is not only
    reliable, but that it's also resilient. That's why last year I
    promised to step up our efforts to protect and maintain
    America's energy infrastructure in the face of all hazards.
        The devastation caused by the 2017 hurricanes and the
    impacts of the electricity sector highlighted the importance of
    improving grid reliability and resilience in the face of
    natural disasters, but we also must protect our energy sector
    from man-made attacks, including cyber attacks. So this year we
    have requested funding increases to strengthen cyber security
    as well as the Department's cyber defenses. We are establishing
    a new office of cyber security, energy security, emergency
    response, which will be lead by a new assistant secretary. We
    must also ensure that when these threats materialize, we have a
    full diversity of fuels to keep our electric grid running. Our
    energy security, our national security depends on a diversity
    of fuel sources that can produce electricity when Americans
    want it and where they need it.
        Technology will help us solve these challenges since much
    of our Nation's greatest technology breakthroughs affecting
    energy have come through our national labs. We need to ensure
    their continued ability to innovate. Fiscal year 2017, our
    national labs won 33 of the prestigious R&D (research and
    development) 100 Awards, including technologies regarding new
    materials, protecting our environment, incorporating renewable
    energy, reliability on the electric grid and sophisticated
    cyber security tools.
        These accomplishments, meaning the people driving our
    innovation agenda and imploring them to reach even higher are
    some of the reasons I've committed to visit each of our
    national labs. I'm especially proud of the work that several of
    our labs, including Oak Ridge, are doing to harness the power
    of their world class supercomputers to increase our ability to
    provide precision medicine. Senator, I mentioned that to you as
    we walked in earlier, needed to improve the health of our
    veterans, our first responders, athletes, moms whose daughter
    play soccer for instance, who have had concussions that this
    committee is well aware of the value of our national labs and
    the promise they bring to our Nation's future.
        I want to thank you and your colleagues for the leadership
    and commitment to advancing science.
        And finally, let me touch on one of our other key
    objectives laid out last year and that is to accelerate efforts
    to develop Exascale computing systems. This year we requested
    nearly a 25 percent increase for this vital area in order to
    keep the United States at the forefront of supercomputing.
        We recently announced a major RFP (Request for Proposal) to
    begin the second phase of our efforts to regain leadership in
    supercomputing. The machines that we will build and deploy will
    be 50 to 100 times faster than any of our current
    supercomputers. They will be housed at Oregon, Oak Ridge and
    Lawrence Livermore National labs. They hold immense potential
    to help us answer the most vexing questions in science,
    medicine and national security.
        Chairman Alexander, in my first year I've gotten to see the
    depth and the breadth of the DOE enterprise and I could not be
    prouder to lead these men and women. I visited 13 of the 17
    national labs, including, Senator Feinstein, as I shared with
    you last week, all four of those in the Bay area. I visited
    WIPP (Waste Isolation Pilot Plant), matter of national security
    site, Pentax, Y-12, the Kansas City National Security Complex,
    McNary Dam, and of course, Hanford.
        At each site one thing is made abundantly clear to me in
    that those who work for the Department of Energy are dedicated,
    they are patriotic and they are committed to serving the
    American people.
        In the end, it's you, the People's elected representatives,
    who will decide how to best allocate the resources of our hard-
    working taxpayers. My commitment to you is that we will do our
    best to use those resources wisely and in the pursuit of the
    vital goals that I've outlined.
        Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I'll be happy to attempt to answer
    any questions.
        Senator Alexander. Thank you, Mr. Secretary.
        We have been joined by Senator Murray and Tester and
    Kennedy.
        We will now begin a round of questions if your schedules
    permit that. We will go ahead with a round of 5 minute----
        Secretary Perry. Yes, sir.
        Senator Alexander [continuing]. Questions.
        Thank you for your testimony. Without objection we will
    include your full written statement as part of the record as
    well as the written statement of Administrator Gordon-Hagerty
    on behalf of the National Nuclear Security Administration.
        [The statements follow:]
                Prepared Statement of Secretary Hon. Rick Perry
        Chairman Alexander, Ranking Member Feinstein, and Members of the
    Subcommittee, it is an honor to appear before you today to discuss the
    President's fiscal year 2019 Budget Request for the Department of
    Energy (``the Department'' or ``DOE'').
        It is a privilege and an honor to serve as the 14th Secretary of
    Energy.
        This budget represents a request to the American people through
    their representatives in Congress to fund the priorities of this
    Department.
        As such, it represents a commitment from all of us at DOE--that we
    will honor the trust of our citizens with stewardship, accountability
    and service.
        As Ronald Reagan reminded us in his First Inaugural, ``We are a
    nation that has a government--not the other way around.''
        When I appeared before this Committee last year, I committed to
    modernize our nuclear weapons arsenal, protect our energy
    infrastructure from cyber and other attacks, achieve exascale
    computing, advance strong domestic energy production, and address
    obligations regarding nuclear waste management and the Nation's nuclear
    legacy.
        This fiscal year 2019 $30.6 billion budget request for the
    Department of Energy (``Budget'') delivers on these commitments.
        The Department's world-leading science and technology enterprise
    generates the innovations to fulfill our mission. Through our 17
    National Laboratories, we engage in cutting-edge research that expands
    the frontiers of scientific knowledge and generates new technologies to
    address our greatest challenges.
        Our National Laboratories are doing outstanding work in many areas,
    and they have a rich history of innovation that has bettered the lives
    of millions across the globe. For example, in fiscal year 2017, the
    National Laboratories won 33 of the prestigious R&D 100 Awards,
    including technologies regarding new materials, protecting our
    environment, incorporating renewable energy reliably on to our electric
    grid, and sophisticated cybersecurity tools. These are but a few
    examples of the work the National Laboratories have done just last year
    to push the boundaries of research, development, and commercialization.
    I have had the opportunity to visit many of the Laboratories over the
    past year, and witness first-hand this outstanding work done by the
    dedicated workforce across the Nation.
        I am especially proud of how our National Laboratories, in working
    with the Department of Veteran's Affairs and other Federal agencies,
    universities, doctors, and researchers, are harnessing the power of our
    world-class supercomputers to improve the health of our veterans. This
    work is part of DOE's proud legacy in the biosciences, and as the
    initiator of the Human Genome Project.
        This Budget proposes over $12 billion in early stage research and
    development (R&D) that will focus the intellectual prowess of our
    scientists and engineers on the development of technologies that the
    ingenuity and capital of America's entrepreneurs and businesses can
    convert into commercial applications and products to improve the lives
    and security of all Americans.
    Restoring the Nuclear Security Enterprise
        The security of the United States and its allies is one of our
    primary DOE missions.
        The Budget fulfills the President's vision of rebuilding and
    restoring our Nation's security through robust investments in the
    Department's nuclear security mission. The Budget provides $15.1
    billion for the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), $2.2
    billion or 16.7 percent above the fiscal year 2017 enacted level.
        The Request makes necessary investments consistent with the
    February 2018 Nuclear Posture Review (NPR) to modernize and rebuild a
    nuclear force and nuclear security enterprise; prevent, counter, and
    respond to nuclear proliferation and terrorism threats; and provide
    safe, reliable, and long-term nuclear propulsion to the Nation's Navy.
        The Budget includes $11.0 billion for Weapons Activities. This $1.8
    billion increase over the fiscal year 2017 enacted level supports
    maintaining the safety, security, and effectiveness of the nuclear
    stockpile; continuing the nuclear modernization program; and
    modernizing NNSA's nuclear security infrastructure portfolio in
    alignment with the NPR.
        The Budget includes $1.9 billion for our ongoing Life Extension
    Programs (LEP) and Major Alterations, a $580 million increase. Funding
    for the W76-1 warhead LEP supports the Navy and will keep the LEP on
    schedule and on budget to complete production in fiscal year 2019. An
    increase of $178 million for the B61-12 LEP will keep us on schedule to
    deliver the First Production Unit (FPU) in fiscal year 2020 to
    consolidate four variants of the B61 gravity bomb and improve the
    safety and security of the oldest weapon system in our nuclear arsenal.
        The Budget also supports the Air Force's Long-Range Stand-Off
    program through an increase of $435 million from fiscal year 2017
    enacted for the W80-4 LEP, to deliver the first production unit in
    fiscal year 2025 of the cruise missile warhead. We also increase
    funding by $23 million for the W88 Alteration 370 to provide the
    scheduled first production unit in fiscal year 2020. The request
    includes $53 million for a replacement for the W78, one of the oldest
    warheads in the stockpile, by 2030.
        The Budget for Weapons Activities also increases investments to
    modernize our nuclear infrastructure. For example, we include $703
    million, a $128 million increase from fiscal year 2017, for
    construction of the Uranium Processing Facility needed to replace
    deteriorating facilities at the Y-12 National Security Complex, as well
    as $27 million for a Tritium Production Capability at Savannah River
    and $19 million for a Lithium Production Capability at Y-12.
        The Weapons Activities Budget request also includes $163 million, a
    $68 million increase from fiscal year 2017 enacted, for NNSA
    collaboration with the Office of Science on the development of exascale
    computer systems, which I address below.
        In the NNSA's Naval Reactors program, the Department has the
    ongoing responsibility to provide militarily effective nuclear
    propulsion plants for Navy vessels and to ensure their safe, reliable
    and long-lived operation. The Budget provides $1.8 billion to support
    the safe and reliable operation of the Navy's nuclear-powered fleet and
    continuation of the Columbia-class submarine program, refueling of the
    Land-Based Prototype reactor, and the Spent Fuel Handling
    Recapitalization Project.
        Today, over 45 percent of the Navy's major combatants are nuclear
    powered. DOE's role in propulsion plants, spent fuel handling, and
    recapitalization is critical to the Navy's ability to conduct its
    mission around the globe.
        The Budget also includes $1.9 billion for the Defense Nuclear
    Nonproliferation (DNN) program to reduce global threats from nuclear
    weapons. This critical national security program prevents the spread of
    nuclear and radiological materials, advances technologies that detect
    nuclear and radiological proliferation worldwide, and eliminates or
    secures inventories of surplus materials and infrastructure usable for
    nuclear weapons.
        The Budget continues termination activities for the Mixed Oxide
    Fuel Fabrication Facility project proposed in the fiscal year 2018
    Request, providing $220 million for use toward an orderly and safe
    closure of the project. The Budget also includes $59 million for the
    continuation of preliminary design and the initiation of long-lead
    procurements for the Surplus Plutonium Disposition project in support
    of the dilute and dispose strategy.
        The Budget provides $319 million for Nuclear Counterterrorism and
    Incident Response, $47 million above fiscal year 2017 enacted, to work
    domestically and around the world to improve our ability to respond to
    radiological or nuclear incidents, in conjunction with other agencies
    in a broader U.S. Government effort.
        Finally, the Budget includes $423 million for the Federal workforce
    at the NNSA. This $35 million increase is essential to ensuring our
    world-class workforce of dedicated men and women can effectively
    oversee NNSA's critical national security missions.
    Securing Against Cyber Threats
        Among the most critical missions at the Department is to develop
    science and technology that will ensure Americans have a resilient
    electric grid and energy infrastructure. Protecting this infrastructure
    means it has to be resilient and secure to defend against the evolving
    threat of cyber and other attacks.
        Unfortunately, cyberattacks pose an ever-increasing threat to the
    Nation's networks, data, facilities, and infrastructure. A reliable and
    resilient power grid is critical to U.S. economic competiveness and
    leadership, and to the safety and security of the Nation. We need to
    understand the increasing and evolving natural and man-made threats and
    develop the tools to respond to those threats across our energy
    infrastructure.
        The Department is the sector-specific agency for the energy sector,
    and therefore, is the lead Federal agency for the Emergency Support
    Function #12 that partners with the energy sector to ensure
    infrastructure security and resilience and to coordinate response and
    recovery. To elevate the Department's focus on energy infrastructure
    protection, the Budget Request splits the Office of Electricity
    Delivery and Energy Reliability, which totals $157 million, into two
    offices. Doing so will increase focus on grid reliability in the Office
    of Electricity Delivery (OE) and cybersecurity in the Office of
    Cybersecurity, Energy Security, and Emergency Response (CESER).
        CESER will allow more coordinated preparedness and response to
    emerging cyber and physical threats and natural disasters and support
    the Department's national security responsibilities. To work toward
    this critical objective, the Budget provides $96 million for the CESER
    office to develop tools needed to protect the U.S. energy sector
    against threats and hazards, mitigate the risks and the extent of
    damage from cyberattacks and other disruptive events, and improve
    resilience through the development of techniques for more rapid
    restoration of capabilities.
        CESER will work in an integrated manner with private industry, as
    well as Federal, State, and Local jurisdictions and other DOE offices,
    to enable industry to enhance the resilience (the ability to withstand
    and quickly recover from disruptions and maintain critical function)
    and security (the ability to protect system assets and critical
    functions from unauthorized and undesirable actors) of the U.S. energy
    infrastructure.
        Also, in fiscal year 2019, the Office of Nuclear Energy's budget
    includes $5 million for the Nuclear Energy Enabling Technologies (NEET)
    Crosscutting Technology Development (CTD) program to expand its nuclear
    reactor cybersecurity research to support development of intrusion-
    resistant systems and practices. Research will be conducted in four
    areas: cyber risk management, secure architectures, modeling and
    simulation, and supply chain cyber security assurance. NEET-CTD will
    also perform simulated cyber-attacks against existing and next
    generation control system architectures to verify attack difficulty and
    control efficacy, methods, and metrics.
        Securing against cyber threats means we must also protect against
    threats to the Department's own infrastructure in science, technology,
    and nuclear security. This Budget takes major steps to safeguard DOE's
    enterprise-wide assets against cyber threats. The Budget provides
    funding to secure our own networks, and increases funding for the Chief
    Information Officer by $16 million from the fiscal year 2017 enacted
    level to modernize infrastructure and improve cybersecurity across the
    DOE IT enterprise. Funding for cybersecurity in the National Nuclear
    Security Administration is increased to $185 million to enhance
    security for our nuclear security enterprise. In the Environmental
    Management program, we provide $43 million for cybersecurity to ensure
    the security at seven cleanup sites. This Budget provides the resources
    we require to secure our systems and our infrastructure.
    Improving Grid Resilience
        As we protect our energy infrastructure from cyber threats, we also
    must improve resilience and reliability of the Nation's electricity
    system. The Budget provides $61 million for Electricity Delivery to
    support transmission system resource adequacy and generation diversity,
    move forward with new architecture approaches for the transmission and
    distribution system to enhance security and resilience, and advance
    energy storage. The Budget supports research and development at DOE's
    National Laboratories to develop technologies that strengthen,
    transform, and improve energy infrastructure so that consumers have
    access to reliable and secure sources of energy.
    Advancing Exascale and Quantum Computing
        As I discussed last year, the Department's leadership in developing
    and building the world's fastest computers has faced increasingly
    fierce global competition over the last decade. Maintaining the
    Nation's global primacy in high-performance computing is more critical
    than ever for our national security, our continuing role as a science
    and innovation leader, and our economic prosperity.
        The Budget includes $636 million to accelerate development of an
    exascale computing system, including $473 million in the Office of
    Science (Science) and $163 million in NNSA. This unprecedented
    investment, which is $376 million--or 145 percent--above the fiscal
    year 2017 enacted level, reflects the Department's plan to deliver an
    exascale machine for the Office of Science in 2021 and a second machine
    with a different architecture by 2022.
        To achieve these goals, the Science/NNSA partnership will focus on
    hardware and software technologies needed to produce an exascale
    system, and the critical DOE applications needed to use such a
    platform. This world-leading exascale program will bolster our national
    security by supporting the nuclear stockpile, while also supporting the
    next generation of scientific breakthroughs not possible with today's
    computing systems.
        We will not, however, satisfy our need for computing advances with
    the achievement of exascale computing alone. The fiscal year 2019
    Budget Request also includes $105 million in quantum computing to
    address the emerging urgency of building our competency and
    competitiveness in the developing area of quantum information science.
    This early-stage, fundamental research will concentrate on accelerating
    progress toward application of quantum computing techniques and quantum
    sensing to grand challenge science questions.
    Addressing the Imperative of Nuclear Waste Management
        As I mentioned to this Committee last year, we must move ahead in
    fulfilling the Federal Government's responsibility to dispose of the
    Nation's nuclear waste. The Budget includes $120 million, including $30
    million in defense funds, to resume licensing for the nuclear waste
    repository at Yucca Mountain and implement a robust interim storage
    program.
        The Budget devotes $110 million for DOE to support the Nuclear
    Regulatory Commission (NRC) licensing proceeding for the nuclear waste
    repository at Yucca Mountain, including funding for technical,
    scientific, legal and other support.
        In addition, the Budget includes $10 million to implement a robust
    interim storage program to ensure earlier acceptance of spent nuclear
    fuel and accelerate removal from sites in 39 States across the country.
    Interim storage capability also adds flexibility to the system that
    will move materials from sites across the country to its ultimate
    disposition.
        By restarting the long-stalled licensing process for Yucca Mountain
    and committing to establishing interim storage capability for near-term
    acceptance of spent nuclear fuel, our Budget demonstrates the
    Administration's commitment to nuclear waste management and will help
    accelerate fulfillment of the Federal Government's obligations to
    address nuclear waste, enhance national security, and reduce future
    burdens on taxpayers. This also will increase public confidence in the
    safety and security of nuclear energy, thus helping nuclear energy to
    remain a significant contributor to the country's energy needs for
    generations to come.
    Fulfilling Legacy Cleanup Responsibilities
        The Budget also includes $6.6 billion for Environmental Management
    (EM), $182 million above the fiscal year 2017 enacted level, to address
    its responsibilities for the cleanup and disposition of excess
    facilities, radioactive waste, spent nuclear fuel, and other materials
    resulting from five decades of nuclear weapons development and
    production and Government-sponsored nuclear energy research.
        To date, EM has completed cleanup activities at 91 sites in 30
    States and Puerto Rico, and is responsible for cleaning up the
    remaining 16 sites in 11 States--some of the most challenging sites in
    the cleanup portfolio.
        The Budget continues funding of $150 million to address specific
    high-risk contaminated excess facilities at the Y-12 National Security
    Complex and the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.
        The Budget includes $1.4 billion for the Office of River Protection
    at the Hanford Site, for continued work at the Hanford Tank Farms and
    to make progress on the Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant. This
    budget will continue progress toward important cleanup required by the
    Consent Decree and Tri-Party Agreement to include a milestone to
    complete hot commissioning of the Low Activity Waste Facility by
    December 31, 2023. The Budget also includes $747 million to continue
    cleanup activities at Richland, including continued K-Area
    decontamination and decommissioning remediation and the K-West Basin
    sludge removal project. For Savannah River, the Budget provides $1.7
    billion, $287 million above enacted fiscal year 2017, to support
    activities at the site. This will include the Liquid Tank Waste
    Management Program, completing commissioning and beginning operation of
    the Salt Waste Processing Facility, continued construction of the
    Saltstone Disposal Unit #7, a start to construction of the Saltstone
    Disposal Units #8/9, and support for facilities that receive and store
    nuclear materials.
        The Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) is essential for the
    disposition of transuranic defense-generated waste across the DOE
    complex, and the Budget provides $403 million to safely continue waste
    emplacement at WIPP. The Budget Request will continue WIPP operations,
    including waste emplacements, shipments, and maintaining enhancements
    and improvements, and progress on critical infrastructure repair/
    replacement projects, including $84 million for the Safety Significant
    Confinement Ventilation System and $1 million for the Utility Shaft
    (formerly Exhaust Shaft). These steps will increase airflow in the WIPP
    underground for simultaneous mining and waste emplacement operations.
        The Budget includes $359 million to continue cleanup projects at
    the Idaho site, such as the Integrated Waste Treatment Unit, and to
    process, characterize, and package transuranic waste for disposal at
    offsite facilities. It provides $409 million for Oak Ridge to continue
    deactivation and demolition of remaining facilities at the East
    Tennessee Technology Park, continue preparation of Building 2026 to
    support processing of the remaining U-233 material at the Oak Ridge
    National Laboratory, and support construction activities for the
    Outfall 200 Mercury Treatment Facility at the Y-12 National Security
    Complex.
        For Portsmouth, the Budget includes $415 million, $33 million above
    fiscal year 2017 enacted, to continue progress on the deactivation and
    decommissioning project at the Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant, safe
    operation of the Depleted Uranium Hexafluoride Conversion Facility, and
    construction activities at the On-Site Waste Disposal facility. At
    Paducah, the Budget includes $270 million to continue ongoing
    environmental cleanup and depleted uranium hexafluoride (DUF6)
    conversion facility operations at the Paducah site. In addition, the
    fiscal year 2019 Budget Request supports activities to continue the
    environmental remediation and further stabilize the gaseous diffusion
    plant.
        Together, these investments for Environmental Management will make
    significant progress in fulfilling our cleanup responsibilities while
    also starting to address our high-risk excess facilities at NNSA sites.
    Focusing Priorities on Core Missions
        The Budget continues to focus the Department's energy and science
    programs on early-stage research and development at our National
    Laboratories to advance American primacy in scientific and energy
    research in an efficient and cost- effective manner.
        Also, in line with Administration priorities, the Budget terminates
    the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy, known as ARPA-E, and the
    Department's Loan Programs, while maintaining necessary Federal staff
    to oversee existing awards and loans. Termination of these programs
    will save over $300 million in fiscal year 2019 alone while
    significantly reducing financial risk to the taxpayer moving forward.
    Advancing American Energy Dominance
        The Budget requests $2.1 billion for the applied energy programs.
    Within these offices, the fiscal year 2019 Budget focuses resources on
    early-stage, cutting-edge R&D conducted by the scientists and engineers
    at our 17 National Laboratories who continually develop the next great
    innovations that can transform society and foster American economic
    competitiveness and then on transitioning these breakthroughs to the
    private marketplace.
        The Budget consolidates programs focused on bringing technologies
    to the market in the Office of Technology Transitions, requesting a 23
    percent increase from fiscal year 2017. Through concerted effort and
    coordination with our labs, this will reduce costs to the taxpayer
    while at the same time providing a robust technology transfer program
    to transfer breakthroughs from the National Laboratories to the private
    sector.
                Nuclear Energy
        Nuclear energy provides 20 percent of our electricity baseload, and
    60 percent of our carbon-free generated electricity. The Budget
    provides $757 million for the Office of Nuclear Energy to continue
    innovating new and improved nuclear energy technologies. The budget
    focuses funding on early-stage research and development, such as the
    Nuclear Energy Enabling Technologies program, that enables the research
    and development of innovative and crosscutting nuclear energy
    technologies to resolve fundamental nuclear technology challenges.
        The fiscal year 2019 Budget includes $163 million for the Reactor
    Concepts Research, Development and Demonstration program. Within this
    total, $128 million is for early-stage R&D on advanced reactor
    technologies, including $54 million for a new Advanced Small Modular
    Reactor R&D subprogram. This new subprogram is a one-time effort to
    fund cost-shared early-stage design-related technical assistance and
    R&D, the results of which are intended to be widely applicable and
    employed by nuclear technology development vendors for the purpose of
    accelerating the development of their advanced SMR designs. The Budget
    also provides $15 million within Reactor Concepts for early-stage R&D
    and pre-conceptual design work related to Versatile Advanced Fast Test
    Reactor concept.
        Within the Fuel Cycle Research and Development program, the Budget
    provides $40 million to support the development of one or more light
    water reactor fuel concepts with significantly enhanced accident
    tolerance.
        Finally, the Budget for Nuclear Energy also supports robust
    safeguards and security funding of $136 million--a $7 million
    increase--for protection of our nuclear energy infrastructure and
    robust infrastructure investments at INL facilities.
                Fossil Energy Research and Development
        The Fossil Energy Research and Development (FER&D) program advances
    transformative science and innovative technologies which enable the
    reliable, efficient, affordable, and environmentally sound use of
    fossil fuels. Fossil energy sources currently constitute over 81
    percent of the country's total energy use and are critical for the
    Nation's security, economic prosperity, and growth. The fiscal year
    2019 Budget focuses $502 million on cutting-edge fossil energy research
    and development to secure energy dominance, further our energy
    security, advance strong domestic energy production, and support
    America's coal industry through innovative clean coal technologies.
        FER&D will support early-stage research in advanced technologies,
    such as materials, sensors, and processes, to expand the knowledge base
    upon which industry can improve the efficiency, flexibility, and
    resilience of the existing fleet of coal fired power plants. The
    request also focuses funding on early-stage research that enables the
    next generation of high efficiency and low emission coal fired power
    plants that can directly compete with other sources of electricity in
    the market and provide low cost reliable power 24/7.
        Funding is also provided to support competitive awards with
    industry, National Laboratories and academia focused on innovative
    early-stage R&D to improve the reliability, availability, efficiency,
    and environmental performance of advanced fossil-based power systems.
    For example, the Advanced Energy Systems subprogram will focus on the
    following six activities: (1) Advanced Combustion/Gasification Systems,
    (2) Advanced Turbines, (3) Solid Oxide Fuel Cells, (4) Advanced Sensors
    and Controls, (5) Power Generation Efficiency, and (6) Advanced Energy
    Materials. While the primary focus is on coal-based power systems,
    improvements to these technologies will result in spillover benefits
    that can reduce the cost of converting other carbon-based fuels, such
    as natural gas, biomass, or petroleum coke into power and other useful
    products in an environmentally- sound manner.
                Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy
        The Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy budget funds $696
    million to maintain America's leadership in transformative science and
    emerging energy technologies in sustainable transportation, renewable
    power, and energy efficiency. Knowledge generated by early-stage R&D
    enables U.S. industries, businesses and entrepreneurs to develop and
    deploy innovative energy technologies and gives them the competitive
    edge needed to excel in the rapidly changing global energy economy.
        Energy storage is an important area of focus, and the Request
    includes $36 million for battery R&D as well as $90 million for a new
    ``Beyond Batteries'' R&D initiative. As part of grid modernization
    efforts, ``Beyond Batteries'' considers energy storage holistically,
    and focuses on advances in controllable loads, hybrid systems, and new
    approaches to energy storage, which are essential to increasing the
    reliability and resiliency of our energy systems.
        Advances in these areas, as well as in battery technologies, will
    allow for loads to be combined with generation from all sources to
    optimize use of existing assets to provide grid services, and increase
    grid reliability. The fiscal year 2019 also invests in advanced
    combustion engines, and new science and technology for developing
    biofuels. The Budget funds research into the underpinnings of future
    generations of solar photovoltaic technology, into the design and
    manufacturing of low-specific power rotors for tall wind applications,
    and on wind energy grid integration and infrastructure challenges.
        The Budget also funds early-stage R&D for advanced manufacturing
    processes and materials technologies. These efforts, combined with the
    research that leverages the unique high-performance computing assets in
    the National Laboratories, can drive the breakthroughs that will
    promote economic growth and manufacturing jobs in the United States.
    Leading World-Class Scientific Research
        The Department of Energy is the Nation's largest Federal supporter
    of basic research in the physical sciences, and the President's fiscal
    year 2019 Budget provides $5.4 billion for the Office of Science to
    continue and strengthen American leadership in scientific inquiry. By
    focusing funding on early-stage research, this Budget will ensure that
    the Department's National Laboratories continue to be the backbone of
    American science leadership by supporting cutting-edge basic research,
    and by building and operating the world's most advanced scientific user
    facilities--which will be used by over 22,000 researchers in fiscal
    year 2019.
        We provide $899 million for Advanced Scientific Computing Research,
    an increase of $252 million above the fiscal year 2017 enacted level.
    This funding will continue supporting our world-class high-performance
    computers that make possible cutting- edge basic research, while
    devoting $472 million in the Office of Science to reflect the
    Department's plan to achieve of exascale computing by 2021. This
    focused effort will drive the innovations necessary for computing at
    exascale speeds, resulting in computing systems at unprecedented speeds
    at Argonne National Laboratory in 2021 and Oak Ridge National
    Laboratory in 2022. The fiscal year 2019 Request also supports quantum
    computing R&D and core research in applied mathematics and computer
    science, and high-performance computer simulation and modeling.
        The Budget also provides $1.8 billion for Basic Energy Sciences,
    supporting core research activities in ultrafast chemistry and
    materials science and the Energy Frontier Research Centers. We will
    continue construction of the Linac Coherence Light Source-II at SLAC
    National Accelerator Laboratory and the Advanced Photon Source Upgrade
    at the Argonne National Laboratory, and initiate the Advanced Light
    Source Upgrade project at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory,
    and the Linac Coherence Light Source-II High Energy project at SLAC.
    The operations of the light sources across the DOE science complex and
    supporting research across the Nation will ensure our continued world
    leadership in light sources and the science they make possible.
        The Budget also provides $770 million for High Energy Physics,
    including $113 million for construction of the Long Baseline Neutrino
    Facility and Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment at Fermilab, $63
    million above the enacted fiscal year 2017 level. We will continue to
    fund ongoing major items of equipment projects, and initiate three new
    projects at the Large Hadron Collider, the High Luminosity Large Hadron
    Collider Accelerator Project, and the High Luminosity ATLAS and CMS
    detector upgrade projects. By supporting the highest priority
    activities and projects identified by the U.S. high energy physics
    community, this program will continue cutting-edge pursuit to
    understand how the universe works at its most fundamental level.
        The Budget for the Office of Science provides $340 million for
    Fusion Energy Sciences, including $265 million for domestic research
    and fusion facilities and $75 million for the ITER project. For Nuclear
    Physics, the budget provides $600 million to discover, explore, and
    understand nuclear matter, including $75 million for continued
    construction of the Facility for Rare Isotope Beams and operations of
    facilities, including the newly-upgraded Continuous Electron Beam
    Accelerator Facility. For Biological and Environmental Research, the
    Budget includes $500 million to support foundational genomic sciences,
    including the Bioenergy Research Centers and to focus on increasing the
    sensitivity and reducing the uncertainty of earth and environmental
    systems predictions.
    Strategic Petroleum Reserve
        In addition to our nuclear security responsibilities, the
    Department of Energy ensures the Nation's energy security. The
    Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR), one component of that effort,
    protects the U.S. economy from disruptions in critical petroleum
    supplies and meets the U.S. obligations under the International Energy
    Program. The Budget includes $175.1 million, $47.5 million below the
    fiscal year 2017 enacted level, to support the Reserve's operational
    readiness and drawdown capabilities. The Request also includes a
    drawdown and sale of up to 1 million barrels of crude oil from the SPR
    to provide funding for Congressionally-mandated crude oil sales and
    emergency drawdown operations.
        The Budget continues the sale of SPR oil for the Energy Security
    and Infrastructure Modernization Fund authorized by the Bipartisan
    Budget Act of 2015 to support an effective modernization program for
    the SPR.
        Finally, as the Northeast Gasoline Supply Reserve (NGSR) is
    operationally ineffective and not cost-efficient as a regional product
    reserve, the President's Budget proposes to liquidate the NGSR and sell
    its one million barrels of refined petroleum product in fiscal year
    2019, resulting in an estimated $77 million in receipts.
    Power Marketing Administrations
        Finally, the Budget includes $77 million for the Power Marketing
    Administrations (PMAs). The Budget proposes the sale of the
    transmission assets of the Western Area Power Administration (WAPA),
    the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA), and the Southwestern Power
    Administration (SWPA) and to reform the laws governing how the PMAs
    establish power rates to require the consideration of market based
    incentives, including whether rates are just and reasonable. The Budget
    also proposes to repeal the $3.25 billion borrowing authority for WAPA
    authorized by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.
    Conclusion
        In conclusion, I reaffirm my commitment to ensure that the
    Department of Energy, along with its national laboratories, will
    continue to support the world's best enterprise of scientists and
    engineers who create innovations to drive American prosperity, security
    and competitiveness. The President's fiscal year 2019 Budget Request
    for the Department of Energy positions us to take up that challenge and
    delivers on the high-priority investments I proposed to you last year.
        As we move forward over the coming weeks and months, I look forward
    to working with you and your colleagues in Congress on the specific
    programs mentioned in this testimony and throughout the Department.
    Congress has an important role in the path forward on spending
    decisions for the taxpayer, and I will, in turn, ensure DOE is run
    efficiently, effectively, and we accomplish our mission driven goals.
    Thank you, and I look forward to answering your questions.
                                     ______

               Prepared Statement of Hon. Lisa E. Gordon-Hagerty
        Chairman Alexander, Ranking Member Feinstein, and Members of the
    Subcommittee, thank you for the opportunity to present the President's
    fiscal year 2019 budget request for the Department of Energy's (DOE)
    National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA). NNSA deeply
    appreciates the Committee's strong support for the nuclear security
    mission and for the extraordinary people and organizations that are
    responsible for its execution.
        The President's fiscal year 2019 budget request for NNSA is $15.1
    billion, an increase of $1.2 billion or 8.3 percent over the fiscal
    year 2018 request. The request represents approximately 50 percent of
    DOE's total budget. This budget request demonstrates the
    Administration's strong support for NNSA and reinforces the recently
    released Nuclear Posture Review (NPR) and National Security Strategy
    (NSS). We will continue to work with the Department of Defense (DoD) to
    determine the resources, time, and funding required to address policies
    laid out in the NPR, including the potential low yield ballistic
    missile warhead, sea launched cruise missile, and B83-1 gravity bomb.
    We live in an evolving international security environment that is more
    complex and demanding than any since the end of the Cold War, which
    necessitates a national commitment to maintain modern and effective
    nuclear forces and infrastructure. To remain effective, however,
    recapitalizing our Cold War legacy nuclear forces is critical.
        NNSA's enduring missions remain vital to the national security of
    the United States: maintaining the safety, security, reliability, and
    effectiveness of the nuclear weapons stockpile; reducing the threat of
    nuclear proliferation and nuclear terrorism around the world; and
    providing nuclear propulsion for the U.S. Navy's fleet of aircraft
    carriers and submarines. The President's fiscal year 2019 budget
    request is reflective of this Administration's strong support for NNSA
    and ensures that U.S. nuclear forces are modern, robust, flexible,
    resilient, ready, and appropriately tailored to deter 21st-century
    threats and reassure America's allies.
        Attracting, training, and retaining a skilled and experienced
    workforce is critical to NNSA's ability to accomplish its diverse
    missions. NNSA's dedicated and highly talented cadre of Federal
    employees and Management and Operating (M&O) contract partners must be
    supported with the tools necessary to support the complex and
    challenging responsibilities found only within NNSA's nuclear security
    enterprise. NNSA's infrastructure is in a brittle state that requires
    significant and sustained investments over the coming decade to
    correct. There is no margin for further delay in modernizing NNSA's
    scientific, technical, and engineering capabilities, and recapitalizing
    our infrastructure needed to produce strategic materials and components
    for U.S. nuclear weapons.
        The fiscal year 2019 budget request also reflects the close
    partnerships between NNSA and other Federal departments and agencies.
    NNSA collaborates with DoD to meet military requirements, support the
    Nation's nuclear deterrent, and modernize the nuclear security
    enterprise. NNSA also partners with a range of Federal agencies, to
    prevent, counter, and respond to nuclear proliferation and nuclear
    terrorism.
        NNSA is mindful of its obligation to be responsible stewards of the
    resources entrusted by Congress and the American taxpayers. Our fiscal
    year 2019 budget request is the result of a disciplined process to
    prioritize funding for validated requirements as designated by the
    Administration and sets the foundation to implement policies from the
    NPR and NSS.
    Weapons Activities Appropriation
        The fiscal year 2019 budget request for the Weapons Activities
    account is $11.0 billion, an increase of $777.7 million or 7.6 percent
    over fiscal year 2018 request levels. Nuclear deterrence remains the
    bedrock of America's national security. Given the criticality of
    effective U.S. nuclear deterrence to the safety of the American people,
    allies, and partners, there is no doubt that NNSA's sustainment and
    replacement program should be regarded as both necessary and
    affordable. The programs funded in this account support the Nation's
    current and future defense posture and the associated nationwide
    infrastructure of science, technology, and engineering capabilities.
        The Weapons Activities account supports the maintenance and
    refurbishment of nuclear weapons to maintain safety, security, and
    reliability; investments in scientific, engineering, and manufacturing
    capabilities to certify the enduring nuclear weapons stockpile; and the
    fabrication of nuclear weapon components. This account also includes
    investments in enterprise-wide infrastructure sustainment activities,
    physical and cybersecurity activities, and the secure transportation of
    nuclear materials.
                Maintaining the Stockpile
        This year, the work of the science-based Stockpile Stewardship
    Program again supported the Secretaries of Energy and Defense in
    certifying to the President for the 22nd consecutive year, that the
    U.S. nuclear weapons stockpile remains safe, secure, and reliable
    without the need for nuclear explosive testing. This remarkable
    scientific achievement is made possible through the work accomplished
    by NNSA's world-class scientists, engineers, and technicians, and
    through investments in state-of-the-art diagnostic tools, high
    performance computing platforms, and modern facilities.
        For Directed Stockpile Work (DSW), the fiscal year 2019 budget
    request is $4.7 billion, an increase of $689.0 million or 17.3 percent
    over the fiscal year 2018 request. Included within this request is
    funding to support the life extension programs (LEPs) for the W76, B61,
    and W80, and a major alteration of the W88; and advance the ground
    based strategic deterrent, by 1 year to 2019, and investigate
    feasibility of interoperable aspects for other types of warheads. These
    LEPs are aligned with the needs outlined in the NPR and with the
    approved Nuclear Weapons Council strategic plan.
      --W76-1 LEP: The $113.9 million requested for the W76-1 LEP directly
            supports the sea- based leg of the nuclear triad by extending
            the service life of the original W76-0 warhead. With continued
            funding, the W76-1 LEP will remain on schedule and on budget to
            complete production in fiscal year 2019.
      --B61-12 LEP: NNSA continues to make progress on the B61-12 LEP that
            will consolidate four variants of the B61 gravity bomb. This
            LEP will meet military requirements for reliability, service-
            life, field maintenance, safety, and use control while also
            addressing multiple components nearing end of life in this
            oldest nuclear weapon in the stockpile. With the $794.0 million
            requested, NNSA will remain on schedule to deliver the First
            Production Unit (FPU) of the B61-12 in fiscal year 2020. NNSA
            is responsible for refurbishing the nuclear explosives package
            and updating the electronics for this weapon. The Air Force
            will provide the tail kit assembly under a separate acquisition
            program. When fielded, the B61-12 gravity bomb will support
            both Air Force long-range nuclear-capable bombers and dual-
            capable fighter aircraft and bolster central deterrence for the
            United States while also providing extended deterrence to
            America's allies and partners.
      --W88 Alteration 370 Program: Currently in the Production Engineering
            Phase (Phase 6.4), the W88 Alt 370 is on schedule, with FPU
            planned in December 2019. The budget request for this program,
            which also supports the sea-based leg of the nuclear triad, is
            $304.3 million in fiscal year 2019.
      --W80-4 LEP: The current air-launched cruise missile delivers a W80
            warhead first deployed in 1982. Both the missile and the
            warhead are well past planned end of life and are exhibiting
            aging issues. To maintain this vital deterrent capability, NNSA
            requests $654.8 million in fiscal year 2019, an increase of
            $255.7 million or 64.1 percent over the fiscal year 2018
            request to extend the W80 warhead, through the W80-4 LEP, for
            use in the Air Force's Long Range Stand-Off (LRSO) cruise
            missile. This funding supports a significant increase in
            program activity through the Design Definition and Cost Study
            Phase on a timeline consistent with the DoD's LRSO missile
            platform modernization schedule.
      --Interoperable Warhead 1 (IW1): The IW1 program will replace one of
            the oldest warheads in the stockpile, and provide improved
            warhead security, safety, and use control. To replace the Air
            Force employed W78 warhead, NNSA is requesting $53.0 million to
            support the scheduled restart of the feasibility study and
            design options work suspended in 2014. Technology development
            efforts are focused on supporting the W78 warhead replacement
            and investigate the feasibility of interoperable aspects for
            other types of warheads. To reduce risk, investments will
            initially be made against technologies that are less than
            technology readiness level 5.
        Within DSW, the fiscal year 2019 budget request includes $619.5
    million for Stockpile Systems. This program sustains the stockpile in
    accordance with the Nuclear Weapon Stockpile Plan by producing and
    replacing limited-life components such as neutron generators and gas
    transfer systems; conducting maintenance, surveillance, and evaluations
    to assess weapon reliability; detecting and anticipating potential
    weapon issues; and compiling and analyzing information during the
    Annual Assessment process.
        The DSW also requests $1.1 billion for Stockpile Services to
    support the modernization of capabilities to improve efficiency of
    manufacturing operations to meet future requirements. The Stockpile
    Services request supports all DSW operations by funding programmatic
    and infrastructure management, and maintaining the core competencies
    and technologies essential for reliable and operable stewardship
    capabilities.
        Strategic Materials are key for the safety, security, and
    effectiveness of the Nation's nuclear deterrent and are used for
    addressing national security concerns such as nuclear nonproliferation
    and counterterrorism missions. The requested funding is necessary to
    maintain NNSA's ability to produce the nuclear and other strategic
    materials associated with nuclear weapons as well as refurbish and
    manufacture components made from these materials. The program includes
    Uranium Sustainment, Plutonium Sustainment, Tritium Sustainment,
    Domestic Uranium Enrichment (DUE), and other strategic materials, such
    as lithium.
      --Strategic Materials Sustainment: The $218.8 million for the
            Strategic Materials Sustainment program will develop and
            implement strategies to maintain the technical base for
            strategic materials in support of NNSA's nuclear weapons, non-
            proliferation, and naval reactors activities at NNSA's eight
            sites.
      --Uranium Sustainment: Funding for Uranium Sustainment supports the
            program to maintain existing enriched uranium capabilities
            through enhanced equipment maintenance while preparing to phase
            out mission dependency on Building 9212, a Manhattan Project-
            era production facility at the Y-12 National Security Complex
            (Y-12) in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. The funding request of $87.2
            million will assist NNSA in sustaining uranium manufacturing
            capabilities while accelerating planning and execution of the
            Building 9212 Exit Strategy to reduce risks associated with
            transitioning enriched uranium capabilities to the Uranium
            Processing Facility (UPF) that is under construction.
      --Plutonium Sustainment: The $361.3 million requested for Plutonium
            Sustainment supports continued progress to meet pit production
            requirements. The requested funding increase would support
            efforts to begin the long term plan to develop a capability to
            produce no fewer than 80 W87-like war reserve pits per year by
            2030, as directed in the NPR.
      --Tritium Sustainment: The fiscal year 2019 budget request of $205.3
            million will support the Nation's capacity to provide the
            tritium necessary for national security requirements. Tritium
            will be produced by irradiating Tritium Producing Burnable
            Absorber Rods in designated Tennessee Valley Authority nuclear
            power plants and by recovering and recycling tritium from gas
            transfer systems returned from the stockpile at the SRS Tritium
            Extraction Facility.
      --Lithium Sustainment: The fiscal year 2019 budget request
            establishes a separate Lithium Sustainment Program of $29.1
            million that supports a Lithium Bridging Strategy to maintain
            the production of the Nation's enriched lithium supply in
            support of the nuclear security mission, DOE's Office of
            Science, and DHS.
      --Domestic Uranium Enrichment: The DUE program, with a request of
            $100.7 million in fiscal year 2019, will continue efforts to
            make available when needed the necessary supplies of enriched
            uranium for a variety of national security needs.
        For Research, Development, Test, and Evaluation (RDT&E), the fiscal
    year 2019 budget request is $2.0 billion, a decrease of $33.0 million
    or 1.6 percent below the fiscal year 2018 request.
        Increases for the Science Program ($564.9 million) provide
    additional funding to support subcritical experiments for pit reuse and
    advanced diagnostics for subcritical hydrodynamic integrated weapons
    experiments that produce key data for stockpile certifications.
        The Engineering Program ($211.4 million) sustains NNSA's capability
    for creating and maturing advanced toolsets and technologies to improve
    weapon surety and support annual stockpile assessments.
        The Inertial Confinement Fusion Ignition and High Yield Program in
    fiscal year 2019 ($418.9 million) will continue to build upon prior
    accomplishments. These efforts continue to provide key data to reduce
    uncertainty in calculations of nuclear weapons performance and improve
    the predictive capability of science and engineering models in high-
    pressure, high-energy, high-density regimes.
        The RDT&E request for fiscal year 2019 includes $703.4 million for
    the Advanced Simulation and Computing (ASC) Program, and continues
    NNSA's program of collaboration with DOE's Office of Science to
    implement DOE's Exascale Computing Initiative. NNSA's ASC Program will
    support stockpile stewardship by developing and deploying predictive
    simulation capabilities for nuclear weapons systems. NNSA is taking
    major steps in high-performance computing by deploying increasingly
    powerful computational capabilities at both Los Alamos National
    Laboratory (LANL) and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.
        The Secure Transportation Asset (STA) program provides safe, secure
    movement of nuclear weapons, special nuclear material, and weapon
    components to meet projected DOE, DoD, and other customer requirements.
    The Office of Secure Transportation has an elite workforce performing
    sensitive and demanding work; agents are among the most highly trained
    and dedicated national security personnel operating within the United
    States. The fiscal year 2019 budget request of $278.6 million continues
    our efforts to modernize and replace the existing fleet of transporters
    and efforts to hire and train an additional 40 agents. The fiscal year
    2019 funding also supports the Safeguards Transporter (SGT) risk
    reduction initiatives to extend the life of the SGT to meet the STA
    mission capacity.
        NNSA's Office of Defense Programs also maintains the vitality of
    the broader nuclear security enterprise that supports other agencies'
    nuclear missions. An important aspect of this effort is investment in
    Laboratory, Site and Plant Directed Research and Development. As
    confirmed by independent reviews, this type of defense research and
    development investment provides basic research funding to foster
    innovation and to attract and retain scientific and technical talent
    and is critical to the long-term sustainment of our national
    laboratories.
                Improving Safety, Operations, and Infrastructure
        NNSA's diverse national security missions are dependent upon the
    safety and reliability of its infrastructure. More than half of NNSA's
    facilities are over 40 years old, and roughly 30 percent date back to
    the Manhattan Project era. If left unaddressed, the condition and age
    of NNSA's infrastructure will put NNSA's missions, the safety of its
    workforce, the public, and the environment at risk. As reaffirmed in
    the NPR, ``An effective, responsive, and resilient nuclear weapons
    infrastructure is essential to the U.S. capacity to adapt flexibly to
    shifting requirements. Such an infrastructure offers tangible evidence
    to both allies and potential adversaries of U.S. nuclear weapons
    capabilities and can help to deter, assure, hedge against adverse
    developments, and discourage adversary interest in arms competition.''
    The fiscal year 2019 budget request for Infrastructure and Operations
    is $3.0 billion, an increase of $199.6 million or 7.1 percent above the
    fiscal year 2018 request. The fiscal year 2018 National Defense
    Authorization Act provided NNSA and its M&O partners with additional
    flexibility to address the challenges of modernizing the enterprise by
    increasing the minor construction threshold to $20 million. This reform
    supports efforts to address deferred maintenance through
    recapitalization projects that improve the condition and extend the
    design life of structures, capabilities, and systems to meet NNSA's
    nuclear weapons and nonproliferation program needs.
        The fiscal year 2019 budget request for Infrastructure and
    Operations includes $1.1 billion for Line Item Construction projects.
    The requested amount provides the remaining funding of $48.0 million
    for the Albuquerque Facility, supports UPF at Y-12 ($703.0 million),
    and continues the Chemistry and Metallurgy Research Replacement project
    at LANL ($235.1 million). The fiscal year 2019 budget also includes
    $19.0 million in funding to begin the first steps toward the
    construction of a new lithium production facility and $6 million for
    the 138kV Power Transmission System Replacement project to replace and
    upgrade the current power transmission system for the Mission Corridor
    at NNSS. Delivering these projects on budget and schedule is contingent
    upon stable and predictable funding profiles, and the President's
    budget request being supported.
        Many of NNSA's excess process-contaminated facilities will
    ultimately be transferred to DOE's Office of Environmental Management
    for disposition. In the interim, NNSA is focusing on reducing risks
    where possible. For example, NNSA has made critical investments to
    stabilize high-risk process contaminated facilities until ultimate
    disposition, including at Y-12's Alpha 5 and Beta 4 facilities. NNSA
    also remains committed to reducing the risk of non-process contaminated
    facilities by dispositioning facilities where possible. In late 2017,
    NNSA, with the support of Congress, completed the transfer to a private
    developer of over 200 acres of the aging Bannister Federal Complex in
    Kansas City, Missouri, eliminating $300 million of repair needs.
        Later this spring, completion of the Pantex Drummond Office
    Building (formerly known as the Administrative Support Complex) at the
    Pantex Plant outside of Amarillo, Texas will allow NNSA to move nearly
    1,000 employees into a modern, energy efficient workspace. After
    completion of the Pantex Drummond Office building NNSA will also be
    able to dispose of dilapidated, 1950s-era buildings and eliminate
    approximately $20 million in deferred maintenance.
        Defense Nuclear Security's (DNS) fiscal year 2019 budget request is
    $690.6 million, an increase of $3.7 million or 0.5 percent over the
    fiscal year 2018 Request. To execute its enterprise security program,
    DNS provides funding to the sites for: protective forces, physical
    security systems, information security and technical security,
    personnel security, nuclear material control and accountability, and
    security program operations and planning. The request manages risk
    among important, competing demands of the physical security
    infrastructure and includes planning and conceptual design funds for a
    series of future projects to sustain and recapitalize the Perimeter
    Intrusion Detection and Assessment Systems at the Pantex Plant and Y-
    12. Preliminary estimates are included within the recently completed
    10-year Physical Security Systems Refresh Plan. Future budget requests
    will reflect refined and detailed funding requirements.
        Information Technology and Cybersecurity enable every element of
    NNSA's missions. The fiscal year 2019 budget request is $221.2 million,
    an increase of $34.4 million, or 18.4 percent over the fiscal year 2018
    request. The cybersecurity program continuously monitors enterprise
    wireless and security technologies to meet a wide range of security
    challenges. The requested funding increase will be used to continue
    working toward a comprehensive information technology and cybersecurity
    program to deliver secure crucial information assets. The funding will
    continue to mature the cybersecurity infrastructure, comprising almost
    100 sensors and over 70 data acquisition servers located across the
    Nation.
    Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation Appropriation
        The fiscal year 2019 budget request for the Defense Nuclear
    Nonproliferation account is $1.9 billion, an increase of $69.5 million
    or 3.9 percent above the fiscal year 2018 request. Defense Nuclear
    Nonproliferation account activities address the entire nuclear threat
    spectrum by helping to prevent the proliferation of nuclear weapons,
    counter the threat of nuclear terrorism, and respond to nuclear and
    radiological incidents around the world. The fiscal year 2019 budget
    request funds two program mission areas under the Defense Nuclear
    Nonproliferation account: the Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation (DNN)
    Program and the Nuclear Counterterrorism and Incident Response (NCTIR)
    Program.
                Nonproliferation Efforts
        The Office of Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation works with
    international partners to remove or eliminate vulnerable nuclear
    material; improve global nuclear security through multilateral and
    bilateral technical exchanges and training workshops; help prevent the
    illicit trafficking of nuclear and radioactive materials; secure
    domestic and international civilian buildings containing high-priority
    radioactive material; provide technical reviews of U.S. export license
    applications; conduct export control training sessions for U.S.
    enforcement agencies and international partners; strengthen the
    International Atomic Energy Agency's ability to detect and deter
    nuclear proliferation; advance U.S. capabilities to monitor arms
    control treaties and detect foreign nuclear programs; and maintain
    organizational readiness to respond to and mitigate radiological or
    nuclear incidents worldwide.
        The Material Management and Minimization (M3) program provides an
    integrated approach to addressing the risk posed by nuclear materials.
    The fiscal year 2019 budget request is $332.1 million. The request
    supports the conversion or shut-down of research reactors and isotope
    production facilities that use highly enriched uranium (HEU) and
    acceleration of new, non HEU-based molybdenum-99 production facilities
    in the United States, which recently contributed to the approval of the
    first Food and Drug Administration-approved U.S.-origin technology to
    produce the medical isotope. Additionally, the request for M3 supports
    the removal and disposal of weapons usable nuclear material and
    continues the transition to the dilute and dispose strategy for surplus
    plutonium disposition, including the completion of the independent
    validation of lifecycle cost estimate and schedule for the dilute and
    dispose strategy.
        The Global Material Security program works with partner nations to
    increase the security of vulnerable nuclear and radioactive materials
    and improve ability to deter, detect, and investigate illicit
    trafficking of these materials. The fiscal year 2019 budget request for
    this program is $337.1 million and includes efforts to secure the most
    at-risk radioactive material in U.S. high- threat urban areas by 2020.
        The Nonproliferation and Arms Control program develops and
    implements programs to strengthen international nuclear safeguards;
    control the spread of nuclear and dual-use material, equipment,
    technology and expertise; verify nuclear reductions and compliance with
    nonproliferation and arms control treaties and agreements; and address
    enduring and emerging proliferation challenges requiring the
    development of innovative policies and approached. The fiscal year 2019
    budget request for this program is $129.7 million. This increase serves
    to improve the deployment readiness of U.S. nuclear disablement and
    dismantlement verification teams and to enhance export control dual-use
    license and interdiction technical reviews.
        The Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation Research and Development
    program supports innovative unilateral and multilateral technical
    capabilities to detect, identify, and characterize foreign nuclear
    weapons programs, illicit diversion of special nuclear material, and
    nuclear detonations worldwide. The fiscal year 2019 budget request for
    this program is $456.1 million.
        Nonproliferation Construction consolidates construction costs for
    DNN projects. The fiscal year 2019 budget request is $279.0 million. As
    in fiscal year 2018, the Administration proposes termination activities
    for the Mixed Oxide (MOX) Fuel Fabrication Facility project and
    continuing to pursue the dilute and dispose option to fulfill the
    United States' commitment to dispose of 34 metric tons of plutonium.
    The $220.0 million for the MOX Facility will be used to continue
    terminating the project and to achieve an orderly and safe closure. The
    scope and costs will be refined in subsequent budget requests when the
    termination plan for the MOX project is approved. The request also
    includes $59.0 million for the Surplus Plutonium Disposition project to
    support the dilute and dispose strategy.
                Nuclear Counterterrorism and Incident Response (NCTIR)
        The fiscal year 2019 budget request for NCTIR is $319.2 million, an
    increase of $41.8 million or 15.1 percent over the fiscal year 2018
    request. NNSA's Counterterrorism and Counterproliferation (CTCP)
    program is part of broader U.S. Government efforts to assess the threat
    of nuclear terrorism and develop technical countermeasures. The
    scientific knowledge generated by this program underpins the technical
    expertise for disabling potential nuclear threat devices, including
    improvised nuclear devices, supports and informs U.S. nuclear security
    policy, and guides nuclear counterterrorism and counterproliferation
    efforts, including interagency nuclear forensics and contingency
    planning.
        The Counterterrorism and Counterproliferation program provides a
    flexible, efficient, and effective response capability for any nuclear/
    radiological incident in the United States or abroad by applying the
    unique technical expertise across NNSA's nuclear security enterprise.
    Appropriately trained personnel and specialized technical equipment are
    ready to deploy to provide an integrated response for radiological
    search, render safe, and consequence management for nuclear/
    radiological emergencies, national exercises, and security operations
    for large National Security Special Events.
        The CTCP program maintains an operational nuclear forensics
    capability for pre-detonation device disassembly and examination,
    provides operational support for post-detonation assessment, and
    coordinates the analysis of special nuclear materials. Readiness is
    maintained to deploy device disposition and device assessment teams,
    conduct laboratory operations in support of analysis of bulk actinide
    forensics, and to deploy subject matter expertise and operational
    capabilities in support of ground sample collections that contribute to
    conclusions in support of attribution.
        NNSA's Aerial Measuring System (AMS) provides airborne remote
    sensing in the event of a nuclear or radiological accident or incident
    within the continental United States, as well as in support of high-
    visibility national security events.
        The AMS fleet consists of three B200 fixed-wing aircraft with an
    average age of 33 years and two Bell 412 helicopters with an average
    age of 24 years. The age of the current aircraft leads to unscheduled
    downtime resulting in reduced mission availability. A recently
    concluded Analysis of Alternatives on the AMS aircraft determined that
    recapitalization of the aging aircraft fleet is necessary to continue
    to provide Federal, State, and local officials with rapid radiological
    information following an accident or incident. The fiscal year 2019
    budget requests $32.5 million as part of a 2-year replacement process
    for the five aircraft.
        The equipment used by NNSA's emergency response teams is aging,
    resulting in increasing maintenance costs and increasing risks to the
    emergency response mission. This budget includes funding for
    incremental recapitalization of incident response equipment consistent
    with lifecycle planning to maintain operational readiness. This budget
    also includes funding for state-of-the-art, secure, deployable
    communications systems that are interoperable with the Federal Bureau
    of Investigation and DoD mission partners that will help provide
    decision makers with real-time technical recommendations to mitigate
    nuclear terrorist threats.
        The Emergency Operations program's fiscal year 2019 budget request
    includes $36 million under NCTIR to support NNSA's Office of Emergency
    Operations. This funding will support NNSA's all hazard emergency
    response capabilities, such as providing incident management training
    and exercise planning, and managing the Emergency Communications
    Network capability for the Department.
    Naval Reactors Appropriation
                Advancing Naval Nuclear Propulsion
        Nuclear propulsion for the U.S. Navy's nuclear-powered fleet is
    critical to the security of the United States and its allies as well as
    the security of global sea lanes. NNSA's Naval Reactors Program remains
    at the forefront of technological developments in naval nuclear
    propulsion by advancing new technologies and improvements in naval
    reactor performance. This preeminence provides the U.S. Navy with a
    commanding edge in naval warfighting capabilities.
        The Naval Reactors fiscal year 2019 budget request is $1.8 billion,
    an increase of $308.9 million or 20.9 percent above the fiscal year
    2018 request. In addition to supporting today's operational fleet, the
    requested funding is the foundation for Naval Reactors to deliver
    tomorrow's fleet and recruit and retain a highly-skilled workforce. One
    of Naval Reactors' three national priority projects, continuing design
    and development of the reactor plant for the COLUMBIA-Class submarine,
    featuring a life-of-ship core and electric drive, will replace the
    current OHIO-Class fleet and provide required deterrence capabilities
    for decades. The project to refuel a Research and Training Reactor in
    New York will facilitate COLUMBIA-Class reactor development efforts to
    provide 20 more years of live reactor-based training for fleet
    operators. Funding will also be used to support construction of a new
    spent fuel handling facility in Idaho that will facilitate long term,
    reliable processing and packaging of spent nuclear fuel from aircraft
    carriers and submarines.
        Naval Reactors has requested funding in fiscal year 2019 to support
    these projects and fund necessary reactor technology development,
    equipment, construction, maintenance, and modernization of critical
    infrastructure and facilities. By employing a small but high-performing
    technical base, the teams at Bettis Atomic Power Laboratory in
    Pittsburgh, Knolls Atomic Power Laboratory and Kesselring Site in
    greater Albany, and the spent nuclear fuel facilities in Idaho can
    perform the research and development, analysis, engineering, and
    testing needed to support today's fleet at sea and develop future
    nuclear-powered warships. The laboratories also perform the technical
    evaluations that enable Naval Reactors to thoroughly assess emergent
    issues and deliver timely responses to provide nuclear safety and
    maximize operational flexibility.
    NNSA Federal Salaries and Expenses Appropriation
        The NNSA Federal Salaries and Expenses fiscal year 2019 budget
    request is $422.5 million, an increase of $3.9 million or 0.9 percent
    over the fiscal year 2018 request. The fiscal year 2019 budget request
    provides funding for 1,715 full-time equivalents for the effective
    program and project management and appropriate oversight of the nuclear
    security enterprise. Since 2010, NNSA's program funding has increased
    50 percent, while staffing has decreased 10 percent. NNSA has partnered
    with the Office of Personnel Management to develop a staffing analysis,
    now in its second phase, of a Human Capital Management Plan that
    assesses current personnel levels compared to mission needs. The
    results of the staffing analysis will be used to inform future
    recommendations on appropriate staff size and provide the type and
    number of scientists, engineers, project managers, foreign affairs
    specialists, and support staff needed to accomplish the mission. Part
    of the evaluation includes a review of current staff skill sets and
    areas where skills are needed for project and program management,
    applicable oversight, and day to day operations of the nuclear security
    enterprise.
        Thanks to the support of Congress, NNSA received a 10-year
    extension to continue to use the Demonstration Project personnel
    system. The pay for performance personnel system provides an important
    tool to retain and attract top talent for NNSA's national security
    missions. With the pay to perform personnel system, we are able to
    compete for personnel with other highly technical Federal and private
    organizations, motivate and retain high-performing employees, and deal
    with poor performers. NNSA uses the Demonstration Project in
    conjunction with the Excepted Service hiring authorities to hire key
    personnel for the current and next generation workforce with critical
    nuclear security expertise.
    Management & Performance
        Since 2011, NNSA has delivered approximately $1.4 billion in
    projects, a significant portion of NNSAs total project portfolio, 8
    percent under original budget. This past February, the High Explosive
    Pressing Facility at Pantex achieved CD-4 and was completed $25 million
    under the approved baseline. We are committed to encouraging
    competition and increasing the universe of qualified contractors by
    streamlining major acquisition processes. NNSA will continue to focus
    on delivering timely, best-value acquisition solutions for all programs
    and projects, by using a tailored approach to contract structures and
    incentives that is appropriate for the special missions and risks at
    each site. The Office of Acquisition and Project Management continues
    to lead improvements in contract and project management practices;
    provide clear lines of authority and accountability for program and
    project managers; improve cost and schedule performance; and ensure
    Federal Project Directors and Contracting Officers with the appropriate
    skill mix and professional certifications are managing NNSA's work.
    Conclusion
        NNSA's diverse and enduring national security missions are crucial
    to the security of the United States, the defense of its allies and
    partners, and global stability. The U.S. nuclear deterrent has and will
    continue to remain the cornerstone of America's national security, and
    NNSA has unique responsibilities to maintain and certify the continued
    safety, security, reliability, and effectiveness of that nuclear
    deterrent.
        Nuclear nonproliferation and nuclear counterterrorism activities
    are essential to promoting the peaceful use of nuclear energy and
    preventing malicious use of nuclear and radiological materials and
    technology around the world. Providing naval nuclear propulsion to the
    U.S. Navy is crucial to the United States to defend interests abroad
    and protect the world's commercial shipping lanes. Each of these
    critical missions depends upon NNSA's capabilities, facilities,
    infrastructure, and world-class workforce.

        Senator Alexander. And now we will move to our first round
    of 5 minute questions.
        Mr. Secretary, you began talking about exascale computing.
    When I first came to the Senate, Senator Bingaman, for whom I
    had a lot of respect, was chairman of the energy committee and
    he encouraged me to go to Japan to see their computer. I think
    it was the earth simulator, if I remember right.
        So I flew all the way to Yokohama and it was just a big box
    was all I could see. I probably could have taken a picture of
    it. But it gave me a sense of the importance of it because he
    thought it was important. So since then, and that was 10, 15
    years ago, we have had bipartisan support to try to maintain
    for our country leadership in supercomputing and we have over
    that time different administrations have reorganized our
    computing effort, provided what we call leadership computing.
    And now we are moving, as you just described, to a new phase of
    what we call Exascale computing. When will that happen and when
    will we see that? And what will the benefits be to our country
    for that?
        Secretary Perry. Mr. Chairman, the Office of Science has
    been working very closely with our leadership on the computing
    facilities and the Exascale, and as you appropriately pointed
    out, we are shooting for 2021. You asked for specificity, a
    date. And 2021 there's $140 million that will be designated for
    Argon. There's $100 million for Oak Ridge and those leadership
    computing facilities. And that's monies to support nonrecurring
    engineering efforts and site preparation for the activities and
    for the Exascale computing project to maintain the planned
    schedule.
        So 2021 at Argon and then 2022 at Oak Ridge. And as you and
    I have talked about the Oak Ridge architecture is different
    than the Argon, but, again, this will give us, put us back into
    quite a substantially better position, let me put it that way.
    We will have the fastest computer in the world for a period of
    time. But this is a competition that goes on every day and our
    friends in China and elsewhere are very capable.
        So but we recently laid out a request for proposal for at
    least two Exascale computers, as I've said. So those are in the
    works. Those $1.8 billion total RFP.
        Senator Alexander. Thank you.
        Let me ask Ms. Gordon-Hagerty about the uranium facility.
    Senator Feinstein and I worked together over the last half
    dozen years I guess to try to, because of our concern about
    cost overruns on the NNSA large construction projects and our
    most successful effort, I think, was to, as a result of two
    things, one was a red team that focused attention on the
    uranium facility and secondly, regular meetings with the person
    on the flagpole, the person in charge, to see whether the
    project was on time and on budget.
        Now, you have said that the project, and we also required
    that construction be 90 percent designed before construction
    began. So that's all worked pretty well and we have got a
    number and a year. You authorized that the uranium facility go
    ahead.
        Are you confident that we are on time and on budget and are
    you willing to continue to work with Senator Feinstein and me,
    meet with us every 6 months or so, to give us a report and to
    let us know if there's any variation in that on time and on
    budget prediction?
        Ms. Gordon-Hagerty. Yes, Mr. Chairman, I'm absolutely
    committed to working with you and Senator Feinstein and the
    members of the committee every 6 months or so, as I had
    promised in our meeting earlier this week. More importantly I
    can say confidently at present time we are committed to
    delivering the Uranium Processing Facility at Oak Ridge
    National Lab--at Y-12 in Oak Ridge on time and on schedule,
    which is by the end of 2025 at a cost of not more than $6.5
    billion.
        Senator Alexander. And am I correct that you did not
    authorize construction until design was 90 percent completed?
        Ms. Gordon-Hagerty. That is correct and we just recently
    have made the recommendation to the Deputy Secretary and he
    agreed just last month that we would go to see CD-123.
        Senator Alexander. Do you think that's a reasonable model
    for other large scale construction projects?
        Ms. Gordon-Hagerty. Yes, sir. And I can tell you that
    during my short tenure here at the NNSA, Department of Energy,
    NNSA, we've talked much about using that model and I believe
    that the NNSA has made significant improvements in
    infrastructure.
        Senator Alexander. Well, I'd like to thank Senator
    Feinstein actually for her role in this because I think this is
    one case where Senate oversight of a large spending project
    made a real, made a real difference.
        Senator Feinstein. Maybe the first one.
        Senator Alexander. Hopefully not the last.
        Senator Feinstein.
        Senator Feinstein. I would like to ask a question about
    ITER (International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor) because
    I had the privilege of meeting the new director and we have had
    some concern about the funding and it's my understanding that
    the administration has not taken a position on our continued
    involvement. The department was supposed to address that
    question in the fiscal year 2019 budget, but it didn't. And all
    we have is a request for $75 million and an acknowledgment that
    a decision needs to be made.
        If the United States is going to retain a partner in ITER
    then funding in fiscal year 2019 should be roughly $200 million
    or more in order to maintain cost and schedule. Of course when
    we cut it back, I then saw all the American projects that were
    involved in it which used up the money essentially of our
    contribution.
        And so clearly there is American involvement and American
    jobs. Whether ITER can ever be successful or not I think is
    still unknown and I don't know, Mr. Secretary, if you've had a
    chance to take a good look at it, but even if you haven't, if
    there are some views you have that you can share with us it
    would be appreciated.
        Secretary Perry. Senator, I have had the opportunity to
    take a look at it. We visited with the new executive director.
    We have had some fairly extensive conversations about it. I,
    like you, don't know whether or not this will be a successful
    scientific project or not, but we also realize that for the
    future of energy we are going to be, we are going to be
    traveling down some roads from time-to-time that we don't know
    what the destination may look like that we are trying to get to
    and I know that sounds a bit vague, but the fact is on this
    project that may be one of those.
        With that said, there are some projects U.S. manufacturers
    that are involved with that. We have still committed to funding
    their efforts. There's a California project. I think its
    General Atomics that is building a part of that project and
    they've been clearly sent the message that the funding is going
    to continue on there.
        Overall, from a high level view, we are currently carrying
    out a very high level review of nuclear energy related
    activities and it ITER is obviously on that list.
        Senator Feinstein. What do your people say about it? Under
    the new management, what I'm told is, well, it's much better.
    But I don't know what the chances are that we reach fusion.
        Secretary Perry. Paul, would you like to take a shot at
    your fusion, put your fusion goggles on?
        Mr. Dabbar. So it is our opinion that Director General
    Bigot who took over as head of the ITER project has certainly
    got a good handle on the project management and the delivery
    from all the different countries, including our own, and
    coordinating that much better than previously.
        However, the overall project cost had moved from about $11
    billion to $65 billion in our estimate. So, as you know, it's a
    very large amount of money and that's just, that's just a
    construction cost. There's also operating costs going forward
    after it's in operation. And in general we have a 9.09 percent
    part of that. So we have--
        Senator Feinstein. So 9 percent that Chairman just asked
    how much of that is our money.
        Mr. Dabbar. It's about $6.4 billion in construction plus a
    proportional share of operations after it starts operation in
    2025 ramping up to 2035 is the final operations step up. So it
    is a lot of money.
        We, as the Secretary said, we are still evaluating it. Last
    year the 2018 Omni, there were two particular components that
    were in kind so being constructed here in the United States or
    delivering U.S. made components. One is by General Atomics on
    the central solenoid and they also funded the other component,
    which was a cooling water system. Our budget here proposes to
    fund the General Atomics central solenoid in the 2019 budget as
    we continue to evaluate our options under the agreement and
    around the science, given the cost.
        Senator Feinstein. This is hard, I know. Can you estimate
    when a correct judgment might be made?
        Mr. Dabbar. So we think that the cost estimates are
    reasonably, they are coming out of the ITER organization are
    pretty reasonable right now. And so what we are trying to
    evaluate is really the budgetary impact to the department to
    continue that, to recommend whether the appropriators might
    recommend funding it going forward or if there's something else
    that we should be doing around our involvement in the project.
        Senator Feinstein. Yes. So just one thing, will we know
    before we markup?
        Senator Alexander. Doesn't sound like it. Well, we can talk
    more about this. We have had a lot of discussions about this
    and we are very interested in your judgment and your
    evaluation.
        Senator Feinstein. Yes.
        Senator Alexander. Before we markup. We want your best
    judgment before we markup.
        Senator Feinstein. That's right.
        Senator Alexander. Thank you, Senator Feinstein.
        Senator Kennedy.
        Senator Kennedy. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
        Mr. Secretary, and your colleagues, welcome. I can remember
    a time, Mr. Secretary, I know you can too, when we imported
    liquefied natural gas and now we are exporting it I think to 27
    different countries. One of which is Mexico.
        Can you or your colleagues enlighten me a little bit about
    how our NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement)
    negotiations may impact that export of natural gas to our
    friends in Mexico?
        Secretary Perry. I'll give you my best shot at it and
    Senator, as you may or may not know, in the early 1990s I was a
    part of the NAFTA, the original NAFTA agreement. I think my
    title was the, I was on the intergovernmental policy advisory
    committee. And the longer your title is the less influence you
    have. So I had a pretty long name, but I was on the
    agricultural sector. I was the Ag commissioner in the State of
    Texas at that particular point in time.
        And what we found was that there was a, you know, this was
    a, it turned out from my perspective to be a really good
    agreement. Twenty-five years later it's time to renegotiate the
    contract. The world has changed. Energy is probably the biggest
    factor in that.
        I feel comfortable. I'm not engaged directly in these
    negotiations. Ambassador Lighthizer has got that. The President
    has got that.
        But I feel very confident we are going to get a deal. As I
    told the Ambassador, get a deal, get a good deal, but get a
    deal. We need this. We need this partly because it's in the
    best interests of the United States to have this agreement with
    Mexico.
        I think that the potential with Mexico, and particularly in
    the energy sector, is one of the great bright lights in Mexico.
    If you want to see that country's economic arrow pointed in the
    right direction obviously energy is going to be right at the
    center of that, whether it's allowing U.S. companies to help
    E&P, whether it's the pipeline side of it. I think all the way
    downstream to being able to build a refining and chemical
    industry in Mexico as well. So I think the opportunities are
    extraordinary. Getting a NAFTA deal is really important.
        Senator Kennedy. I'd like to get your thoughts and the
    thoughts of your colleagues too, just in general about the
    changes in America in terms of energy and our mix of energy.
    Obviously we have been long-time dependent on oil. We are
    producing more of our own oil now.
        Secretary Perry. Yes, sir.
        Senator Kennedy. Where do you see the mix of America's
    sources of energy in say the next 10 years in terms of nuclear,
    coal, natural gas, solar, wind, and then I want to talk a
    little bit about battery technology.
        Secretary Perry. I'll try to be brief here.
        Senator Kennedy. That's okay.
        Secretary Perry. We are going to be in all of the above--
    country--I think for us to not be all of the above--you
    mentioned all of them and hydro--all of those are going to be,
    I think, inextricably intertwined to the American economy as we
    go forward.
        If we don't have all of those and that's the reason that
    coal and nuclear both have to be brought back into the mix, if
    you will. The previous Administration made both of those
    industries, from my perspective, difficult for them to be
    viable in the market. I think it's very important for this
    country to try to put rules and regulations into place where
    all forms of energy--our renewables are going to continue to
    grow.
        You know, in my home State of Texas we developed more wind
    energy than any other State in the Nation over the last decade.
        Senator Kennedy. Secretary, can I stop you just one second?
        Secretary Perry. Yes, sir.
        Senator Kennedy. Because I'm about to run out of time.
        Secretary Perry. Okay.
        Senator Kennedy. I did want to ask you one other question.
    I worry that China is beating our brains out in terms of
    battery technology. Do you have any thoughts on that?
        Secretary Perry. Well, listen, China is a heck of a
    competitor.
        Senator Kennedy. Yes.
        Secretary Perry. And we have got to be on our A game when
    we come. I happen to think that the National Labs and our
    investment in our National Labs are what are going to keep us
    in the game on battery storage.
        I believe battery storage is the holy grail of the energy
    side of things going forward, particularly on the renewable
    side. And we are working and making good progress. PNNL
    (Pacific Northwest National Laboratory) out in Senator
    Murray's, that they are doing some fabulous work on batteries
    and battery storage.
        And I will suggest to you the answers will be found in our
    universities and our National Labs working together on battery
    storage.
        Senator Kennedy. Thank you, Mr. Secretary.
        Secretary Perry. Yes, sir.
        Senator Kennedy. Do you miss being governor?
        Secretary Perry. It was the best job I ever had. But this
    one is the most interesting job I've ever had.
        Senator Kennedy. It's not dull, is it?
        Secretary Perry. This is a consequential job.
        Senator Alexander. Thank you, Senator Kennedy.
        Secretary Perry. Isn't that right?
        Senator Kennedy. Senator Shaheen, do you miss being
    governor?
        Senator Shaheen. Everyday. How about you?
        Senator Kennedy. And getting more so.
        Senator Shaheen. That's right.
        Mr. Secretary, and all of the panelists here, thank you
    very much for being here today and for taking on the
    challenging responsibilities that you have.
        I notice that there have been a lot of energy sources
    mentioned today, but the one thing that hasn't been mentioned
    is energy efficiency. And I was disappointed to see that the
    President's budget cut the Office of Energy Efficiency and
    Renewable Energy by more than 65 percent. That when energy
    efficiency is the number one job creator within the clean
    energy economy and accounts for three out of four American
    clean energy jobs, employs about 2.2 million Americans.
        And in fact, according to the American Council for an
    Energy Efficient Economy, over the last 40 years energy
    efficiency has contributed more to our Nation's energy needs
    than any other fuel source saving Americans about $800 billion
    during that time period.
        So, I wonder, Mr. Secretary, if you could explain to us why
    we should cut support for critical energy efficiency programs
    when they have made such a difference to our economy and to our
    energy needs.
        Secretary Perry. Senator, I'll attempt to give you my
    observations about what we have done on our budget so that I
    think from my perspective, we have, that budget may be a little
    misleading from the standpoint of the restructuring that we did
    over on that side of the house notwithstanding, you know, our
    2019 request for EERE (Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy).
    I think we got almost $700 million to maintain America's
    leadership in the transformative science and emerging energy
    technologies.
        We transitioned to early stage--one of the things I found
    as governor was that once technologies get mature that they
    will either make it or they won't out in the marketplace. And
    you know, we believe our role is more in the early stage side
    and so we transition over to the early stage side of this and--
    --
        Senator Shaheen. I'm sorry to interrupt, Mr. Secretary, my
    time is running. And so I just want to, I appreciate that
    that's a view of the Department of Energy. I would argue that
    that doesn't seem to be our view with respect to fossil fuels
    like oil and gas and nuclear, and also nuclear power which we
    have been supporting and subsidizing for decades in this
    country.
        So, again, maybe we could submit for the record so you can
    share with me in more detail----
        Secretary Perry. Yes, ma'am.
        Senator Shaheen [continuing]. Your view on that because I
    wanted to get to another issue before my time is up.
        At least twice in 2017 programs that are under the
    jurisdiction of this subcommittee have seen confusion around
    timing and delays, particularly with respect to the DOE
    violating the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act
    by withholding appropriated funds for ARPA-E around
    weatherization.
        I have a letter here, Mr. Chairman, which I would like to
    submit for the record from the Government Accountability
    Office, which was released in February that talks about how
    this impoundment lead to lost jobs and disruption to the
    competitive prospect of several ARPA-E projects.
        Senator Alexander. So ordered.
        [The information follows:]

        Senator Shaheen. And I just wondered what you have done to
    address the concerns raised in this GAO letter and what we
    might look for in the next budget year so that that does not
    happen again.
        Secretary Perry. Let me address ARPA-E. The Chairman and I
    have had pretty lengthy discussions about ARPA-E and the--one
    of the things I learned as an appropriator back in my days is
    that--and actually what I learned as governor was a better
    teacher for me than being an appropriator.
        Appropriators do a lot of hard work and lay the budgets out
    and governors sometimes don't get to write those budgets or
    they write a budget and then they----
        Senator Shaheen. I appreciate that.
        Secretary Perry. Anyway. So I respect what you do and I
    happen to--I know what my role is here and if this committee
    decides that they are going to fund ARPA-E at a certain level,
    I'm going to implement it and run it as efficiently and
    effectively as we can. So I hope that you know that we respect
    your right to write that budget and us to implement it.
        Senator Shaheen. Again, another program that had similar
    issues was the Weatherization Assistance Program. So should we
    assume that any delays in funding that this committee has
    thought appropriate will--we will not see the same kind of
    issues in the upcoming budget year that we have seen in the
    last?
        Secretary Perry. We are going to follow the lead of this
    committee.
        Senator Shaheen. Thank you.
        Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
        Senator Alexander. Thank you, Senator Shaheen.
        Senator Merkley.
        Senator Merkley. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman.
        And thank you, Mr. Secretary, for your testimony. You said
    a few moments ago that battery storage is a holy grail, did I
    catch that correctly?
        Secretary Perry. That's a quote, sir.
        Senator Merkley. So the current account is funded at $41
    million. As you reorganized you now have under the Office of
    Electricity Delivery $8 million for battery storage and that
    doesn't even sound like a research account.
        So if it's the Holy Grail why are we going from $41 million
    to $8 million with that $8 million not even clearly dedicated
    to research?
        Secretary Perry. Senator, I think, you know, line item,
    pulling out one line item and saying this is all of the dollars
    that we are going to be focusing on a particular effort might
    be a little bit narrow in scope.
        Senator Merkley. Well, okay. Well, let's have you follow-up
    and show us where else in the budget battery storage is. The
    reason we have these conversations is because you label things
    and we assume those labels are accurate.
        Secretary Perry. Yes, sir.
        Senator Merkley. So if you have hidden the battery storage
    somewhere else then that's not helpful to us.
        Secretary Perry. Paul, would you----
        Mr. Dabbar. Yes, Senator. So we have battery line items and
    funding in ARPA-E in the past and the Office of Science and
    EERE and in OE (Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy
    Reliability).
        Senator Merkley. Okay. I'm just going to stop you there.
    One, because we have little time. But let me just point out
    ARPA-E has been reduced to zero in your budget. Now, so don't
    tell me about battery storage funding being in ARPA-E if you
    are zeroing out the account.
        Mr. Secretary, if you believe that high risk, high return
    strategy is the appropriate role for government spending, and I
    think that's what I heard you say that you preferred to do it
    there then after you had mature technologies, then why are you
    cutting ARPA-E to zero?
        Secretary Perry. I think the 2018 budget has $48 million in
    it, Senator.
        Senator Merkley. Well, we are here discussing the fiscal
    year 2019 budget, Mr. Secretary. It's the budget before us.
    That's the purpose of this hearing. Why are you cutting ARPA-E
    to zero?
        Secretary Perry. That's the, that's the budget that we are
    here to defend, sir.
        Senator Merkley. Yes, well defend it. Why are you cutting
    it to zero?
        Secretary Perry. Well, I'll use the same, all the same
    rationale that I used a year ago when I said that I understand
    how the appropriations process works, the budget goes forward
    by the Administration and you all get to write it and then we
    will implement it.
        Senator Merkley. I must say your responsibility to come
    here is to layout a vision for us and to explain that vision.
    I've just asked why your vision is that ARPA-E should be zero
    and you haven't answered the question.
        Secretary Perry. I am giving you the best answer I can give
    you, Senator.
        Senator Merkley. Okay. Well, let's turn to the sale of
    Bonneville. Why do you want to sell Bonneville power?
        Secretary Perry. I'm not going to tell you that that is--
    that is an idea that's been laid out on the table for a
    discussion and----
        Senator Merkley. So it's not your recommendation that it be
    sold?
        Secretary Perry. I would suggest to you it's a concept
    that's laid out on the table for conversation.
        Senator Merkley. So are you laying out that concept saying
    that the People who buy it can decide what price to sell the
    transmission services that they acquire?
        Secretary Perry. I'm saying that, you know, let's have a
    conversation, talk about what's the good, what's the bad, how
    is it----
        Senator Merkley. Okay.
        Secretary Perry [continuing]. Affect the----
        Senator Merkley. Well, so let me give you my opinion. It's
    the most horrific idea we have heard in the Northwest ever and
    take it off the table and if you don't have a detailed
    description of how you are planning to do it and a way to
    defend it then don't keep delivering the same bad ideas up here
    to Capitol Hill.
        You will find the Northwest legislators will lay down on
    the tracks to make sure that we don't sell off the ability to
    have reasonable, renewable power and this is our rural
    cooperatives. They were here this week on Capitol Hill saying
    how the heck, why is the Administration proceeding to sell us
    out by selling Bonneville. I couldn't answer them, but I told
    them, you know, I'm going to find out from the Secretary and
    I'm trying to find out now.
        Secretary Perry. Well, here's one of the things I would
    tell them is that the recommendation, the best I recall wasn't
    to sell Bonneville, it was to sell the transmission lines.
        Senator Merkley. It is to sell the transmission assets.
    That is correct and that's what I'm asking about.
        Secretary Perry. And again, I will say, let's have the
    conversation. But what you were making the argument about is
    that we are going to sell Bonneville and that's not correct.
        Senator Merkley. Bonneville transmission assets.
        Secretary Perry. The Bonneville transmission lines.
        Senator Merkley. That's right. And I asked you specifically
    are you going to, when people buy the transmission lines, allow
    them to set the price for the use of those lines.
        Secretary Perry. It's a good conversation to have.
        Senator Merkley. Okay. It's a bad idea.
        Secretary Perry. Show me the economics of it one way or the
    other.
        Senator Merkley. Let's put a stake through the heart of
    that, through the heart of that conversation. I want to turn to
    the same topic my colleague mentioned in terms of energy
    efficiency and renewable energy because when Mark Menezes, your
    Under Secretary, explained why the cuts should occur, he said
    accomplishments have been made in these programs. And you
    mention that you prefer early technology rather than late
    technology.
        So why would you proceed on something that's on a fast
    curve of technological transformation where we are in direct
    competition with the rest of the world? Why would we undermine
    that effort while you are increasing the funding for age old
    fossil fuel research?
        Secretary Perry. And you're asking about the weatherization
    program?
        Senator Merkley. No. No. No, EERE.
        Secretary Perry. EERE.
        Senator Merkley. Yes.
        Secretary Perry. And we talked about early stage and those
    becoming mature and going on----
        Senator Merkley. Those technologies are not mature yet,
    they are changing dramatically year-after-year, just like you
    mentioned on battery technology.
        Secretary Perry. I will suggest to you----
        Senator Merkley. Okay. I'm out of time, but thank you very
    much.
        Senator Alexander. Thank you, Senator Merkley.
        Senator Hoeven.
        Senator Hoeven. Governor Secretary Perry, it's an honor to
    see you.
        Secretary Perry. Yes, sir.
        Senator Hoeven. Hope you are doing well. Hope you are
    enjoying the job. Thanks for being here today. Appreciate it.
        We need to get you out to North Dakota to see some of the
    really innovative stuff that we are doing both at the Energy &
    Environmental Research Center and at Dakota Gasification where
    we are not only converting coal into liquefied natural gas, we
    are capturing CO2 and sending it out to the oil
    fields and putting it down whole. Similar to what Denver is
    doing down in your State, except that we are using it for
    singular oil recovery instead of just sequestration and now
    they have built a half a billion dollar fertilizer plant that
    they are going to run with that natural gas.
        So it would be really great to have you come out and see
    those things and I think you'd really enjoy it. And weather is
    warming up a little and I know you being from Texas like that.
    So we would love to have you come.
        Secretary Perry. Yes, sir.
        Senator Hoeven. Is that yes, sir in the affirmative?
        Secretary Perry. Yes, sir, in the affirmative.
        Senator Hoeven. That's good.
        Now let's talk about your support for some of this fossil
    energy research and development. Project Tundra is a project we
    have where we are putting actual scrubbers on the back end that
    capture CO2 on existing plants for sequestration and
    in the Alum cycle is the technology where we would actually
    build a plant. You've got one in Petra Nova I think in Houston.
        Secretary Perry. Yes, sir.
        Senator Hoeven. And we have both our State and the industry
    collaborating. We have gotten some funding already out of DOE.
    Got $6 million last year to get these underway and I would like
    to just have you talk about your commitment to that technology
    and helping to develop it.
        Secretary Perry. Yes, sir.
        Senator Hoeven. Unless you want to talk about Bonneville
    power some more. It's up to you. I mean, I'd give you the
    choice.
        Secretary Perry. No. That's kind. Thank you.
        I think we beat that horse. We beat that horse about as
    much as we want to beat it.
        Senator Hoeven. Senator Murray might----
        Secretary Perry. I got the message. The stake is in my
    hand.
        So the technology that we are seeing brought forward on
    clean coal, carbon capture, utilization (CCU) is starting to
    take off across the globe and I think that's one of the most
    important things about this is that I'm leaving Friday for
    India. We will be talking to them about not only their
    continued growth in the innovation side of things buying U.S.
    technology. CCU will be part of that that we talk to them
    about. So the potential for U.S. technology to be delivered and
    deployed across the globe, particularly into those countries
    that are going to continue to use coal.
        Senator Hoeven. Right.
        Secretary Perry. By 2040 77 percent of all the energy
    produced in the world is still going to be produced by fossil
    fuels. I mean that's a fact.
        We want it to be U.S. based resources as often as possible,
    but we also want it to be clean burning as it can be and that's
    where the CCUS (carbon capture, utilization, and storage) and
    the technology that's ongoing at these projects, like you have
    in your home State and we are working on at our labs.
        Senator Hoeven. Yes. And this is the real solution. It's
    not overregulation. It's this technology and innovation is the
    real solution. No question about it.
        And just like we have done with Sox, Knox and Mercury we
    are making progress on this and we will find a way not just to
    make it technologically feasible, but commercially viable.
    That's it, commercially viable is where we have to get to.
        Secretary Perry. Yes, sir.
        Senator Hoeven. We really appreciate it. I know you get it
    and I appreciate your help on it. I'm glad to hear you are
    going over to India, China, and those kind of places obviously.
    We will adapt that technology. They will buy it from us as we
    develop it.
        Secretary Perry. They will indeed.
        Senator Hoeven. And then I want to shift to you, Ms.
    Gordon-Hagerty. Talk to me about the W80-4 refurbishment, you
    know, which is the, you know, the new cruise missile, long-
    reach standoff missile. We need your work on that project to
    stay on track.
        And so just talk to me about how you're going to get on our
    timeline and stay on our timeline because, you know, we need
    that new technology to defeat our enemies' defensive systems if
    we are going to continue to be, you know, capable militarily of
    doing that. And that's what that timeline is all about is
    making sure we stay ahead of their defenses. So please talk to
    me how we are going to stay on track with that.
        Ms. Gordon-Hagerty. Yes, Senator. Thank you for the
    question.
        We actually are on track and on timeline right now and we
    are aligning our program with the U.S. Air Force and basically,
    with consistent and reliable funding we will be able to align
    our programs with the Air Force and continue to do so. And this
    is our, it's a heavy lift for us, but we certainly are on
    track, as we are with all of our other major, our major alt and
    our three LEPs (life extension programs) that we have currently
    undergoing.
        Senator Hoeven. And it absolutely aligns with the
    Administration's goal.
        Ms. Gordon-Hagerty. Absolutely. Yes, it does.
        Senator Hoeven. And Secretary Perry, also just ask for your
    continued support for our cooperative agreements with the
    Energy & Environment Research Center at the University of North
    Dakota on--the Colton.
        Secretary Perry. Yes, sir.
        Senator Hoeven. Thank you again to all of you. Appreciate
    you being here.
        Secretary Perry. Thank you, Governor.
        Senator Alexander. Thank you, Senator Hoeven.
        Senator Murray.
        Senator Murray. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. And
    thank you, you and Senator Feinstein, for your tremendous work
    on the 2018 omnibus bill. It rejected bad policies and put good
    investments in place for my State and the entire Country. We
    appreciate it.
        On BPA (Bonneville Power Administration), what Senator
    Merkley said. Stake in it, Mr. Chairman--Mr. Secretary. What
    Senator Merkley said, I agree too, we cannot privatize the
    transmission lines. Absolutely opposed to it. I think you heard
    us.
        Secretary Perry. Not only today but before.
        Senator Murray. Okay. Well, let me really focus on the
    Hanford site, as I'm sure you knew I would.
        Last year you told me that DOE supports completing the low-
    activity waste facility and hot commissioning by December,
    2023. And I appreciate your efforts to try and accelerate that
    work.
        It has become abundantly clear that reaching this court
    mandated deadline sooner comes at the expense now of the rest
    of the waste treatment plant. DOE just spent years resolving
    the technical issues and the high-level waste facility is ready
    to resume design, engineering and procurement and technical
    issues resolution for the pretreatment facility is nearly
    complete.
        So now is not the time to take our foot off the gas. In
    fact, the recently enacted spending bill that we just approved
    provides $75 million for the high-level waste facility and
    prevents DOE from initiating any changes without proper and
    detailed justification.
        So let me ask you, Mr. Secretary, has DOE made a decision
    to place the high-level waste facility and/or the pretreatment
    facility into an extended preservation mode?
        Secretary Perry. We have not.
        Senator Murray. You have not. Well, I'm worried because,
    from the looks of it, your proposed budget reflects a decision
    only providing funding for, ``configuration management of
    design and procurement documents,'' for both facilities.
        So will your budget allow for any work other than
    preserving or maintaining the existing structure?
        Secretary Perry. Senator, I think the study still goes on
    about how to get that back online. Our focus and what we talked
    to Bechtel about was to get the DFLAW (direct-feed low activity
    waste) program, get it up and working where we can get the, you
    know, get the waste treated and start it heading off of that
    facility.
        Senator Murray. Okay. Well, will you follow Congressional
    direction and move forward with the design and engineering work
    on the high-level waste facility?
        Secretary Perry. Senator, I will follow your direction--
        Senator Murray. Okay.
        Secretary Perry [continuing]. And the committee and the
    Senate.
        Senator Murray. Okay. I would be remiss if I didn't remind
    you that I have been asking you and DOE at all levels for more
    information on your proposals for Hanford's tank waste
    treatment mission.
        I am still waiting for answers and clarity and I just want
    you to know I'm not going to support any proposals until we get
    a thorough review and analysis to Congress and to the State of
    Washington and to the Tri-Cities Community because DOE has a
    legal and a moral obligation to meet those Hanford cleanup
    responsibilities.
        Secretary Perry. Senator, I think you know that C Farm is
    at--we are going to be able to make an announcement about C
    Farm and about cleaning up C Farm that hasn't been done in the
    past. So I look forward to coming out----
        Senator Murray. And you'll give details of that?
        Secretary Perry [continuing]. And making that announcement
    with you in the not too distant future.
        Senator Murray. Okay. I want to follow-up on Senator
    Shaheen's concern because, as she talked about, and I'm worried
    about, President Trump's budget for DOE fails to make the
    necessary investments in science and engineering to make sure
    that we, as United States, continue our global leadership.
        Our national labs, you've called them the crown jewels,
    would be forced to let go of thousands of scientists and
    engineers under your budget and that loss of knowledge and
    experience would be just staggering. So I'm really grateful
    actually for the strong support within this subcommittee for
    EERE programs that support critical research and development,
    as Senator Shaheen talked about, for energy efficiency,
    renewable energy, alternative transportation. In fact, provided
    a historic $2.3 billion in the recent bill.
        Your budget proposed a fraction of that. It would be a 70
    percent cut which would have significant impacts to our
    national labs, including PNNL (Pacific Northwest National
    Laboratory) in my home State and universities and our industry
    partners. So I am really worried about that and wanted to ask
    you why your budget doesn't support the EER programs.
        Secretary Perry. Senator, I disagree with that analysis
    that we don't support the sciences and what have you. What we
    are looking at is, I think, a difference in line items.
        We are standing up an Office of Cybersecurity with a pretty
    substantial increase in that budget alone. So I don't see, and
    I'll go back and reiterate this issue of we are focusing on
    early stage, not more mature technologies. And I think as you
    have seen these dollars being shifted around that's where, you
    know, that's where the criticism comes is that it appears that,
    you know, we are not following the old line item, we are not
    following the old budgetary restrictions if you will.
        Senator Murray. Well, just understand that if we were to
    enact the budget as you sent it it would have a severe impact,
    a severe cut to our national labs.
        Okay. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
        Senator Alexander. Thank you, Senator Murray.
        Senator Udall.
        Senator Udall. Thank you, Chairman Alexander, and thank you
    for your leadership on this subcommittee.
        Secretary Perry, it's good to see you and I want to thank
    you for taking the time to speak to us about the NNSA budget
    and also I see the Administrator here.
        Secretary Perry. Yes, sir.
        Senator Udall. So I have a couple of questions I think for
    you.
        I'm very happy to see you made a whirlwind visit into New
    Mexico and Los Alamos National Lab and meeting with some of
    those best and brightest scientists we have there.
        One of the most important missions facing DOE and our
    country today is the plutonium mission. That is a challenging
    endeavor and there is only one place in the U.S. with the
    technical know-how to do this and that is the Los Alamos
    National Laboratory.
        As you know I'm concerned about the DOE analysis of
    alternatives and the process that has been undertaken to
    determine the host for the plutonium mission. That DOE analysis
    ignored the Nuclear Weapons Council, DOE's own cost office, and
    Congressional direction, which have all pointed DOE towards the
    modular approach at Los Alamos.
        And this question is to both of you, will you continue to
    ensure that this mission is based on science and security
    requirements, not politics, and that the modular approach at
    Los Alamos is fully considered in the analysis of alternatives?
        Secretary Perry. Yes, sir. And Senator, you know, that the
    commitment----
        Senator Udall. If you want to just say yes, that's great.
        Secretary Perry. Yes, sir.
        Senator Udall. Yes.
        Secretary Perry. Yes, sir. And stop right there.
        Senator Udall. And Madam Administrator.
        Ms. Gordon-Hagerty. Yes.
        Senator Udall. Okay. We are going to hold you to that. As
    you know, you and I have visited several times about this----
        Secretary Perry. Yes, sir.
        Senator Udall [continuing]. And we really hope that we
    focus on specifically what I just talked about there.
        When asked about cleanup during your visit to Los Alamos
    last year you stated, and these are the quotes I believe
    publicly, I want to get things done. I'm a realist. I realize
    we are not going to clean it up overnight. We are going to make
    progress.
        We appreciate that and I was pleased the budget agreement
    enabled the subcommittee to devote more resources to cleanup at
    Los Alamos. We will be looking to do so again in 2019.
        Going forward we have a new, stand alone cleanup contract
    there and I believe the transition needs to be successful.
        Will you direct DOE's Office of Environmental Management to
    do everything in their power to ensure a smooth transition for
    that contract so that we do make progress and do not face a
    slow down as we transition from one contractor to another?
        Secretary Perry. Yes, sir.
        Senator Udall. Thank you.
        And this is I think to both of you. There are some new
    nuclear missions that have been proposed in this budget and the
    Nuclear Posture Review. I'm concerned, however, that these new
    missions could end up taking away money from the existing
    stockpile stewardship program and divert attention from the
    life extension programs that are already on a tight timeline.
    Like many Americans, I'm concerned about the proliferation of
    nuclear weapons and the last thing we need are new arms races
    around the world.
        Do you agree that our effort to complete the existing
    stockpile stewardship program on time and at the best price for
    the taxpayer cannot afford to be distracted by new nuclear
    missions?
        Secretary Perry. Yes, sir.
        Senator Udall. You.
        Ms. Gordon-Hagerty. Sir, I'm confident that we are on
    schedule and within budget for our three life extension
    programs and our ongoing major alt to the W88.
        Senator Udall. As you all know, and I know Senator
    Alexander knows, that was a big, the moving forward on the
    modernization was a big bipartisan effort that was put together
    in the last administration, had very good, strong bipartisan
    support on both sides.
        The clearance backlog is impacting everyone in the national
    security space. We are pleased that DOE has put in place some
    teams to help address this, but it will take time to work
    through.
        Will you continue to direct the resources necessary to
    reduce the time for clearances while maintaining standards?
        Secretary Perry. Yes, sir.
        Senator Udall. Thank you very much. There are many
    individuals in New Mexico and elsewhere who are anxious and
    willing to contribute to this important national security
    mission and when they have to wait a year or more for a
    clearance there's a clear disincentive for them to work at the
    labs versus a private facility, which in many cases may pay
    more than a government job. So I hope you really work on that
    clearance issue.
        And please, I know this is something that the Chairman is
    concerned about and many members of this committee. Let us know
    what we can do, if we can move that process along to make you
    all more effective and achieve your missions.
        Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman.
        Senator Alexander. Thank you, Senator Udall. And thanks for
    your active participation in the subcommittee.
        Mr. Secretary, I just have a couple of more points. This, I
    didn't want to interrupt while the Bonneville Senators were
    speaking, but there's a thing called TVA, which is in
    Tennessee, and there is some gremlin over in the Office of
    Management & Budget that through every President somehow this
    gremlin makes his way up through the floor and gets into some
    budget proposal the proposal to sell either Bonneville or TVA
    or the transmission assets.
        And my hope would be that somebody would find that gremlin
    and lock him in a closet and that the Administration would
    focus its attention on other, other issues. And I don't need
    for you to respond to that.
        Let me ask you about ARPA-E. You and I have had a lot of
    discussions about it. And I do appreciate the fact that you
    recognize that the budget may recommend one thing, we may
    decide another. And in the case of ARPA-E, as we have
    discussed, that was the result of the rising above of the
    gathering storm proposal by a distinguished group of Americans.
    It was the hope that over time it would do for energy what
    DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency) had done for
    defense, or something like that. And it's off to a good start.
    So we have funded it.
        One of the areas where I've always been hopeful. And you
    mentioned the words, Holy Grail. I've always thought the Holy
    Grail for energy was to find, to use your words, a commercially
    viable carbon recapture.
        I'm not so optimistic about the projects we have so far.
    They are expensive. They don't work as well as we would like
    and they have a hard time competing in the marketplace with
    other forms of energy.
        But if we can find a way to reuse carbon, to recycle
    carbon, somehow, think of the magnificent opportunity that
    would present all over the world. Because as Governor Hoeven
    said, we figured out what to do with sulfur, nitrogen and
    mercury. We can get rid of that.
        If we can recycle carbon we can use coal everywhere and
    that would seem to me to be ripe for ARPA-E. There was one
    project at ARPA-E which sought to use electricity in a way that
    reused carbon and I don't think it in the end succeeded.
        And there have been other projects that have recycled
    carbon. But they produced so much stuff. For example, it turned
    into limestone. Nobody knew what to do with all that limestone.
        So it's--and there are a lot of smart people out there. You
    would think they would have solved it by now. But it seems to
    me that some biologist or some physicist will find a way to
    essentially recycle carbon in a commercially viable way so that
    we can use coal.
        And I wonder if there were any comments that you had to
    make about that or if there were a way that you could put a
    priority on that. You have got the authority to do it, at least
    through ARPA-E and through a small amount of money that we
    appropriate to carbon reuse.
        What are your thoughts?
        Secretary Perry. Senator, one of the things that we've done
    on the carbon capture utilization sequestration issue is to
    take it to a more global audience. Last year at the Clean
    Energy Ministerial in China, we were able to get that issue
    onto the list of areas that they were going to support, to
    study, to promote and in that Clean Energy Ministerial.
        So we were able to move it into a, into a position of
    getting substantially more observation, if you will, more
    support, in the global community. The United States is going to
    be one of the leaders on that. Our national labs, some of the
    work that they are going to be doing.
        I don't disagree with you. You and I have had this
    conversation before and in front of this committee a year ago.
    You know, there are certain parts of the budget that I have
    substantially more support for than others and if this
    committee, as they have done in the 2018 budget decide to fund
    ARPA-E, I'm going to with great energy work with you to find
    the places that we can have the biggest impact on this.
        Senator Alexander. Well, I appreciate that. But I was
    hoping it might--that with your interest in fossil fuels as
    well as your acknowledged interest in renewable energy as well
    that you might encourage ARPA-E in other parts of the
    Department to see if some scientist or some biologist could
    come up with this holy grail of the commercially viable carbon
    recapture. Because I'm not confident the sequestration is--I
    know it is not there and I don't know if it will ever get
    there. I keep thinking there's some bug or something in biology
    or something in physics that will make this possible, but I
    don't know how to do it.
        Secretary Perry. Yes, sir.
        Senator Alexander. I want to thank all of you for coming,
    Mr. Secretary, Ms. Gordon-Hagerty, thank you for coming. Mr.
    Dabbar, Mr. Vonglis, thank you for being a part of the
    Government and giving your time and energy to that. It's very
    important. You have an enormously important Department.
        Senator Feinstein and I, all of us appreciate the
    responsiveness of the Department. The more you work with us and
    our staffs the easier it is for us to create an environment in
    which you can succeed. And if you can succeed, our country can
    succeed.
        The hearing record will remain open for 10 days. Senators
    may submit additional information or questions for the record
    within that time if they would like.
         The subcommittee requests all responses to questions for
    the record be provided within 30 days of receipt.

                              SUBCOMMITTEE RECESS

        Senator Alexander. Thank you for being here. The committee
    will stand adjourned.
        [Whereupon, at 4:11 p.m., Wednesday, April 11, the
    subcommittee was recessed, to reconvene subject to the call of
    the Chair.]

                               [all]