DOE National Nuclear Security Administration requests $21.4B for FY 2023 budget

In releasing President Joe Biden’s Fiscal Year 2023 budget request, the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has requested $21.4 billion for 2023 to modernize, innovate and maintain its deterrence capabilities simultaneously. 

Weapons modernization, nuclear security, and infrastructure investments are included in the budget request. It would fully fund the NNSA’s naval nuclear reactor program, invest in science, technology, and infrastructure, and update key production capabilities, including:

1. Maintaining and modernizing the nuclear stockpile;
2. Producing 80 war reserve plutonium pits per year;
3. Minimizing or eliminating sensitive nuclear materials in civilian use;
4. Establishing a new bioassurance program to tap the NNSA labs’ science, engineering and technology capabilities to guarantee biosecurity;
5. Funding the development of expertise, infrastructure, and means for nonproliferation, nuclear security, and more, along with verification technologies for future arms control; and
6. Supporting the nuclear navy, increasing R&D funds to improve the capabilities of nuclear-powered ships, and advancing the spent nuclear fuel handling facility

“The President’s FY 2023 Budget Request is a strong commitment to NNSA’s vital national security mission at this critical time,” Jill Hruby, Under Secretary of Energy for Nuclear Security and NNSA Administrator, said. “NNSA faces mission imperatives as difficult as any we’ve ever had, simultaneously modernizing our arsenal while recapitalizing aging infrastructure and reestablishing critical capabilities that have degraded since the end of the Cold War. Additionally, we will advance our efforts in nuclear security and nonproliferation to meet current and future challenges.”

The proposals were based partly on the recommendations of the Nuclear Posture Review. The NNSA added that the investments outlined in the request would also help advance the NPR’s policy decisions.