Calendar No. 415

104TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 1777

A BILL

To authorize appropriations for fiscal year 1997 for

and for other purposes.certain activities of the Department of Energy,

MAY 17, 1996

Read twice and placed on the calendar
II

Calendar No. 415

104TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 1777

To authorize appropriations for fiscal year 1997 for certain activities of

the Department of Energy, and for other purposes.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

MAY 17, 1996

Mr. THURMOND, from the Committee on Armed Services, reported the

following original bill; which was read twice and placed on the calendar

A BILL

To authorize appropriations for fiscal year 1997 for certain

activities of the Department of Energy, and for other

purposes.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Department of Energy

5 National Security Act for Fiscal Year 1997’’.

6 SEC. 2. TABLE OF CONTENTS.

7 The table of contents for this Act is as follows:

Sec. 1. Short title.

Sec. 2. Table of contents.
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Sec. 3. Congressional defense committees defined.

TITLE XXXI—DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY NATIONAL

SECURITY PROGRAMS

Subtitle A—National Security Programs Authorizations

Sec. 3101. Weapons activities.

Sec. 3102. Environmental restoration and waste management.

Sec. 3103. Other defense activities.

Sec. 3104. Defense nuclear waste disposal.

Subtitle B—Recurring General Provisions

Sec. 3121. Reprogramming.

Sec. 3122. Limits on general plant projects.

Sec. 3123. Limits on construction projects.

Sec. 3124. Fund transfer authority.

Sec. 3125. Authority for conceptual and construction design.

Sec. 3126. Authority for emergency planning, design, and construction activities.

Sec. 3127. Funds available for all national security programs of the Department of Energy.

Sec. 3128. Availability of funds.

Subtitle C—Program Authorizations, Restrictions, and

Limitations

Sec. 3131. Tritium production.

Sec. 3132. Modernization and consolidation of tritium recycling facilities.

Sec. 3133. Modification of requirements for manufacturing infrastructure for

refabrication and certification of nuclear weapons stockpile.

Sec. 3134. Limitation on use of funds for certain research and development

purposes.

Sec. 3135. Accelerated schedule for isolating high-level nuclear waste at the Defense Waste Processing Facility, Savannah River Site.

Sec. 3136. Processing of high-level nuclear waste and spent nuclear fuel rods.

Sec. 3137. Fellowship program for development of skills critical to Department

of Energy nuclear weapons complex.

Subtitle D—Other Matters

Sec. 3151. Requirement for annual five-year budget for the national security

programs of the Department of Energy.

Sec. 3152. Requirements for Department of Energy weapons activities budgets

for fiscal years after fiscal year 1997.

Sec. 3153. Repeal of requirement relating to accounting procedures for Department of Energy funds.

Sec. 3154. Plans for activities to process nuclear materials and clean up nuclear waste at the Savannah River Site.

Sec. 3155. Update of report on nuclear test readiness postures.

Sec. 3156. Reports on critical difficulties at nuclear weapons laboratories and

nuclear weapons production plants.

Sec. 3157. Extension of applicability of notice-and-wait requirement regarding

proposed cooperation agreements.
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Sec. 3158. Redesignation of Defense Environmental Restoration and Waste

Management Program as Defense Nuclear Waste Management

Program.

Sec. 3159. Commission on Maintaining United States Nuclear Weapons Expertise.

Sec. 3160. Sense of Senate regarding reliability and safety of remaining nuclear

forces.

TITLE XXXII—DEFENSE NUCLEAR FACILITIES SAFETY

BOARD

Sec. 3201. Authorization.

1 SEC. 3. CONGRESSIONAL DEFENSE COMMITTEES DEFINED.

2 For purposes of this Act, the term ‘‘congressional de3 fense committees’’ means—

4 (1) the Committee on Armed Services and the

5 Committee on Appropriations of the Senate; and

6 (2) the Committee on National Security and the

7 Committee on Appropriations of the House of Rep8 resentatives.

9 TITLE XXXI—DEPARTMENT OF

10 ENERGY NATIONAL SECURITY

11 PROGRAMS

12 Subtitle A—National Security

13 Programs Authorizations

14 SEC. 3101. WEAPONS ACTIVITIES.

15 (a) STOCKPILE STEWARDSHIP.—Funds are hereby

16 authorized to be appropriated to the Department of En17 ergy for fiscal year 1997 for stockpile stewardship in car18 rying out weapons activities necessary for national secu19 rity programs in the amount of $1,636,767,000, to be allo20 cated as follows:
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1 (1) For core stockpile stewardship,

2 $1,200,907,000, to be allocated as follows:

3 (A) For operation and maintenance,

4 $1,112,570,000.

5 (B) For plant projects (including mainte6 nance, restoration, planning, construction, ac7 quisition, modification of facilities, and the con8 tinuation of projects authorized in prior years,

9 and land acquisition related thereto),

10 $88,337,000, to be allocated as follows:

11 Project 96–D–102, stockpile steward12 ship facilities revitalization, Phase VI, var13 ious locations, $19,250,000.

14 Project 96–D–103, ATLAS, Los Ala15 mos National Laboratory, Los Alamos,

16 New Mexico, $15,100,000.

17 Project 96–D–104, processing and en18 vironmental technology laboratory

19 (PETL), Sandia National Laboratories,

20 Albuquerque, New Mexico, $14,100,000.

21 Project 96–D–105, contained firing

22 facility addition, Lawrence Livermore Na23 tional Laboratory, Livermore, California,

24 $17,100,000.
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1 Project 95–D–102, Chemical and

2 Metallurgy Research Building upgrades

3 project, Los Alamos National Laboratory,

4 Los Alamos, New Mexico, $15,000,000.

5 Project 94–D–102, nuclear weapons

6 research, development, and testing facili7 ties revitalization, Phase V, various loca8 tions, $7,787,000.

9 (2) For inertial fusion, $366,460,000, to be al10 located as follows:

11 (A) For operation and maintenance,

12 $234,560,000.

13 (B) For the following plant project (includ14 ing maintenance, restoration, planning, con15 struction, acquisition, and modification of facili16 ties, and land acquisition related thereto):

17 Project 96–D–111, national ignition

18 facility, location to be determined,

19 $131,900,000.

20 (3) For technology transfer and education,

21 $69,400,000.

22 (b) STOCKPILE MANAGEMENT.—Funds are hereby

23 authorized to be appropriated to the Department of En24 ergy for fiscal year 1997 for stockpile management in car25 rying out weapons activities necessary for national secu-
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1 rity programs in the amount of $1,988,831,000, to be allo2 cated as follows:

3 (1) For operation and maintenance,

4 $1,894,470,000.

5 (2) For plant projects (including maintenance,

6 restoration, planning, construction, acquisition,

7 modification of facilities, and the continuation of

8 projects authorized in prior years, and land acquisi9 tion related thereto), $94,361,000, to be allocated as

10 follows:

11 Project 97–D–121, consolidated pit pack12 aging system, Pantex Plant, Amarillo, Texas,

13 $870,000.

14 Project 97–D–122, nuclear materials stor15 age facility renovation, Los Alamos National

16 Laboratory, Los Alamos, New Mexico,

17 $4,000,000.

18 Project 97–D–123, structural upgrades,

19 Kansas City Plant, Kansas City, Missouri,

20 $1,400,000.

21 Project 97–D–124, steam plant waste

22 water treatment facility upgrade, Y–12 plant,

23 Oak Ridge, Tennessee, $600,000.
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1 Project 96–D–122, sewage treatment qual2 ity upgrade (STQU), Pantex Plant, Amarillo,

3 Texas, $100,000.

4 Project 96–D–123, retrofit heating, ven5 tilation, and air conditioning and chillers for

6 ozone protection, Y–12 plant, Oak Ridge, Ten7 nessee, $7,000,000.

8 Project 96–D–125, Washington measure9 ments operations facility, Andrews Air Force

10 Base, Camp Springs, Maryland, $3,825,000.

11 Project 95–D–122, sanitary sewer up12 grade, Y–12 plant, Oak Ridge, Tennessee,

13 $10,900,000.

14 Project 94–D–124, hydrogen fluoride sup15 ply system, Y–12 plant, Oak Ridge, Tennessee,

16 $4,900,000.

17 Project 94–D–125, upgrade life safety,

18 Kansas City Plant, Kansas City, Missouri,

19 $5,200,000.

20 Project 94–D–127, emergency notification

21 system, Pantex Plant, Amarillo, Texas,

22 $2,200,000.

23 Project 93–D–122, life safety upgrades,

24 Y–12 plant, Oak Ridge, Tennessee, $7,200,000.
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1 Project 93–D–123, non-nuclear reconfig2 uration, complex–21, various locations,

3 $14,487,000.

4 Project 88–D–122, facilities capability as5 surance program, various locations,

6 $21,940,000.

7 Project 88–D–123, security enhancement,

8 Pantex Plant, Amarillo, Texas, $9,739,000.

9 (c) PROGRAM DIRECTION.—Funds are hereby au10 thorized to be appropriated to the Department of Energy

11 for fiscal year 1997 for program direction in carrying out

12 weapons activities necessary for national security pro13 grams in the amount of $323,404,000.

14 SEC. 3102. ENVIRONMENTAL RESTORATION AND WASTE

15 MANAGEMENT.

16 (a) ENVIRONMENTAL RESTORATION.—Subject to

17 subsection (j), funds are hereby authorized to be appro18 priated to the Department of Energy for fiscal year 1997

19 for environmental restoration in carrying out environ20 mental restoration and waste management activities nec21 essary for national security programs in the amount of

22 $1,777,194,000.

23 (b) WASTE MANAGEMENT.—Subject to subsection

24 (j), funds are hereby authorized to be appropriated to the

25 Department of Energy for fiscal year 1997 for waste man-
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1 agement in carrying out environmental restoration and

2 waste management activities necessary for national secu3 rity programs in the amount of $1,601,653,000, to be allo4 cated as follows:

5 (1) For operation and maintenance,

6 $1,513,326,000.

7 (2) For plant projects (including maintenance,

8 restoration, planning, construction, acquisition,

9 modification of facilities, and the continuation of

10 projects authorized in prior years, and land acquisi11 tion related thereto), $88,327,000, to be allocated as

12 follows:

13 Project 97–D–402, tank restoration and

14 safe operations, Richland, Washington,

15 $7,584,000.

16 Project 96–D–408, waste management up17 grades, various locations, $11,246,000.

18 Project 95–D–402, install permanent elec19 trical service, Waste Isolation Pilot Plant,

20 Carlsbad, New Mexico, $752,000.

21 Project 95–D–405, industrial landfill V

22 and construction/demolition landfill VII, Phase

23 III, Y–12 Plant, Oak Ridge, Tennessee,

24 $200,000.
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1 Project 94–D–404, Melton Valley storage

2 tank capacity increase, Oak Ridge National

3 Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee, $6,345,000.

4 Project 94–D–407, initial tank retrieval

5 systems, Richland, Washington, $12,600,000.

6 Project 93–D–182, replacement of cross7 site transfer system, Richland, Washington,

8 $8,100,000.

9 Project 93–D–187, high-level waste re10 moval from filled waste tanks, Savannah River

11 Site, South Carolina, $20,000,000.

12 Project 89–D–174, replacement high-level

13 waste evaporator, Savannah River Site, Aiken,

14 South Carolina, $11,500,000.

15 Project 86–D–103, decontamination and

16 waste treatment facility, Lawrence Livermore

17 National Laboratory, Livermore, California,

18 $10,000,000.

19 (c) TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT.—Subject to sub20 section (j), funds are hereby authorized to be appropriated

21 to the Department of Energy for fiscal year 1997 for tech22 nology development in carrying out environmental restora23 tion and waste management activities necessary for na24 tional security programs in the amount of $328,771,000.
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1 (d) NUCLEAR MATERIALS AND FACILITIES STA2 BILIZATION.—Subject to subsection (j), funds are hereby

3 authorized to be appropriated to the Department of En4 ergy for fiscal year 1997 for nuclear materials and facili5 ties stabilization in carrying out environmental restoration

6 and waste management activities necessary for national

7 security programs in the amount of $994,821,000, to be

8 allocated as follows:

9 (1) For operation and maintenance,

10 $909,664,000.

11 (2) For plant projects (including maintenance,

12 restoration, planning, construction, acquisition,

13 modification of facilities, and the continuation of

14 projects authorized in prior years, and land acquisi15 tion related thereto), $85,157,000, to be allocated as

16 follows:

17 Project 97–D–450, actinide packaging and

18 storage facility, Savannah River Site, Aiken,

19 South Carolina, $7,900,000.

20 Project 97–D–451, B–plant safety class

21 ventilation upgrades, Richland, Washington,

22 $1,500,000.

23 Project 96–D–406, spent nuclear fuels

24 canister storage and stabilization facility, Rich25 land, Washington, $60,672,000.
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1 Project 96–D–464, electrical and utility

2 systems upgrade, Idaho Chemical Processing

3 Plant, Idaho National Engineering Laboratory,

4 Idaho, $10,440,000.

5 Project 95–D–456, security facilities up6 grade, Idaho Chemical Processing Plant, Idaho

7 National Engineering Laboratory, Idaho,

8 $4,645,000.

9 (e) POLICY AND MANAGEMENT.—Subject to sub10 section (j), funds are hereby authorized to be appropriated

11 to the Department of Energy for fiscal year 1997 policy

12 and management activities (including development and di13 rection of policy, training and education, and manage14 ment) in carrying out environmental restoration and waste

15 management activities necessary for national security pro16 grams in the amount of $26,155,000.

17 (f) SITE OPERATIONS.—Subject to subsection (j),

18 funds are hereby authorized to be appropriated to the De19 partment of Energy for fiscal year 1997 for site operations

20 in carrying out environmental restoration and waste man21 agement activities necessary for national security pro22 grams in the amount of $363,469,000, to be allocated as

23 follows:

24 (1) For operation and maintenance,

25 $331,054,000.
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1 (2) For plant projects (including maintenance,

2 restoration, planning, construction, acquisition,

3 modification of facilities, and the continuation of

4 projects authorized in prior years, and land acquisi5 tion related thereto), $32,415,000, to be allocated as

6 follows:

7 Project 96–D–461, electrical distribution

8 upgrade, Idaho National Engineering Labora9 tory, Idaho, $6,790,000.

10 Project 96–D–470, environmental monitor11 ing laboratory, Savannah River Site, Aiken,

12 South Carolina, $2,500,000.

13 Project 96–D–471, chlorofluorocarbon

14 heating, ventilation, and air conditioning and

15 chiller retrofit, Savannah River Site, Aiken,

16 South Carolina, $8,541,000.

17 Project 96–D–473, health physics site sup18 port facility, Savannah River Site, Aiken, South

19 Carolina, $2,000,000.

20 Project 95–E–600, hazardous materials

21 management and emergency response training

22 center, Richland, Washington, $7,900,000.

23 Project 95–D–155, upgrade site road in24 frastructure, Savannah River, South Carolina,

25 $4,137,000.
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1 Project 94–D–401, emergency response fa2 cility, Idaho National Engineering Laboratory,

3 Idaho, $547,000.

4 (g) ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND RISK POLICY.—

5 Subject to subsection (j), funds are hereby authorized to

6 be appropriated to the Department of Energy for fiscal

7 year 1997 for environmental science and risk policy activi8 ties in carrying out environmental restoration and waste

9 management activities necessary for national security pro10 grams in the amount of $52,136,000.

11 (h) ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT PRIVATIZA12 TION.—Subject to subsection (j), funds are hereby author13 ized to be appropriated to the Department of Energy for

14 fiscal year 1997 for environmental management privatiza15 tion activities in carrying out environmental restoration

16 and waste management necessary for national security

17 programs in the amount of $185,000,000.

18 (i) PROGRAM DIRECTION.—Subject to subsection (j),

19 funds are hereby authorized to be appropriated to the De20 partment of Energy for fiscal year 1997 for program di21 rection in carrying out environmental restoration and

22 waste management activities necessary for national secu23 rity programs in the amount of $436,511,000.

24 (j) ADJUSTMENTS.—The total amount authorized to

25 be appropriated pursuant to this section is the sum of the
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1 amounts authorized to be appropriated in subsections (a)

2 through (i) reduced by the sum of—

3 (1) $150,400,000, for use of prior year bal4 ances; and

5 (2) $8,000,000, for Savannah River Pension

6 Refund.

7 SEC. 3103. OTHER DEFENSE ACTIVITIES.

8 Funds are hereby authorized to be appropriated to

9 the Department of Energy for fiscal year 1997 for other

10 defense activities in carrying out programs necessary for

11 national security in the amount of $1,560,700,000, to be

12 allocated as follows:

13 (1) For verification and control technology,

14 $456,348,000, to be allocated as follows:

15 (A) For nonproliferation and verification

16 research and development, $204,919,000.

17 (B) For arms control, $216,244,000.

18 (2) For nuclear safeguards and security,

19 $47,208,000.

20 (3) For security investigations, $22,000,000.

21 (4) For environment, safety, and health, de22 fense, $53,094,000.

23 (5) For program direction, environment, safety,

24 and health, defense, $10,706,000.
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1 (6) For worker and community transition as2 sistance, $62,659,000.

3 (7) For program direction, worker and commu4 nity transition assistance, $4,341,000.

5 (8) For fissile materials $93,796,000, to be al6 located as follows:

7 (A) For control and disposition,

8 $73,163,000.

9 (B) For the following plant project (includ10 ing maintenance, restoration, planning, con11 struction, acquisition, and modification of facili12 ties, and land acquisition related thereto):

13 Project 97–D–140, consolidated spe14 cial nuclear materials storage plant, loca15 tion to be determined, $17,000,000.

16 (C) For program direction, $3,633,000.

17 (9) For emergency management, $16,794,000.

18 (10) For program direction, nonproliferation

19 and national security, $90,622,000.

20 (11) For naval reactors development,

21 $681,932,000, to be allocated as follows:

22 (A) For operation and infrastructure,

23 $649,330,000.

24 (B) For plant projects (including mainte25 nance, restoration, planning, construction, ac-
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1 quisition, modification of facilities, and the con2 tinuation of projects authorized in prior years,

3 and land acquisition related thereto),

4 $13,700,000, to be allocated as follows:

5 Project 97–D–201, advanced test re6 actor secondary coolant system upgrades

7 Idaho National Engineering Laboratory,

8 Idaho, $400,000.

9 Project 95–D–200, laboratory systems

10 and hot cell upgrades, various locations,

11 $4,800,000.

12 Project 95–D–201, advanced test re13 actor radioactive waste system upgrades,

14 Idaho National Engineering Laboratory,

15 Idaho, $500,000.

16 Project 90–N–102, expended core fa17 cility dry cell project, Naval Reactors Fa18 cility, Idaho, $8,000,000.

19 (C) For program direction, $18,902,000.

20 (12) For international nuclear safety,

21 $15,200,000.

22 (13) For nuclear security, $6,000,000.

23 SEC. 3104. DEFENSE NUCLEAR WASTE DISPOSAL.

24 Funds are hereby authorized to be appropriated to

25 the Department of Energy for fiscal year 1996 for pay-
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1 ment to the Nuclear Waste Fund established in section

2 302(c) of the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 (42

3 U.S.C. 10222(c)) in the amount of $200,000,000.

4 Subtitle B—Recurring General

5 Provisions

6 SEC. 3121. REPROGRAMMING.

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Until the Secretary of Energy

8 submits to the congressional defense committees the re9 port referred to in subsection (b) and a period of 30 days

10 has elapsed after the date on which such committees re11 ceive the report, the Secretary may not use amounts ap12 propriated pursuant to this title for any program—

13 (1) in amounts that exceed, in a fiscal year—

14 (A) 110 percent of the amount authorized

15 for that program by this title; or

16 (B) $1,000,000 more than the amount au17 thorized for that program by this title; or

18 (2) which has not been presented to, or re19 quested of, Congress.

20 (b) REPORT.—(1) The report referred to in sub21 section (a) is a report containing a full and complete state22 ment of the action proposed to be taken and the facts and

23 circumstances relied upon in support of such proposed ac24 tion.
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1 (2) In the computation of the 30-day period under

2 subsection (a), there shall be excluded any day on which

3 either House of Congress is not in session because of an

4 adjournment of more than 3 days to a day certain.

5 (c) LIMITATIONS.—(1) In no event may the total

6 amount of funds obligated pursuant to this title exceed

7 the total amount authorized to be appropriated by this

8 title.

9 (2) Funds appropriated pursuant to this title may not

10 be used for an item for which Congress has specifically

11 denied funds.

12 SEC. 3122. LIMITS ON GENERAL PLANT PROJECTS.

13 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Energy may

14 carry out any construction project under the general plant

15 projects authorized by this title if the total estimated cost

16 of the construction project does not exceed $2,000,000.

17 (b) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—If, at any time during

18 the construction of any general plant project authorized

19 by this title, the estimated cost of the project is revised

20 because of unforeseen cost variations and the revised cost

21 of the project exceeds $2,000,000, the Secretary shall im22 mediately furnish a complete report to the congressional

23 defense committees explaining the reasons for the cost

24 variation.
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1 SEC. 3123. LIMITS ON CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS.

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—(1) Except as provided in para3 graph (2), construction on a construction project may not

4 be started or additional obligations incurred in connection

5 with the project above the total estimated cost, whenever

6 the current estimated cost of the construction project,

7 which is authorized by section 3101, 3102, or 3103, or

8 which is in support of national security programs of the

9 Department of Energy and was authorized by any pre10 vious Act, exceeds by more than 25 percent the higher

11 of—

12 (A) the amount authorized for the project; or

13 (B) the amount of the total estimated cost for

14 the project as shown in the most recent budget jus15 tification data submitted to Congress.

16 (2) An action described in paragraph (1) may be

17 taken if—

18 (A) the Secretary of Energy has submitted to

19 the congressional defense committees a report on the

20 actions and the circumstances making such action

21 necessary; and

22 (B) a period of 30 days has elapsed after the

23 date on which the report is received by the commit24 tees.

25 (3) In the computation of the 30-day period under

26 paragraph (2), there shall be excluded any day on which
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1 either House of Congress is not in session because of an

2 adjournment of more than 3 days to a day certain.

3 (b) EXCEPTION.—Subsection (a) shall not apply to

4 any construction project which has a current estimated

5 cost of less than $5,000,000.

6 SEC. 3124. FUND TRANSFER AUTHORITY.

7 (a) TRANSFER TO OTHER FEDERAL AGENCIES.—

8 The Secretary of Energy may transfer funds authorized

9 to be appropriated to the Department of Energy pursuant

10 to this title to other Federal agencies for the performance

11 of work for which the funds were authorized. Funds so

12 transferred may be merged with and be available for the

13 same purposes and for the same period as the authoriza14 tions of the Federal agency to which the amounts are

15 transferred.

16 (b) TRANSFER WITHIN DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY;

17 LIMITATIONS.—(1) Subject to paragraph (2), the Sec18 retary of Energy may transfer funds authorized to be ap19 propriated to the Department of Energy pursuant to this

20 title between any such authorizations. Amounts of author21 izations so transferred may be merged with and be avail22 able for the same purposes and for the same period as

23 the authorization to which the amounts are transferred.

24 (2) Not more than five percent of any such authoriza25 tion may be transferred between authorizations under
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1 paragraph (1). No such authorization may be increased

2 or decreased by more than five percent by a transfer under

3 such paragraph.

4 (3) The authority provided by this section to transfer

5 authorizations—

6 (A) may only be used to provide funds for items

7 relating to weapons activities necessary for national

8 security programs that have a higher priority than

9 the items from which the funds are transferred; and

10 (B) may not be used to provide authority for an

11 item that has been denied funds by Congress.

12 (c) NOTICE TO CONGRESS.—The Secretary of Energy

13 shall promptly notify the Committee on Armed Services

14 of the Senate and the Committee on National Security of

15 the House of Representatives of any transfer of funds to

16 or from authorizations under this title.

17 SEC. 3125. AUTHORITY FOR CONCEPTUAL AND CONSTRUC18 TION DESIGN.

19 (a) REQUIREMENT FOR CONCEPTUAL DESIGN.—(1)

20 Subject to paragraph (2) and except as provided in para21 graph (3), before submitting to Congress a request for

22 funds for a construction project that is in support of a

23 national security program of the Department of Energy,

24 the Secretary of Energy shall complete a conceptual de25 sign for that project. The Secretary shall submit to Con-
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1 gress a report on each conceptual design completed under

2 this paragraph.

3 (2) If the estimated cost of completing a conceptual

4 design for a construction project exceeds $3,000,000, the

5 Secretary shall submit to Congress a request for funds for

6 the conceptual design before submitting a request for

7 funds for the construction project.

8 (3) The requirement in paragraph (1) does not apply

9 to a request for funds—

10 (A) for a construction project the total esti11 mated cost of which is less than $2,000,000; or

12 (B) for emergency planning, design, and con13 struction activities under section 3126.

14 (b) AUTHORITY FOR CONSTRUCTION DESIGN.—(1)

15 Within the amounts authorized by this title, the Secretary

16 of Energy may carry out construction design (including

17 architectural and engineering services) in connection with

18 any proposed construction project if the total estimated

19 cost for such design does not exceed $600,000.

20 (2) If the total estimated cost for construction design

21 in connection with any construction project exceeds

22 $600,000, funds for such design must be specifically au23 thorized by law.
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1 SEC. 3126. AUTHORITY FOR EMERGENCY PLANNING, DE2 SIGN, AND CONSTRUCTION ACTIVITIES.

3 (a) AUTHORITY.—The Secretary of Energy may use

4 any funds available to the Department of Energy pursuant

5 to an authorization in this title, including those funds au6 thorized to be appropriated for advance planning and con7 struction design under sections 3101, 3102, and 3103, to

8 perform planning, design, and construction activities for

9 any Department of Energy national security program con10 struction project that, as determined by the Secretary,

11 must proceed expeditiously in order to protect public

12 health and safety, to meet the needs of national defense,

13 or to protect property.

14 (b) LIMITATION.—The Secretary may not exercise

15 the authority under subsection (a) in the case of any con16 struction project until the Secretary has submitted to the

17 congressional defense committees a report on the activities

18 that the Secretary intends to carry out under this section

19 and the circumstances making such activities necessary.

20 (c) SPECIFIC AUTHORITY.—The requirement of sec21 tion 3125(b)(2) does not apply to emergency planning, de22 sign, and construction activities conducted under this sec23 tion.
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1 SEC. 3127. FUNDS AVAILABLE FOR ALL NATIONAL SECU2 RITY PROGRAMS OF THE DEPARTMENT OF

3 ENERGY.

4 Subject to the provisions of appropriations Acts and

5 section 3121, amounts appropriated pursuant to this title

6 for management and support activities and for general

7 plant projects are available for use, when necessary, in

8 connection with all national security programs of the De9 partment of Energy.

10 SEC. 3128. AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS.

11 When so specified in an appropriations Act, amounts

12 appropriated for operation and maintenance or for plant

13 projects may remain available until expended.

14 Subtitle C—Program Authoriza15 tions, Restrictions, and Limita16 tions

17 SEC. 3131. TRITIUM PRODUCTION.

18 (a) ACCELERATION OF TRITIUM PRODUCTION.—(1)

19 The Secretary of Energy shall, during fiscal year 1997,

20 make a final decision on the technologies to be utilized,

21 and the accelerated schedule to be adopted, for tritium

22 production in order to meet the requirements of the Nu23 clear Weapons Stockpile Memorandum relating to tritium

24 production, including the new tritium production date of

25 2005 specified in the Nuclear Weapons Stockpile Memo26 randum.
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1 (2) In making the final decision, the Secretary shall

2 take into account the following:

3 (A) The requirements for tritium production

4 specified in the Nuclear Weapons Stockpile Memo5 randum, including, in particular, the requirements

6 for the ‘‘upload hedge’’ component of the nuclear

7 weapons stockpile.

8 (B) The ongoing activities of the Department

9 relating to the evaluation and demonstration of tech10 nologies under the accelerator reactor program and

11 the commercial light water reactor program.

12 (b) REPORT.—(1) Not later than April 15, 1997, the

13 Secretary shall submit to the Congress a report that sets

14 forth the final decision of the Secretary under subsection

15 (a)(1). The report shall set forth in detail—

16 (A) the technologies decided on under that sub17 section; and

18 (B) the accelerated schedule for the production

19 of tritium decided on under that subsection.

20 (2) If the Secretary determines that it is not possible

21 to make the final decision by the date specified in para22 graph (1), the Secretary shall submit to Congress on that

23 date a report that explains in detail why the final decision

24 cannot be made by that date.
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1 (c) NEW TRITIUM PRODUCTION FACILITY.—The

2 Secretary shall commence planning and design activities

3 and infrastructure development for a new tritium produc4 tion facility.

5 (d) IN-REACTOR TESTS.—The Secretary may per6 form in-reactor tests of tritium target rods as part of the

7 activities carried out under the commercial light water re8 actor program.

9 (e) FUNDING.—Of the funds authorized to be appro10 priated to the Department of Energy pursuant to section

11 3101(b)(1)—

12 (1) $130,000,000 shall be available for re13 search, development, and technology demonstration

14 activities and other activities relating to the produc15 tion of tritium in accelerators; and

16 (2) $30,000,000 shall be available for the com17 mercial light water reactor project, including activi18 ties relating to target development, extraction capa19 bility, and reactor acquisition or initial tritium oper20 ations.

21 SEC. 3132. MODERNIZATION AND CONSOLIDATION OF TRIT22 IUM RECYCLING FACILITIES.

23 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Energy shall

24 carry out activities to modernize and consolidate the facili25 ties for recycling tritium for weapons at the Savannah
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1 River Site, South Carolina, so as to ensure that such fa2 cilities have a capacity to recycle tritium from weapons

3 that is adequate to meet the requirements for tritium for

4 weapons specified in the Nuclear Weapons Stockpile

5 Memorandum.

6 (b) FUNDING.—Of the funds authorized to be appro7 priated to the Department of Energy pursuant to section

8 3101, not more than $6,000,000 shall be available for ac9 tivities under subsection (a).

10 SEC. 3133. MODIFICATION OF REQUIREMENTS FOR MANU11 FACTURING INFRASTRUCTURE FOR REFAB12 RICATION AND CERTIFICATION OF NUCLEAR

13 WEAPONS STOCKPILE.

14 (a) GENERAL PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS.—Sub15 section (a) of section 3137 of the National Defense Au16 thorization Act for Fiscal Year 1996 (Public Law 104–

17 106; 110 Stat. 620; 42 U.S.C. 2121 note) is amended—

18 (1) by inserting ‘‘(1)’’ before ‘‘The Secretary of

19 Energy’’;

20 (2) by redesignating paragraphs (1) through

21 (5) as subparagraphs (A) through (E), respectively;

22 and

23 (3) by adding at the end the following:

24 ‘‘(2) The purpose of the program carried out under

25 paragraph (1) shall also be to develop manufacturing ca-
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1 pabilities and capacities necessary to meet the require2 ments specified in the annual Nuclear Weapons Stockpile

3 Review.’’.

4 (b) REQUIRED CAPABILITIES.—Subsection (b)(3) of

5 such section is amended to read as follows:

6 ‘‘(3) The capabilities of the Savannah River

7 Site relating to tritium recycling and fissile mate8 rials components processing and fabrication.’’.

9 (c) PLAN AND REPORT.—Not later than March 1,

10 1997, the Secretary of Energy shall submit to Congress

11 a report containing a plan for carrying out the program

12 established under section 3137(a) of the National Defense

13 Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1996, as amended by

14 this section. The report shall set forth the obligations that

15 the Secretary has incurred, and proposes to incur, during

16 fiscal year 1997 in carrying out the program.

17 (d) FUNDING.—Of the funds authorized to be appro18 priated pursuant to section 3101(b), $5,000,000 shall be

19 available for carrying out the program established under

20 section 3137(a) of the National Defense Authorization Act

21 for Fiscal Year 1996, as so amended.

22 SEC. 3134. LIMITATION ON USE OF FUNDS FOR CERTAIN

23 RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT PURPOSES.

24 (a) LIMITATION.—No funds appropriated or other25 wise made available to the Department of Energy for fiscal
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1 year 1997 under section 3101 may be obligated or ex2 pended for activities under the Department of Energy

3 Laboratory Directed Research and Development Program,

4 or under any Department of Energy technology transfer

5 program or cooperative research and development agree6 ment, unless such activities support the national security

7 mission of the Department of Energy.

8 (b) ANNUAL REPORT.—(1) The Secretary of Energy

9 shall annually submit to the congressional defense commit10 tees a report on the funds expended during the preceding

11 fiscal year on activities under the Department of Energy

12 Laboratory Directed Research and Development Program.

13 The purpose of the report is to permit an assessment of

14 the extent to which such activities support the national

15 security mission of the Department of Energy.

16 (2) Each report shall be prepared by the officials re17 sponsible for Federal oversight of the funds expended on

18 activities under the program.

19 (3) Each report shall set forth the criteria utilized

20 by the officials preparing the report in determining wheth21 er or not the activities reviewed by such officials support

22 the national security mission of the Department.
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1 SEC. 3135. ACCELERATED SCHEDULE FOR ISOLATING

2 HIGH-LEVEL NUCLEAR WASTE AT THE DE3 FENSE WASTE PROCESSING FACILITY, SA4 VANNAH RIVER SITE.

5 The Secretary of Energy shall accelerate the schedule

6 for the isolation of high-level nuclear waste in glass can7 isters at the Defense Waste Processing Facility at the Sa8 vannah River Site if the Secretary determines that the ac9 celeration of such schedule—

10 (1) will achieve long-term cost savings to the

11 Federal Government; and

12 (2) could accelerate the removal and isolation of

13 high-level nuclear waste from long-term storage

14 tanks at the site.

15 SEC. 3136. PROCESSING OF HIGH-LEVEL NUCLEAR WASTE

16 AND SPENT NUCLEAR FUEL RODS.

17 (a) IN GENERAL.—In order to provide for an effec18 tive response to requirements for managing spent nuclear

19 fuel that is sent to Department of Energy consolidation

20 sites pursuant to the Department of Energy Pro21 grammatic Spent Nuclear Fuel Management and Idaho

22 National Engineering Laboratory Environmental Restora23 tion and Waste Management Programs Final Environ24 mental Impact Statement, dated April 1995—

25 (1) $65,700,000 of the funds authorized to be

26 appropriated to the Department of Energy pursuant
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1 to section 3102(b) shall be available for the develop2 ment and implementation of a program for the proc3 essing, reprocessing, separation, reduction, isolation,

4 and interim storage of high-level nuclear waste asso5 ciated with Department of Energy aluminum clad

6 spent fuel rods and foreign spent fuel rods in the

7 H-canyon facility and F-canyon facility; and

8 (2) $4,303,000 of the funds authorized to be

9 appropriated to the Department of Energy pursuant

10 to section 3102(b) shall be available for the develop11 ment and implementation of a program at the Idaho

12 National Engineering Laboratory for the treatment,

13 preparation, and conditioning of high-level nuclear

14 waste associated with Department of Energy stain15 less steel spent nuclear fuel rods (including naval

16 spent nuclear fuel) for interim storage and final dis17 position.

18 (b) UPDATE OF IMPLEMENTATION PLAN.—Not later

19 than April 30, 1997, the Secretary shall submit to Con20 gress a plan which updates the five-year plan required by

21 section 3142(b) of the National Defense Authorization Act

22 for Fiscal Year 1996 (Public Law 104–106; 110 Stat.

23 622). The updated plan shall include—
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1 (1) the matters required by paragraphs (1)

2 through (4) of such section, current as of the date

3 of the updated plan; and

4 (2) the assessment of the Secretary of the

5 progress made in implementing the program covered

6 by the plans.

7 SEC. 3137. FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM FOR DEVELOPMENT OF

8 SKILLS CRITICAL TO DEPARTMENT OF EN9 ERGY NUCLEAR WEAPONS COMPLEX.

10 (a) FUNDING.—Subject to subsection (b), of the

11 funds authorized to be appropriated pursuant to section

12 3101(b), $5,000,000 may be used for conducting the fel13 lowship program for the development of skills critical to

14 the ongoing mission of the Department of Energy nuclear

15 weapons complex required by section 3140 of the National

16 Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1996 (Public

17 Law 104–106; 110 Stat. 621; 42 U.S.C. 2121 note).

18 (b) NOTICE AND WAIT.—The Secretary of Energy

19 may not obligate or expend funds under subsection (a) for

20 the fellowship program referred to in that subsection

21 until—

22 (1) the Secretary submits to Congress a report

23 setting forth—

24 (A) the steps the Department has taken to

25 implement the fellowship program;
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1 (B) the amount the Secretary proposes to

2 obligate; and

3 (C) the purposes for which such amount

4 will be obligated; and

5 (2) a period of 21 days elapses from the date

6 of the receipt of the report by Congress.

7 Subtitle D—Other Matters

8 SEC. 3151. REQUIREMENT FOR ANNUAL FIVE-YEAR BUDGET

9 FOR THE NATIONAL SECURITY PROGRAMS

10 OF THE DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY.

11 (a) REQUIREMENT.—The Secretary of Energy shall

12 prepare each year a budget for the national security pro13 grams of the Department of Energy for the five-year pe14 riod beginning in the year the budget is prepared. Each

15 budget shall contain the estimated expenditures and pro16 posed appropriations necessary to support the programs,

17 projects, and activities of the national security programs

18 during the five-year period covered by the budget and shall

19 be at a level of detail comparable to that contained in the

20 budget submitted by the President to Congress under sec21 tion 1105 of title 31, United States Code.

22 (b) SUBMITTAL.—The Secretary shall submit each

23 year to the congressional defense committees the budget

24 required under subsection (a) in that year at the same
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1 time as the President submits to Congress the budget for

2 the coming fiscal year pursuant to such section 1105.

3 SEC. 3152. REQUIREMENTS FOR DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

4 WEAPONS ACTIVITIES BUDGETS FOR FISCAL

5 YEARS AFTER FISCAL YEAR 1997.

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—The weapons activities budget of

7 the Department of Energy for any fiscal year after fiscal

8 year 1997 shall—

9 (1) set forth with respect to each of the activi10 ties under the budget (including stockpile steward11 ship, stockpile management, and program direction)

12 the funding requested to carry out each project or

13 activity that is necessary to meet the requirements

14 of the Nuclear Weapons Stockpile Memorandum;

15 and

16 (2) identify specific infrastructure requirements

17 arising from the Nuclear Posture Review, the Nu18 clear Weapons Stockpile Memorandum, and the pro19 grammatic and technical requirements associated

20 with the review and memorandum.

21 (b) REQUIRED DETAIL.—The Secretary of Energy

22 shall include in the materials that the Secretary submits

23 to Congress in support of the budget for any fiscal year

24 after fiscal year 1997 that is submitted by the President
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1 pursuant to section 1105 of title 31, United States Code,

2 the following:

3 (1) A long-term program plan, and a near-term

4 program plan, for the certification and stewardship

5 of the nuclear weapons stockpile.

6 (2) An assessment of the effects of the plans re7 ferred to in paragraph (1) on each nuclear weapons

8 laboratory and each nuclear weapons production

9 plant.

10 (c) DEFINITIONS.—In this section:

11 (1) The term ‘‘Nuclear Posture Review’’ means

12 the Department of Defense Nuclear Posture Review

13 as contained in the report of the Secretary of De14 fense to the President and the Congress dated Feb15 ruary 19, 1995, or in subsequent such reports.

16 (2) The term ‘‘nuclear weapons laboratory’’

17 means the following:

18 (A) Lawrence Livermore National Labora19 tory, California.

20 (B) Los Alamos National Laboratory, New

21 Mexico.

22 (C) Sandia National Laboratories.

23 (3) The term ‘‘nuclear weapons production

24 plant’’ means the following:

25 (A) The Pantex Plant.
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1 (B) The Savannah River Site.

2 (C) The Kansas City Plant, Missouri.

3 (D) The Y–12 Plant, Oak Ridge, Ten4 nessee.

5 SEC. 3153. REPEAL OF REQUIREMENT RELATING TO AC6 COUNTING PROCEDURES FOR DEPARTMENT

7 OF ENERGY FUNDS.

8 Section 3151 of the National Defense Authorization

9 Act for Fiscal Year 1995 (Public Law 103–337; 108 Stat.

10 3089) is repealed.

11 SEC. 3154. PLANS FOR ACTIVITIES TO PROCESS NUCLEAR

12 MATERIALS AND CLEAN UP NUCLEAR WASTE

13 AT THE SAVANNAH RIVER SITE.

14 (a) NEAR-TERM PLAN FOR PROCESSING SPENT

15 FUEL RODS.—(1) Not later than March 15, 1997, the

16 Secretary of Energy shall submit to Congress a plan for

17 a near-term program to process the spent nuclear fuel

18 rods described in paragraph (2) in the H-canyon facility

19 and the F-canyon facility at the Savannah River Site. The

20 plan shall include cost projections and resource require21 ments for the program and identify program milestones

22 for the program.

23 (2) The spent nuclear fuel rods to be processed under

24 the program referred to in paragraph (1) are the follow25 ing:
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1 (A) Spent nuclear fuel rods produced at the Sa2 vannah River Site.

3 (B) Spent nuclear fuel rods being sent to the

4 site from other Department of Energy facilities for

5 processing, interim storage, and other treatment.

6 (C) Foreign nuclear spent fuel rods being sent

7 to the site for processing, interim storage, and other

8 treatment.

9 (b) MULTI-YEAR PLAN FOR CLEAN-UP AT SITE.—

10 The Secretary shall develop and implement a multi-year

11 plan for the clean-up of nuclear waste at the Savannah

12 River Site that results, or has resulted, from the following:

13 (1) Nuclear weapons activities carried out at

14 the site.

15 (2) The processing of Department of Energy

16 domestic and foreign spent nuclear fuel rods at the

17 site.

18 (c) REQUIREMENT FOR CONTINUING OPERATIONS.—

19 The Secretary shall continue operations and maintain a

20 high state of readiness at the H–canyon facility and the

21 F–canyon facility at the Savannah River Site, and shall

22 provide technical staff necessary to operate and so main23 tain such facilities, pending the development and imple24 mentation of the plan referred to in subsection (b).
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1 SEC. 3155. UPDATE OF REPORT ON NUCLEAR TEST READI2 NESS POSTURES.

3 Not later than February 15, 1997, the Secretary of

4 Energy shall submit to Congress a report which updates

5 the report submitted by the Secretary under section 3152

6 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year

7 1996 (Public Law 104–106; 110 Stat. 623). The updated

8 report shall include the matters specified under such sec9 tion, current as of the date of the updated report.

10 SEC. 3156. REPORTS ON CRITICAL DIFFICULTIES AT NU11 CLEAR WEAPONS LABORATORIES AND NU12 CLEAR WEAPONS PRODUCTION PLANTS.

13 (a) REPORTS BY HEADS OF LABORATORIES AND

14 PLANTS.—In the event of a difficulty at a nuclear weap15 ons laboratory or a nuclear weapons production plant that

16 has a significant bearing on confidence in the safety or

17 reliability of a nuclear weapon or nuclear weapon type, the

18 head of the laboratory or plant, as the case may be, shall

19 submit to the Assistant Secretary of Energy for Defense

20 Programs a report on the difficulty. The head of the lab21 oratory or plant shall submit the report as soon as prac22 ticable after discovery of the difficulty.

23 (b) TRANSMITTAL BY ASSISTANT SECRETARY.—As

24 soon as practicable after receipt of a report under sub25 section (a), the Assistant Secretary shall transmit the re26 port (together with the comments of the Assistant Sec-
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1 retary) to the congressional defense committees and to the

2 Secretary of Energy and the Secretary of Defense.

3 (c) REPORTS BY NUCLEAR WEAPONS COUNCIL.—

4 Section 179 of title 10, United States Code, is amended—

5 (1) by redesignating subsection (e) as sub6 section (f); and

7 (2) by inserting after subsection (d) the follow8 ing new subsection (e):

9 ‘‘(e) In addition to the responsibilities set forth in

10 subsection (d), the Council shall also submit to Congress

11 a report on any analysis conducted by the Council with

12 respect to difficulties at nuclear weapons laboratories or

13 nuclear weapons production plants that have significant

14 bearing on confidence in the safety or reliability of nuclear

15 weapons or nuclear weapon types.’’.

16 (d) DEFINITIONS.—In this section:

17 (1) The term ‘‘nuclear weapons laboratory’’

18 means the following:

19 (A) Lawrence Livermore National Labora20 tory, California.

21 (B) Los Alamos National Laboratory, New

22 Mexico.

23 (C) Sandia National Laboratories.

24 (2) The term ‘‘nuclear weapons production

25 plant’’ means the following:
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1 (A) The Pantex Plant.

2 (B) The Savannah River Site.

3 (C) The Kansas City Plant, Missouri.

4 (D) The Y–12 Plant, Oak Ridge, Ten5 nessee.

6 SEC. 3157. EXTENSION OF APPLICABILITY OF NOTICE-AND7 WAIT REQUIREMENT REGARDING PROPOSED

8 COOPERATION AGREEMENTS.

9 Section 3155(b) of the National Defense Authoriza10 tion Act for Fiscal Year 1995 (42 U.S.C. 2153 note) is

11 amended by striking out ‘‘October 1, 1996’’ and inserting

12 in lieu thereof ‘‘December 31, 1997’’.

13 SEC. 3158. REDESIGNATION OF DEFENSE ENVIRONMENTAL

14 RESTORATION AND WASTE MANAGEMENT

15 PROGRAM AS DEFENSE NUCLEAR WASTE

16 MANAGEMENT PROGRAM.

17 (a) REDESIGNATION OF PROGRAM.—(1) The pro18 gram of the Department of Energy known as the Defense

19 Environmental Restoration and Waste Management Pro20 gram, and also known as the Environmental Management

21 Program, shall be known as the Defense Nuclear Waste

22 Management Program of the Department of Energy.

23 (2) Any reference to the program of the Department

24 of Energy known as the Defense Environmental Restora25 tion and Waste Management Program, and also known as
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1 the Environmental Management Program, in any Federal

2 law, Executive order, regulation, delegation of authority,

3 or document of or pertaining to the Department of Energy

4 or the Department of Defense shall be deemed to refer

5 to the Defense Nuclear Waste Management Program of

6 the Department of Energy.

7 (b) REDESIGNATION OF ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF

8 ENERGY.—(1) The Assistant Secretary of Energy ap9 pointed under section 203(a) of the Department of Energy

10 Organization Act (42 U.S.C. 7133(a)) who is responsible

11 for the program of the Department of Energy known as

12 the Defense Environmental Restoration and Waste Man13 agement Program, and also known as the Environmental

14 Management Program, shall be known as the Assistant

15 Secretary of Energy for Defense Nuclear Waste Manage16 ment.

17 (2) Any reference to the Assistant Secretary of En18 ergy described in paragraph (1) in any Federal law, Exec19 utive order, regulation, delegation of authority, or docu20 ment of or pertaining to the Department of Energy or the

21 Department of Defense shall be deemed to refer to the

22 Assistant Secretary of Energy for Defense Nuclear Waste

23 Management.

24 (c) REDESIGNATION OF ACCOUNT.—(1) Subsection

25 (a) of section 3134 of the National Defense Authorization
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1 Act for Fiscal Years 1992 and 1993 (Public Law 102–

2 190; 105 Stat. 1575; 42 U.S.C. 7274f) is amended by

3 striking out ‘‘Defense Environmental Restoration and

4 Waste Management Account’’ and inserting in lieu thereof

5 ‘‘Defense Nuclear Waste Management Account’’.

6 (2) The section heading of such section is amended

7 to read as follows:

8 ‘‘SEC. 3134. DEFENSE NUCLEAR WASTE MANAGEMENT AC9 COUNT.’’.

10 (d) REPORT ON REDESIGNATION.—Not later than

11 January 31, 1997, the Secretary of Energy shall submit

12 to congressional defense committees a report on the redes13 ignations to be made under this section. The report shall

14 estimate the costs, if any, to the Department of Energy

15 of the redesignations to be made under this section and

16 describe any potential problems for the Department aris17 ing from such redesignations.

18 (e) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This section and the amend19 ments made by subsection (c) shall take effect on October

20 1, 1997.

21 SEC. 3159. COMMISSION ON MAINTAINING UNITED STATES

22 NUCLEAR WEAPONS EXPERTISE.

23 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is hereby established a

24 commission to be known as the ‘‘Commission on Maintain-
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1 ing United States Nuclear Weapons Expertise’’ (in this

2 section referred to as the ‘‘Commission’’).

3 (b) ORGANIZATIONAL MATTERS.—(1)(A) The Com4 mission shall be composed of nine members appointed

5 from among individuals in the public and private sectors

6 who have significant experience in matters relating to nu7 clear weapons as follows:

8 (i) Two shall be appointed by the Majority

9 Leader of the Senate (in consultation with the Mi10 nority Leader of the Senate).

11 (ii) One shall be appointed by the Minority

12 Leader of the Senate (in consultation with the Ma13 jority Leader of the Senate).

14 (iii) Two shall be appointed by the Speaker of

15 the House of Representatives (in consultation with

16 the Minority Leader of the House of Representa17 tives).

18 (iv) One shall be appointed by the Minority

19 Leader of the House of Representatives (in consulta20 tion with the Speaker of the House of Representa21 tives).

22 (v) Three shall be appointed by the Secretary of

23 Energy.

24 (B) Members shall be appointed for the life of the

25 Commission. Any vacancy in the Commission shall not af-
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1 fect its powers, but shall be filled in the same manner as

2 the original appointment.

3 (C) The chairman of the Commission shall be des4 ignated from among the members of the Commission ap5 pointed under subparagraph (A) by the Majority Leader

6 of the Senate, in consultation with the Minority Leader

7 of the Senate.

8 (2) The members of the Commission shall establish

9 procedures for the activities of the Commission, including

10 procedures for calling meetings, requirements for

11 quorums, and the manner of taking votes.

12 (c) DUTIES.—(1) The Commission shall develop a

13 plan for recruiting and retaining within the Department

14 of Energy nuclear weapons complex such scientific, engi15 neering, and technical personnel as the Commission deter16 mines appropriate in order to permit the Department to

17 maintain over the long term a safe and reliable nuclear

18 weapons stockpile without engaging in underground test19 ing.

20 (2) In developing the plan, the Commission shall—

21 (A) identify actions that the Secretary may un22 dertake to attract qualified scientific, engineering,

23 and technical personnel to the nuclear weapons com24 plex of the Department; and
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1 (B) review and recommend improvements to the

2 on-going efforts of the Department to attract such

3 personnel to the nuclear weapons complex.

4 (d) REPORT.—Not later than March 15, 1998, the

5 Commission shall submit to the Secretary and to Congress

6 a report containing the plan developed under subsection

7 (c). The report may include recommendations for legisla8 tion and administrative action.

9 (e) COMMISSION PERSONNEL MATTERS.—(1) Each

10 member of the Commission who is not an officer or em11 ployee of the Federal Government shall be compensated

12 at a rate equal to the daily equivalent of the annual rate

13 of basic pay prescribed for level IV of the Executive Sched14 ule under section 5315 of title 5, United States Code, for

15 each day (including travel time) during which such mem16 ber is engaged in the performance of the duties of the

17 Commission. All members of the Commission who are offi18 cers or employees of the United States shall serve without

19 compensation in addition to that received for their services

20 as officers or employees of the United States.

21 (2) The members of the Commission shall be allowed

22 travel expenses, including per diem in lieu of subsistence,

23 at rates authorized for employees of agencies under sub24 chapter I of chapter 57 of title 5, United States Code,
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1 while away from their homes or regular places of business

2 in the performance of services for the Commission.

3 (3) The Commission may, without regard to the civil

4 service laws and regulations, appoint and terminate such

5 personnel as may be necessary to enable the Commission

6 to perform its duties. The Commission may fix the com7 pensation of the personnel of the Commission without re8 gard to the provisions of chapter 51 and subchapter III

9 of chapter 53 of title 5, United States Code, relating to

10 classification of positions and General Schedule pay rates.

11 (4) Any Federal Government employee may be de12 tailed to the Commission without reimbursement, and

13 such detail shall be without interruption or loss of civil

14 service status or privilege.

15 (f) TERMINATION.—The Commission shall terminate

16 30 days after the date on which the Commission submits

17 its report under subsection (d).

18 (g) APPLICABILITY OF FACA.—The provisions of the

19 Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.) shall not

20 apply to the activities of the Commission.

21 (h) FUNDING.—Of the amounts authorized to be ap22 propriated pursuant to section 3101, not more than

23 $1,000,000 shall be available for the activities of the Com24 mission under this section. Funds made available to the
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1 Commission under this section shall remain available until

2 expended.

3 SEC. 3160. SENSE OF SENATE REGARDING RELIABILITY

4 AND SAFETY OF REMAINING NUCLEAR

5 FORCES.

6 (a) FINDINGS.—The Senate makes the following

7 findings:

8 (1) The United States is committed to proceed9 ing with a robust science-based stockpile stewardship

10 program with respect to production of nuclear weap11 ons, and to maintaining nuclear weapons production

12 capabilities and capacities, that are adequate—

13 (A) to ensure the safety, reliability, and

14 performance of the United States nuclear arse15 nal; and

16 (B) to meet such changing national secu17 rity requirements as may result from inter18 national developments or technical problems

19 with nuclear warheads.

20 (2) The United States is committed to reestab21 lishing and maintaining production of nuclear weap22 ons at levels that are sufficient—

23 (A) to satisfy requirements for the safety,

24 reliability, and performance of United States

25 nuclear weapons; and
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1 (B) to demonstrate and sustain production

2 capabilities and capacities.

3 (3) The United States is committed to main4 taining the nuclear weapons laboratories and pro5 tecting core nuclear weapons competencies.

6 (4) The United States is committed to ensuring

7 the rapid access to a new production source of trit8 ium within the next decade, as it currently has no

9 meaningful capability to produce tritium, a compo10 nent that is essential to the performance of modern

11 nuclear weapons.

12 (5) The United States reserves the right, con13 sistent with United States law, to resume under14 ground nuclear testing to maintain confidence in the

15 United States’ stockpile of nuclear weapons if war16 head design flaws or aging of nuclear weapons result

17 in problems that a robust stockpile stewardship pro18 gram cannot solve.

19 (6) The United States is committed to funding

20 the Nevada Test Site at a level that maintains the

21 ability of the United States to resume underground

22 nuclear testing within one year after a national deci23 sion to do so is made.

24 (7) The United States reserves the right to in25 voke the supreme national interest of the United
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1 States and withdraw from any future arms control

2 agreement to limit underground nuclear testing.

3 (b) SENSE OF THE SENATE REGARDING PRESI4 DENTIAL CONSULTATION WITH CONGRESS.—It is the

5 sense of the Senate that the President should consult

6 closely with Congress regarding United States policy and

7 practices to ensure confidence in the safety and reliability

8 of the nuclear stockpile of the United States.

9 (c) SENSE OF THE SENATE REGARDING NOTIFICA10 TION AND CONSULTATION.—It is the sense of the Senate

11 that, upon a determination by the President that a prob12 lem with the safety or reliability of the nuclear stockpile

13 has occurred and that the problem cannot be corrected

14 within the stockpile stewardship program, the President

15 shall—

16 (1) immediately notify Congress of the problem;

17 and

18 (2) submit to Congress in a timely manner a

19 plan for corrective action with respect to the prob20 lem, including—

21 (A) a technical description of the activities

22 required under the plan; and

23 (B) if underground testing of nuclear

24 weapons would assist in such corrective action,

25 an assessment of advisability of withdrawing
51

•S 1777 PCS

1 from any treaty that prohibits underground

2 testing of nuclear weapons.

3 TITLE XXXII—DEFENSE NU4 CLEAR FACILITIES SAFETY

5 BOARD

6 SEC. 3201. AUTHORIZATION.

7 There are authorized to be appropriated for fiscal

8 year 1997, $17,000,000 for the operation of the Defense

9 Nuclear Facilities Safety Board under chapter 21 of the

10 Atomic Energy Act of 1954 (42 U.S.C. 2286 et seq.).