Government Shut Down - Not Again Please
It may seem like only yesterday that the U.S. federal government shut down (actually, it was 2013), followed by promises from Republicans and Democrats alike: Never again. Turns out never again may be the end of this month.
The government needs to be funded by Sept. 30, but Congress is way behind in passing the series of spending bills necessary to pass a full budget. Instead, lawmakers will probably try to pass a short-term budget extension (Continuing Resolution - CR) that basically keeps spending levels the same as last year, and keeps the government open. Consequences of another CR are not without local SRS impacts. However, the odds of another government shutdown have also increased. If past is prologue, national parks and the National Zoo would be shuttered; many federal employees would be furloughed; and food inspections would be delayed.
In addition, as the recent Energy Communities Alliance (ECA)
letter to the Appropriations Committee points out, the Federal Government shutdown in October 2013 had significant economic consequences for all DOE communities, including the loss of businesses, jobs, and revenues needed to provide local services. It also caused severe disruptions to work at national laboratories. Laboratories and plants likely lost at least three weeks of mission work, or 6 percent of the year's productivity, due to the shutdown. Terminating work mid-stream proved to be damaging and costly to defense related projects. This led to taxpayer dollars being misspent and manpower being used unproductively.
Let's hope Congress heeds these warnings and avoids the devastating impacts as ECA points out.
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NNSA Releases 2015 Enterprise Strategic Vision
Late last month, DOE/NNSA released its 2015 DOE/NNSA Enterprise Strategic Vision. This document aligns with the Department of Energy Strategic Plan for 2014-2018 and provides a framework for integrating NNSA missions and direction for pursuing DOE's strategic goals. DOE/NNSA ensures U.S. and global nuclear security every day by maintaining the nuclear weapons stockpile, reducing global nuclear dangers, and providing for naval nuclear propulsion through the application of world-class capabilities by its highly skilled workforce.
DOE/NNSA also conducts significant global security work at DOE laboratories, several of which have historic roles in nuclear fuel cycle issues, including Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Argonne National Laboratory, Idaho National Laboratory, Brookhaven National Laboratory, and Savannah River National Laboratory. The Savannah River Site also processes uranium and plutonium to meet DOE/ NNSA's nonproliferation goals and produces tritium for the nuclear stockpile.
As DOE/NNSA follows this 2015 DOE/NNSA Enterprise Strategic Vision, it will focus on meeting the challenges of today and a dynamic future. This strategic vision serves DOE/NNSA as a guide to advancing world-class science and engineering, supporting its people, modernizing its infrastructure, and developing a management culture that operates a safe and secure enterprise in an efficient manner.
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DOE Cleanup Workshop
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), in cooperation with the Energy Communities
Alliance (ECA) and the Energy Facility Contractors Group (EFCOG) will hold its first DOE National Cleanup Workshop on September 29th and 30th, 2015 in Washington, D.C. The SRSCRO will be represented at this event. The workshop will bring together senior DOE executives, officials from DOE sites, industry executives, and other stakeholders to discuss Environmental Management's (EM) progress in the cleanup of the environmental legacy of the nation's Manhattan Project and Cold War nuclear weapons program. Topics to be discussed include major cleanup successes planned over the next two years, improving contract and project management, efforts to develop new cleanup technologies, and other timely topics.
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24th Annual Teller Lecture
As part of its public outreach, Citizens for Nuclear Techno
 logy Awareness (CNTA) sponsors the annual Edward Teller Lecture, named for the famed nuclear pioneer who played a key role in development of nuclear energy during World War II. Dr. Teller inaugurated the annual lecture series in 1992 in connection with the 50th anniversary of nuclear energy. At that lecture, he told a sold-out audience in Augusta, Georgia, that nuclear energy and the Savannah River Site both have much to offer in the years ahead and urged full development of their potential.
In conjunction with Nuclear Science Week, the
24th Annual Edward Teller Lecture and Banquet will take place on October 19, 2015, featuring Admiral Cecil Haney, Commander, U.S. Strategic Command. Admiral Haney, a native of Washington, D.C., is a 1978 graduate of the United States Naval Academy. He is well versed on the influence of 21st century deterrence and threats to U.S. security, highlighting the potential for nuclear, space, and cyber attacks. All are interesting topics and compliment the overall theme of Nuclear Science Week.
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Spotlight
New Executive Vice President and Chief Operations Officer for SRNS
Dave Eyler has assumed the role of Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer for Savannah River Nuclear Solutions (SRNS) at the Savannah River Site (SRS), replacing Fred Dohse who announced his retirement earlier this summer. Eyler earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from the U.S. Naval Academy; a Masters of Science degree in Systems Technology from the Naval Postgraduate School; and a Masters of Arts degree in National Security and Strategic Studies from the Naval War College.
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State-By-State Election/Democracy Fun Facts
South Carolina elected the first African American Congressman, Joseph Rainey.
North Carolina has the lowest rate of Union membership (and hence union voters) in the United States.
At over 6,000,
Illinois has more units of government (i.e., city, county, township, etc.) than any other state.
In
Missouri, a person can register to vote online and electronically provide a signature using a mobile device, tablet or touchscreen computer, but not a standard desktop computer.
In 2002,
Arizona became the first state to allow online voter registration.
In 1945,
Georgia became the first state to lower the legal voting age from
21 to 18.
Two states,
Maine and
Vermont, allow felons to vote from prison.
Alabama has the longest still operative constitution of anywhere in the world. It is 40 times longer than the US Constitution.
"None of These Candidates" is a voting option listed on the ballot in
Nevada along with candidates for President of the United States and state constitutional positions. It recently won the Democratic primary for Governor.
Minnesota had the highest voter turnout in 2012 and 2008.
In 2012,
West Virginia was the only state with a voter turnout of below 50%.
California was the first state to have two female Senators at once.
Montana was the first state to send a woman to Congress (Jeannette Rankin) even before women had universal suffrage in the US.
Vermont has the highest percentage of women in its legislature, but has never sent a woman to Congress.
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