DOE’s Nuclear Weapons Complex: Challenges to Safety, Security, and Taxpayer Stewardship

This hearing will continue the committee’s oversight of Department of Energy management of our nation’s most sensitive nuclear facilities. It will also examine a range of management and administrative challenges confronting DOE, including a recent security breakdown at the Y-12 National Security Complex.

The committee has a long history of investigating and identifying safety, security, and management issues in the Nuclear Weapons Complex. Continuing the long-standing, bipartisan approach to these critical national issues, committee leaders recently wrote to the Government Accountability Office requesting assistance in evaluating oversight of nuclear weapons complex contractors’ self-assessment programs. They also requested GAO conduct a study of the Los Alamos National Laboratory’s efforts to upgrade radioactive waste management capabilities, critical to maintaining the nation’s nuclear weapons stockpile. This oversight follows other recent actions initiated by the committee on DOE safety and security reforms.

Hearing Notice

Background Memo