for further information, contact:
Nickolas Roth 914-673-6666
Susan Gordon 505-473-1670

Alliance for Nuclear Accountability (ANA) applauds the Senate Armed Services Committee for creating legislation requiring transparency and accountability in Department of Energy (DOE) budgeting.

The Committee approved legislation that would require DOE to report cost and schedule overruns for warhead Life Extension Programs, defense funded construction projects, and environmental management programs. Over the past decade the Government Accountability Office (GAO) has repeatedly cited DOE for failing to establish realistic cost estimates for environmental cleanup and construction projects.

This increased scrutiny of major DOE construction and cleanup programs is particularly important right now. The Obama administration has asked Congress to approve the largest nuclear weapons budget in history. Additionally, the administration recently released a report detailing their plan to spend more than $80 billion over the next 10 year on major facility construction projects and significantly modified nuclear warheads.

“This legislation is a common sense step to increase budget transparency and honesty within the Department of Energy. This new provision will help force DOE into providing accurate cost estimates for their programs,” said Susan Gordon, Director of the Alliance for Nuclear Accountability.

“Legislation that reigns in excessive spending and poor management is essential for those of us who demand better fiscal responsibility within our government,” said Nickolas Roth, Program Director for the Alliance for Nuclear Accountability. “Given the current economic climate, increased spending requires increased accountability.”

For the past year, the ANA has been asking Congressional offices to support legislation modeled after the Department of Defense (DOD) “Nunn-McCurdy” program. Under Nunn-McCurdy, DOD is required to report cost overruns in major procurement programs. These provisions, if enacted by Congress, would provide the same level of accountability.

The Alliance for Nuclear Accountability is a national network of three-dozen grassroots and national groups representing the concerns of communities near U.S. nuclear weapons sites that are directly affected by 65 years of nuclear weapons production and waste contamination.