U.S. Representative David Hobson (R-Oh) Holds a Hearing On Fiscal Year 2007 Appropriations for the Energy Department's National Nuclear Security Administration

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U.S. Representative David Hobson (R-Oh) Holds a Hearing On Fiscal Year 2007 Appropriations for the Energy Department's National Nuclear Security Administration

HOUSE COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS: SUBCOMMITTEE ON ENERGY AND WATER DEVELOPMENT AND RELATED AGENCIES HOLDS A HEARING ON FISCAL YEAR 2007 APPROPRIATIONS FOR THE ENERGY DEPARTMENT'S NATIONAL NUCLEAR SECURITY ADMINISTRATION

MARCH 30, 2006

SPEAKERS: U.S. REPRESENTATIVE DAVID L. HOBSON (R-OH) CHAIRMAN U.S. REPRESENTATIVE JOHN T. DOOLITTLE (R-CA) VICE CHAIRMAN U.S. REPRESENTATIVE RODNEY P. FRELINGHUYSEN (R-NJ) U.S. REPRESENTATIVE TOM LATHAM (R-IA) U.S. REPRESENTATIVE ZACH WAMP (R-TN) U.S. REPRESENTATIVE JO ANN EMERSON (R-MO) U.S. REPRESENTATIVE MICHAEL K. SIMPSON (R-ID) U.S. REPRESENTATIVE DENNIS R. REHBERG (R-MT) U.S. REPRESENTATIVE JERRY LEWIS (R-CA) EX OFFICIO

U.S. REPRESENTATIVE PETER J. VISCLOSKY (D-IN) RANKING MEMBER U.S. REPRESENTATIVE CHET EDWARDS (D-TX) U.S. REPRESENTATIVE ED PASTOR (D-AZ) U.S. REPRESENTATIVE JAMES E. CLYBURN (D-SC) U.S. REPRESENTATIVE MARION BERRY (D-AR) U.S. REPRESENTATIVE DAVID R. OBEY (D-WI) EX OFFICIO

WITNESSES: LINTON BROOKS, ADMINISTRATOR, NATIONAL NUCLEAR SECURITY ADMINISTRATION

ADMIRAL KIRKLAND DONALD, DEPUTY ADMINISTRATOR FOR NAVAL REACTORS, NATIONAL NUCLEAR SECURITY ADMINISTRATION

[*] HOBSON: Committee will come to order.

The subcommittee meets this morning to hear testimony (OFF-MIKE) fiscal year 2007 budget request for programs (OFF-MIKE) National Nuclear Security Administration.

Ambassador Brooks, I welcome you here today (OFF-MIKE) from NNSA. Mr. Tom D'Agostino, Mr. Jerry Paul, and Admiral Donald from the naval reactors.

Mr. D'Agostino, I want to congratulate you on your new position as deputy administrator for the defense programs and wish you success in the job of transforming that old battleship.

Ambassador Brooks, I ask you to give a brief summary of your statement this morning, and without objection, your complete, prepared statement will be entered into the record.

Members are to submit any questions for the record by 5:00 p.m. this afternoon and we will submit all questions for the record to the department by the close of business today.

Ambassador Brooks, we're going to ask you to have the edited hearing transcript in responses to all questions back to the subcommittee no later than four weeks from today. If there's any problems on that, you need to come and talk to us well ahead of time. We're under some pressures to get this thing done -- everything done -- and so I'm not asking anything different than we did everybody else, but if there's a problem, we need to know about it.

I want to start off the hearing by noting that NNSA and DOD took the first steps toward transforming the weapons complex this winter by finally working with the Congress to terminate the nuclear, quote, "bunker buster," unquote, proposal. I think DOE and DOD, the Congress, the American people and, frankly, the world are better off because of this policy change.

One of my objectives as chairman of Energy and Water Development is to work with the Department of Energy to transform the nuclear weapons complex from a Cold War relic to an enterprise that makes sense for the next 25 years.

Frankly, I've been disappointed in how resistant to change the complex has turned out to be. The current complex, in my opinion, is too large for any conceivable future need and much too inefficient to be maintained given shrinking federal resources. There's a lot of work to do and I'm trying to get it done with your help.

I was pleased with the recommendations of the secretary of Energy's Advisory Board Nuclear Weapons Infrastructure Task Force chaired by David Overskei. However, I've been very disappointed by the apparent disinterest of the NNSA in implementing the recommendations.

We will be covering the SEAB report in greater detail at our oversight hearing on Wednesday, April 26, so I'm not going to be asking any questions on that topic at the hearing today.

I will say I believe that we're at a particular time in history that, frankly, offers a unique window of opportunity to make significant reforms to the weapons complex. I look forward to hearing some indication at the department that they recognize this opportunity as well.

And let me just say that we do have a window of opportunity here. This is not to say we're going to do away with nuclear weapons. We're certainly not. But we've got an opportunity, I think, to all work together to make sure that we move forward in a responsible way so that the next generation can have the security that they have, the right weapons, the right complex, and that they feel secure with what they have and they're sure of th...

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