Energy and Water Development
Appropriations for Nuclear Weapons
Activities: In Brief
Updated May 2, 2024
Congressional Research Service
https://crsreports.congress.gov
R47657

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Energy and Water Development Appropriations for Nuclear Weapons Activities: In Brief

Introduction
Responsibility for U.S. nuclear weapons resides with both the U.S. Department of Defense
(DOD) and the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). DOD develops, deploys, and operates the
missiles and aircraft that can deliver nuclear warheads. Based on presidential guidance, DOD also
generates military requirements for the warheads carried on those platforms. The National
Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), a semiautonomous agency within the DOE, oversees
the research, development, test, and acquisition programs that produce, maintain, and sustain the
warheads.1
NNSA is also responsible for storing and securing undeployed warheads that are not deployed
and for dismantling warheads that have been retired and removed from the stockpile. NNSA
manages and sets policy for the U.S. nuclear weapons complex, consisting of eight sites in seven
states. These sites include three laboratories (Los Alamos National Laboratory, NM; Lawrence
Livermore National Laboratory, CA; and Sandia National Laboratories, NM and CA); four
production sites (Kansas City Plant, MO; Pantex Plant, TX; Savannah River Site, SC; and Y-12
National Security Complex, TN); and the Nevada National Security Site (formerly Nevada Test
Site).2
NNSA partners with DOD through the congressionally established Nuclear Weapons Council
(NWC) to coordinate the nuclear weapons work between the two departments. The NWC is also
responsible for the annual certification of NNSA’s budget request.3
Congress authorizes funding for DOD and NNSA nuclear weapons activities in the annual
National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) and provides funding for the NNSA through the
Energy and Water Development Appropriations Act. NNSA operates three programs, each of
which receives funding in a dedicated appropriation account: Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation,
Naval Reactors, and Weapons Activities. The Weapons Activities program is the subject of this
report.
The Weapons Activities appropriation account supports U.S. nuclear warheads and associated
components, provides the materials and components for those weapons, and sustains and
modernizes the infrastructure that supports these missions. According to NNSA, the Weapons
Activities account provides for “the maintenance and refurbishment of nuclear weapons to
continue sustained confidence in their safety, reliability, and performance; continued investment
in scientific, engineering, and manufacturing capabilities to enable production and certification of
the enduring nuclear weapons stockpile; and manufacture of nuclear weapon components.”
NNSA’s budget request for FY2025 seeks $19.8 billion for Weapons Activities, $740.6 million
(3.9%) more than the enacted funding of $19.11 billion in FY2024, within a total budget of $25
billion for NNSA.4 In its budget request, NNSA notes that the “overarching mission” for Weapons

1 For a history of the nuclear weapons program and related topics, see U.S. Department of Energy, National Nuclear
Security Administration, “NNSA Timeline,” at https://www.energy.gov/articles/history-energy-departments-role-
nuclear-security.
2 For details on the sites in the Nuclear Weapons Complex, see CRS Report R45306, The U.S. Nuclear Weapons
Complex: Overview of Department of Energy Sites.
3 For more on the NWC, see U.S. Department of Defense, “Nuclear Weapons Council,” in Nuclear Matters Handbook,
2020, https://www.acq.osd.mil/ncbdp/nm/NMHB2020rev/docs/NMHB2020rev_Ch6.pdf.
4 U.S. Department of Energy, Department of Energy FY 2025 Budget in Brief, FY 2025 Congressional Justification,
March 2024, p. 139, at https://www.energy.gov/sites/default/files/2024-03/doe-fy-2025-budget-in-brief-v2.pdf, as well
as p. 6-8 in U.S. Department of Energy, Comparative Appropriation by Congressional Control FY2025 v2, April 2024,
https://www.energy.gov/sites/default/files/2024-03/doe-fy-2025-budget-approps-congressional-control-v2.pdf.
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Energy and Water Development Appropriations for Nuclear Weapons Activities: In Brief

Activities is to “deliver warheads that meet military requirements.” According to NNSA
Administrator Jill Hruby, “NNSA is being asked to do more than at any time since the Manhattan
Project.”5 As required by Congress, the FY2025 budget request lists the following NNSA
integrated priorities for weapons activities:6
• Support the active stockpile.
• Execute warhead modernization programs.
• Reestablish and modernize production infrastructure and capabilities.
• Plutonium pit production.
• Modernization and production programs for other materials and components.
• Develop and sustain strong science, technology, and engineering efforts to
support the stockpile and the design, assessment, and certification infrastructure
which underpin the deterrent.
• Continue assessing concepts to meet future threats.
• Address gaps in experimental and computational capabilities.
• Hire and retain the workforce necessary to achieve deliverables and address
retirements.
• Secure transport of nuclear materials and warheads.
• Uphold strong proactive maintenance and recapitalization programs.
• Implement physical security systems and measures across the complex.
• Sustain and improve information technology systems and cybersecurity to meet.
directives and other requirements.
Selected Major Activities
NNSA’s budget request for FY2025 seeks $19.8 billion for Weapons Activities, $740.6 million
(3.9%) more than the enacted funding of $19.11 billion in FY2024.7 The FY2025 request contains
funding to continue NNSA’s nuclear warhead modernization programs and to modernize NNSA
production and research facilities, as well as funding to support future plutonium pit production at
the Savannah River Site and Los Alamos National Laboratory. The Weapons Activities
appropriation is organized into four main mission areas, after being reorganized and renamed in
FY2021. These programs, each with a request of over $3 billion for FY2025, include the
following:
• Stockpile Management. The budget requested $188 million (-3.5%) less funding
for FY2025 than was enacted in FY2024 to support work on nuclear warhead life
extension programs, warhead surveillance and quality assurance, maintenance,
and related activities.

5 Department of Energy, “NNSA Administrator Jill Hruby Remarks at the 2024 Nuclear Deterrence Summit,” February
1, 2024, https://www.energy.gov/nnsa/articles/nnsa-administrator-jill-hruby-remarks-2024-nuclear-deterrence-summit.
6 U.S. Department of Energy, Department of Energy FY 2025 Congressional Justification, National Nuclear Security
Administration, Federal Salaries and Expenses, Weapons Activities, Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation, Naval
Reactors, March 2024, Office of the Chief Financial Officer, Volume I, p. 140-143, https://www.energy.gov/sites/
default/files/2024-03/doe-fy-2025-budget-vol-1-v3.pdf.
7 U.S. Department of Energy, Comparative Appropriation by Congressional Control FY2025 v2, April 2024, p. 7,
https://www.energy.gov/sites/default/files/2024-03/doe-fy-2025-budget-approps-congressional-control-v2.pdf.
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• Production Modernization. The budget requested $11 million (0.2%) more
funding for FY2025 than was enacted in FY2024 for programs that focus on
maintaining and expanding the production capabilities for nuclear weapons
components critical to weapons performance.8
• Stockpile Research, Technology, and Engineering. The budget requested $106
million (-3.2%) less funding for FY2025 than was enacted in FY2024 for
programs that provide the scientific foundation for the current and future
stockpile. This category replaces the Research, Development, Test and
Evaluation program area.
• Infrastructure and Operations (I&O). The budget requested $715 million
(27.7%) more funding for FY2025 than was enacted in FY2024 for programs to
maintain, operate, and modernize NNSA’s infrastructure. This category is
intended to support construction of new facilities and also fund deferred
maintenance in older facilities.
In addition to these activities, the NNSA also requested in the budget a total of $195 million (9%)
more funding for FY2025 than was enacted in FY2024 for several other programs, such as the
Secure Transportation Asset, Defense Nuclear Security, Information Technology and
Cybersecurity, and Legacy Contractor Pensions (see Table 1).
Table 1. Funding for Weapons Activities by Major Category, FY2022-FY2025
(millions of current dollars)

$ Change
% Change

(FY2025
(FY2025
Request-
Request-
FY2022
FY2023
FY2024
FY2025
FY2024
FY2024
Program
Enacted
Enacted
Enacted
Request
Enacted)
Enacted)
Stockpile Management
4,637.7
4,954.1
5,329.2
5,140.7
-188.5
-3.5%
Production Modernization
2,911.0
5,116.7
5,865.9
5,877.7
11.8
0.2%
Stockpile RT&Ea
2,843.0
2,950.0
3,280.4
3,174.2
-106.3
-3.2%
I&O
3,868.3
2,602.6
2,584.8
3,299.9
715.1
27.7%
Otherb
1,660.0
1,889.0
2,161.2
2,356,25
195.0
9%
Prior year balances
0
-396.0
-113.6
0
113.6
-100%
Total
15,920.0
17,116.1
19,108.0
19,849.0
740.6
3.9%
Source: NNSA FY2025 budget request and Department of Energy, Comparative Appropriation by Congressional
Control FY2025 v2; Committee on Appropriations Energy and Water Subcommittee explanatory statement to
Division D-Energy and Water Appropriations Act, 2023, p. 175-182 of PDF; Committee on Appropriations
Energy and Water Subcommittee explanatory statement to Division D-Energy and Water Appropriations Act,
2024, p. 116-122 of PDF.
Notes: Totals may not sum due to rounding. RDT&E: Research, Development, Test and Evaluation; I&O:
Infrastructure and Operations.
a. Stockpile RT&E: Beginning in FY2024, Academic Programs, which had previously been within the Stockpile
RT&E Program, wil be its own separate program.
b. Other: Secure Transportation Asset, Defense Nuclear Security, Information Technology and Cybersecurity,
and Legacy Contractor Pensions and Settlement Payments, and Academic Programs beginning in FY2024.

8 According to NNSA, these include primaries, canned subassemblies, radiation cases, and non-nuclear components.
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Stockpile Management
According to NNSA’s FY2025 budget materials, the Stockpile Management requirements
“maintain a safe, secure, reliable and effective nuclear weapons stockpile.”9 The activities in this
program area include warhead life extension, modification, and design efforts; the annual
assessment process for the current active stockpile; stockpile sustainment activities; warhead
dismantlement activities; and sustainment of manufacturing capabilities and capacities. The
Stockpile Management program includes five subprograms:
• Stockpile Major Modernization: includes continuing activities for the B61-12
Life Extension Program (LEP), W88 Alteration (ALT) 370, W80-4 LEP, W87-1
Modification program, and a feasibility study for the W93 program. The FY2025
budget request also includes development and production engineering activities
for the B61-13 program. The budget request further notes that, “while a dedicated
line item for the Sea Launched Cruise Missile (SLCM) is not currently included
in the FY 2025 request, NNSA is proposing $1,165 [million] for the W80‐4
warhead which the NDAA associates with SLCM‐N.”10
• Stockpile Sustainment: includes activities to maintain and develop each Stockpile
System and Multi-Weapons System. According to NNSA, Stockpile Sustainment
executes “maintenance, surveillance, assessment, surety, management activities,
and support of weapons until they are dismantled for all enduring weapons
systems in the stockpile.”11 The program includes the B61, W76, W78, W80,
B83, W87, and W88 Stockpile Systems, and Multi-Weapon Systems. 12
• Weapons Dismantlement and Disposition (WDD): includes funding for the
interim storage of warheads awaiting dismantlement, funding for actual
dismantlement, and funding for the disposition of warhead components and
materials.
• Production Operations (PO): sustains manufacturing capabilities and capacities,
including weapons assembly and disassembly, component production,
surveillance, and weapon safety and reliability testing.
• Nuclear Enterprise Assurance (NEA): a program introduced in FY2023, NEA
“actively manages subversion risks to the nuclear weapons stockpile and
associated design, production, and testing capabilities.”13
Table 2 provides data on weapons activities by warhead program.14

9 U.S. Department of Energy, Department of Energy FY 2025 Congressional Justification, National Nuclear Security
Administration, Federal Salaries and Expenses, Weapons Activities, Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation, Naval
Reactors, March 2024, Office of the Chief Financial Officer, Volume I, p. 104.
10 Ibid., p. 14. For more information about the SLCM-N program, see CRS In Focus IF12084, Nuclear-Armed Sea-
Launched Cruise Missile (SLCM-N), by Paul K. Kerr and Mary Beth D. Nikitin.
11 Ibid., p. 104.
12 Ibid., p. 158.
13 Ibid., p. 105.
14 Ibid., p. 157 is the source for the program and associated DOD system. It should be noted that the B61-13 and W80-4
SLCM are not listed in the in the FY2025 budget request table on current U.S. nuclear weapons and associated delivery
systems. Sources for funding are listed below the table.
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Table 2. Weapons Activities Funding by Warhead Program, FY2022-FY2025 Request
(dollars in millions)
$ Change
% Change
(FY2025
(FY2025
Request-
Request-
Associated
FY2022
FY2023
FY2024
FY2025
FY2024
FY2024
Program
DOD System
Enacted
Enacted
Enacted
Request
Enacted)
Enacted)
B61-12 LEP
Nuclear-
771.66
672.02
449.85
27.50
-422.35
-93.9%
Capable
Aircraft/
Bomber
B61-13 LEP

0
0
52.00
16.00
-36.00
-69.2%
W88 Alt
Submarine-
207.16
162.06
178.82
78.70
-100.12
-56.0%
370
Launched
Ballistic Missile
W80-4 LEP
Air-Launched
1,080.40
1,122.45
1,009.93
1,164.80
154.82
15.3%
Cruise Missile
W80-4

20.00
70.00
0*a
-70.00
-100%
ALT-SLCM
W87-1
Inter-
691.03
680.13
1,068.91
1,096.03
27.12
2.5%
Modification
continental
Ballistic Missile
W93
Submarine-
72.00
240.51
389.66
455.78
66.12
17.0%
Launched
Ballistic Missile
Source: NNSA FY2025 Budget Request and Comparative Appropriation by Congressional Control FY2025 v2;
Committee on Appropriations Energy and Water Subcommittee explanatory statement to Division D-Energy
and Water Appropriations Act, 2023, p. 175 of pdf; Committee on Appropriations Energy and Water
Subcommittee explanatory statement to Division D-Energy and Water Appropriations Act, 2024, p. 116 of pdf.
a. The FY2025 budget request states that “while a dedicated line item for the Sea Launched Cruise Missile
(SLCM) is not currently included in the FY 2025 request, NNSA is proposing $1,165M for the W80‐4
warhead which the NDAA associates with SLCM‐N.” (U.S. Department of Energy, Department of Energy FY
2025 Congressional Justification, National Nuclear Security Administration, Federal Salaries and Expenses, Weapons
Activities, Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation, Naval Reactors, March 2024, Office of the Chief Financial Officer,
Volume I, p. 140).
Production Modernization
According to NNSA’s FY2025 budget materials, the Production Modernization program is tasked
with “modernizing the facilities, infrastructure, and equipment that produce materials and
components to meet stockpile requirements and maintain the Nation’s nuclear deterrent.”15 The
highest spending category in NNSA’s FY2025 budget request, the Production Modernization
program includes six subprograms:
• Primary Capability Modernization: includes plutonium pit modernization and
high explosives and energetics modernization. In its FY2025 budget request,
NNSA notes that the increase supports plutonium pit production at Los Alamos
National Laboratory. NNSA states that the agency “remains committed to

15 Ibid., p. 105.
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Energy and Water Development Appropriations for Nuclear Weapons Activities: In Brief

achieving the pit production capability goals on the path to 80 [pits per year]”
and will provide congressional with quarterly briefings on pit production.16
• Secondary Capability Modernization: includes uranium modernization, depleted
uranium modernization, and lithium modernization. This category’s budget
primarily request reflects increased investment in a variety of operations at the Y-
12 facility. 17
• Tritium Modernization and Domestic Uranium Enrichment: the Tritium
Modernization portion of this program funds activities needed to produce,
recover, and recycle the tritium gas used in U.S. nuclear weapons, while the
Domestic Uranium Enrichment Program is designed to ensure a reliable supply
of enriched uranium to support U.S. national security and nonproliferation needs.
The budget increase is due to “needs for labor and material purchases” as well as
the initiation of design activities for the Domestic Uranium Enrichment
program.18
• Non-Nuclear Capability Modernization: according to NNSA, this program area
funds capabilities necessary for the “design, qualification, production, and
surveillance” of non-nuclear components for multiple weapon systems.19 The
budget increase is for the expansion of efforts at the Kansas City plant and the
modernization of capabilities at Sandia National Labs.20
• Capability Based Investments: according to NNSA, this program “modernizes
scientific and manufacturing capabilities that have degraded due to aging,
broken, or outdated equipment and supporting systems.”21
• Warhead Assembly Modernization: this program, new in FY2025, is for
modernizing capabilities associated with the assembly and disassembly of
warheads at the Pantex plant. 22
Stockpile Research, Technology, and Engineering
According to NNSA’s FY2025 budget materials, the Stockpile Research, Technology, and
Engineering program “provides the knowledge and expertise needed to maintain confidence in
the nuclear stockpile without additional nuclear explosive testing.”23 The program funds not only
science and engineering programs, but also large experimental facilities, such as the Enhanced
Capabilities for Subcritical Experiments (ECSE) program at the Nevada National Security Site
(NNSS), and NNSA’s first Exascale high performance computing system at Livermore
Laboratory.24 The Stockpile Research, Technology, and Engineering program includes five
subprograms:

16 Ibid., pp. 105-106.
17 Ibid.
18 Ibid.
19 Ibid., p. 112.
20 Ibid., p. 105.
21 Ibid.
22 Ibid., p. 112.
23 Ibid., p. 367.
24 For additional information on Exascale, see Exascale Computing Project at https://www.exascaleproject.org/
research-group/national-security/.
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• Assessment Science: this program area performs experiments to obtain the
materials and nuclear data required to validate and understand the physics of
nuclear weapons performance, and conducts activities that develop, exercise, and
maintain the expertise of NNSA’s nuclear weapon design, engineering, and
assessment community.25
• Engineering and Integrated Assessments: this program area aims to ensure that
current and future nuclear weapons systems are survivable and adaptable. It
includes developing advanced weapons capabilities as well as certification and
qualification capabilities.26
• Inertial Confinement Fusion: this program area focuses on High Energy Density
(HED) science capability development for nuclear weapons applications. It
includes funding for the National Ignition Facility (NIF) at Lawrence Livermore
National Laboratory. 27
• Advanced Simulation and Computing: this program area supports stockpile
stewardship with advanced modeling and computing capabilities to help maintain
confidence in the nuclear stockpile without underground explosive testing.28
• Weapon Technology and Manufacturing Maturation: according to NNSA budget
documents, this program area provides “agile, affordable, assured, and responsive
technologies and capabilities for nuclear stockpile sustainment and
modernization.”29
Infrastructure and Operations
According to NNSA budget materials, the Infrastructure and Operations Program “maintains,
operates, and modernizes NNSA’s infrastructure,” which includes planning and constructing all
NNSA support facilities except for complex-construction projects (which are funded by that
specific capability sponsor).30 Major changes in the FY2025 budget request include increased
funding for the production of plutonium pits and for the expansion of capacity at the Kansas City
facility, as well as for projects at the Savannah River Site.31
Selected Legislative Activity
FY2024 Authorizations
The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2024 (NDAA; P.L. 118-31) authorized
$19.123 billion for NNSA Weapons Activities (see Table 3).

25 U.S. Department of Energy, Department of Energy, FY 2025 Congressional Justification, National Nuclear Security
Administration, Federal Salaries and Expenses, Weapons Activities, Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation, Naval
Reactors, March 2024, Office of the Chief Financial Officer, Volume I, p. 371-372, https://www.energy.gov/sites/
default/files/2024-03/doe-fy-2025-budget-vol-1-v3.pdf.
26 Ibid., p. 391.
27 Ibid., p. 417.
28 Ibid., p. 428-429.
29 Ibid., p. 447.
30 Ibid., p. 115.
31 Ibid.
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Table 3. Funding Authorized for NNSA Weapons Activities in FY2024 NDAA
(in billions of dollars of budget authority)
House-Passed NDAA
SASC-Reported
Enacted NDAA
Requested
(H.R. 2670)
NDAA (S. 2226)
(P.L. 118-31)
$18.833
$18.953
$19.109
$19.122
Source: H.Rept. 118-125 accompanying H.R. 2670, p. 559; S.Rept. 118-58 accompanying S. 2226, p. 402; H.Rept.
118-301, p. 804.
Notes: SASC is Senate Armed Services Committee.
FY2024 Appropriations
NNSA’s budget request for FY2024 sought $18.83 billion for Weapons Activities, $1.72 billion
(10.0%) more than the enacted funding of $17.12 billion in FY2023. The Energy and Water
Development and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2024 (P.L. 118-42), provided $19.108
billion for NNSA Weapons Activities—$275 million (1.4%) more than the requested amount (see
Table 4).32
Table 4. Funding Appropriated for NNSA Weapons Activities in FY2024 Energy and
Water Appropriations Act
(in billions of dollars of budget authority)
HAC-Reported Act
SAC-Released Act
Enacted Act (Division
Requested
(H.R. 4394)
(S. 2443)
D of P.L. 118-42)
$18.833
$19.114
$18.833
$19.108
Source: H.Rept. 118-126 accompanying H.R. 4394, p. 166; S.Rept. 118-72 accompanying S. 2443, p. 155; and P.L.
118-42.
Notes: HAC is House Appropriations Committee; SAC is Senate Appropriations Committee.
Issues for Congress
Congressional oversight activities for the programs described above could include hearings,
annual appropriations and authorizations, reporting requirements, or site visits. Congress may
continue to track progress on NNSA’s ability to meet its program goals, particularly as part of the
annual budget cycle hearings.
Program Schedule and Costs
During the 2010s, NNSA prioritized life extension programs, as well as research and
development, over conducting maintenance of production facilities. NNSA is currently
modernizing many of its nuclear-weapons capabilities and the associated production
infrastructure, which Administrator Hruby said was its “biggest challenge” in her 2022 testimony
to Congress.33 Some analysts have questioned NNSA’s ability to complete these projects on time.

32 For more background and analysis on this legislation, see CRS Report R47293, Energy and Water Development:
FY2023 Appropriations, by Mark Holt and Anna E. Normand.
33 Hearing to Receive Testimony on the Nuclear Weapons Council, U.S. Senate Subcommittee on Strategic Forces,
Committee on Armed Services, May 4, 2022, https://www.armed-services.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/22-37_05-04-
2022.pdf.
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Energy and Water Development Appropriations for Nuclear Weapons Activities: In Brief

A 2022 RAND study found that the nuclear enterprise workforce may be inadequate to “handle
the sheer number and scope of activities associated with nuclear modernization programs.”34
Congress has expressed concerns about the costs and schedules of NNSA’s capital projects. Both
House and Senate Appropriations Committee reports on the FY2024 Energy and Water
Development and Related Agencies Appropriations Act noted concern with the NNSA’s ability to
“properly estimate costs” and schedules “for large projects.”35 The FY2024 NDAA established
reporting requirements focused on the costs and schedule of numerous NNSA capital projects,
and mandated that NNSA “develop and maintain a high-level milestone schedule document for
all covered construction projects that includes production infrastructure modernization schedules
with weapons modernization programs.”36 In January 2024 remarks, NNSA Administrator Hruby
stated that the agency’s “objective in infrastructure modernization” is to “substantively increase
our flexibility and resilience, meet production schedules safely, introduce modern and efficient
technologies, and be realistic about costs while exercising fiscal responsibility.” 37
NNSA’s Weapons Activities funding category has steadily increased in recent years, and the
FY2025 request continued this trend. Congress has expressed concerns about cost growth and
transparency in NNSA’s programs during budget hearings. Congress has also directed the
Government Accountability Office (GAO) to give testimony, publish reports documenting delays,
and offer its recommendations. GAO’s assessments of NNSA’s program of record38 have also
expressed concern with the potential for cost overruns. In a 2019 report, GAO noted that “missed
milestones have the potential to increase costs and further delay schedules,” and that NNSA has a
“history of program management challenges that have resulted in significant cost overruns.”39
Plutonium Pit Production and Aging
Congress has expressed concerns about NNSA’s ability to meet the congressional requirement to
be able to produce 80 plutonium pits per year by 2030. Since 2018, NNSA has pursued a “two-
site strategy” that involves the annual production of 30 pits at LANL and 50 pits at SRS. As
discussed in this report, the relevant facilities at LANL are undergoing modernization while the
SRS site is being repurposed from its former mixed-oxide (MOX) fuel development mission to
the pit production mission.40 NNSA has stated that LANL has “transitioned to 24/7 facility

34 Laura Werber et al., Is the National Nuclear Enterprise Workforce Postured to Modernize the Triad?, RAND
Corporation, 2022, at https://www.rand.org/content/dam/rand/pubs/research_reports/RRA1200/RRA1227-1/RAND_
RRA1227-1.pdf.
35 H.Rept. 118-126 accompanying H.R. 4394, https://www.congress.gov/congressional-report/118th-congress/house-
report/126/1; S.Rept. 118-72 accompanying S. 2443, https://www.congress.gov/congressional-report/118th-congress/
senate-report/72/1.
36 H.Rept. 118-301 accompanying H.R. 2670, https://www.congress.gov/congressional-report/118th-congress/house-
report/301.
37 Department of Energy, “NNSA Administrator Jill Hruby Remarks at the 2024 Nuclear Deterrence Summit,”
February 1, 2024, https://www.energy.gov/nnsa/articles/nnsa-administrator-jill-hruby-remarks-2024-nuclear-
deterrence-summit.
38 A program of record is an approved government procurement program specified in budget documentation.
39 U.S. Government Accountability Office, Nuclear Security Enterprise: NNSA Should Use Portfolio Management
Leading Practices to Support Modernization Efforts, GAO-21-398, June 9, 2021, at https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-
21-398.
40 For more information on the MOX program, see CRS Report R43125, Mixed-Oxide Fuel Fabrication Plant and
Plutonium Disposition: Management and Policy Issues, by Mark Holt and Mary Beth D. Nikitin, updated December
14, 2017.
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Energy and Water Development Appropriations for Nuclear Weapons Activities: In Brief

availability” but still needs additional personnel to “meet rate production goals.” 41 NNSA also
acknowledged that achieving the production of 50 pits at SRS by 2030 was “not feasible,” but “as
close as possible to 2030” remained “a high priority.”42
Congress and GAO have both expressed concerns about the costs and schedule of these efforts.43
In FY2021, Congress mandated that NNSA provide a plan outlining an integrated master
schedule (IMS) for “all pit production-related project and program activities” going forward.
Both the House and the Senate Energy and Water Development Appropriations Subcommittees
again stressed their concerns about these programs in their FY2024 appropriations reports.44 Both
noted that NNSA had not yet submitted the required IMS. A January 2023 GAO report on
plutonium pit production stated that NNSA still lacks a “comprehensive schedule or cost estimate
that meets GAO best practices.”45 When questioned about the availability of a life cycle cost
estimate for the program in 2023 Congressional hearings, NNSA Administrator Hruby stated that
NNSA will release an initial cost estimate in April 2024 and an improved estimate will follow in
2025.46
In January 2024 remarks, NNSA Administrator Hruby stated, “In FY23, the Nuclear Security
Enterprise completed nine development plutonium pit builds with five more pits assembled.”
Referencing concerns about the nuclear security enterprise’s potential inability to produce
certified pits for the W87-1 warhead (to be used on Sentinel ICBM), she also said that NNSA
expects “the first ‘diamond stamped’ war reserve plutonium pit for the W87-1 this year.”47 Some
analysts have also questioned the necessity to produce 80 plutonium pits by the year 2030,
arguing that the functioning of existing pits will not be detrimentally affected.48 NNSA is
studying plutonium pit aging to be able to “more confidently predict pit lifetimes for each weapon
system in the stockpile,” according to a February 2024 GAO report.49 The explanatory statement
for the FY2024 Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies Appropriations Act directs

41 FY24 SSMP, p. 3-3.
42 FY24 SSMP, p. 3-3.
43 GAO, NNSA Does Not Have a Comprehensive Schedule or Cost Estimate for Pit Production Capability, January
2023, https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-23-104661. In the FY2024 NDAA, Congress directed NNSA to “to develop
and manage the plutonium modernization program, or any subsequently developed program, using an integrated master
schedule and a life cycle cost estimate that fully meets GAO best practices for both schedule development and cost
estimating.” H.Rept. 118-301 accompanying H.R. 2670, https://www.congress.gov/congressional-report/118th-
congress/house-report/301.
44 H.Rept. 118-126 and S.Rept. 118-72.
45 U.S. Government Accountability Office, Nuclear Weapons: NNSA Does Not Have a Comprehensive Schedule or
Cost Estimate for Pit Production Capability, GAO-23-104661, January 12, 2023, at https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-
23-10466
46 Senate Committee on Armed Services, Hearing to Receive Testimony on the Department of Energy’s Atomic Energy
Defense Activities and Department of Defense Nuclear Weapons Programs in Review of the Defense Authorization
Request for Fiscal Year 2024 and the Future Years Defense Program, April 18, 2023, https://www.armed-
services.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/23-28_04-18-2023.pdf.
47 Department of Energy, “NNSA Administrator Jill Hruby Remarks at the 2024 Nuclear Deterrence Summit,”
February 1, 2024, https://www.energy.gov/nnsa/articles/nnsa-administrator-jill-hruby-remarks-2024-nuclear-
deterrence-summit. “Diamond-stamped” refers to a quality certification process of “war reserve” pits. For more on this
process, see Department of Energy, “NNSA Pit Production Efforts,” July 2023, https://www.energy.gov/sites/default/
files/2023-07/2023%20SES%20Pit%20Production%20Fact%20Sheet-0623-R2.pdf.
48 David Kramer, “Concerns about aging plutonium drive need for new weapon cores,” Physics Today, July 2018,
https://pubs.aip.org/physicstoday/article/71/7/22/922429/Concerns-about-aging-plutonium-drive-need-for-new.
49 GAO, Nuclear Weapons: Information on the National Nuclear Security Administration’s Research Plan for
Plutonium and Pit Aging, February 2024, https://www.gao.gov/assets/d24106740.pdf.
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Energy and Water Development Appropriations for Nuclear Weapons Activities: In Brief

NNSA to enter into an agreement with the JASON scientific advisory group for assessing
NNSA’s work on plutonium pit aging.50
NNSA-DOD Coordination
DOD and NNSA seek to align their program schedules through the NWC. However, many of
DOD’s nuclear modernization programs depend on NNSA delivery of associated components in a
timely manner. The 2022 Nuclear Posture Review (NPR), an executive branch document on U.S.
“nuclear strategy, policy, posture, and forces,” argued for a “resilient and adaptive nuclear
security enterprise” based on three pillars, the first of which was improved DOD-NNSA
coordination. The NPR noted that “there is little or no margin between the end of life of existing
systems and their replacements.”51 Congressional committees have questioned executive branch
officials about the potential impact of NNSA delays on DOD. Should NNSA face unexpected
delays, this may affect DOD programmatic and operational requirements. In January 2024
remarks, NNSA Administrator Hruby stated, “This past year alone, NNSA has delivered more
than 200 modernized weapons” to the DOD, also stating that “there should be no doubt in
anyone’s minds—NNSA is modernizing our stockpile both on-schedule and at pace.”52 Congress
may continue to track NNSA progress on meeting program goals and its relationship with the
DOD, particularly as part of the annual budget cycle hearings.

Author Information

Anya L. Fink
Alexandra G. Neenan
Analyst in U.S. Defense Policy
Analyst in U.S. Defense Infrastructure Policy

50 P.L. 118-42. U.S. House Committee on Appropriations, Division D-Energy and Water Development and Related
Agencies Appropriations Act, 2024, March 3, 2024, https://docs.house.gov/billsthisweek/20240304/
FY24%20EW%20Conference%20JES%20scan.pdf.
51 U.S. Department of Defense, 2022 Nuclear Posture Review, pp. 23-24, https://media.defense.gov/2022/Oct/27/
2003103845/-1/-1/1/2022-NATIONAL-DEFENSE-STRATEGY-NPR-MDR.PDF.
52 Department of Energy, “NNSA Administrator Jill Hruby Remarks at the 2024 Nuclear Deterrence Summit,”
February 1, 2024, https://www.energy.gov/nnsa/articles/nnsa-administrator-jill-hruby-remarks-2024-nuclear-
deterrence-summit.
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Energy and Water Development Appropriations for Nuclear Weapons Activities: In Brief

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Congressional Research Service
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