Sandia and Los Alamos Money

in the Energy Bill - from Domenici's Press Release:

For New Mexico, Domenici added $65.5 million to continue construction of the Microsystems and Engineering Sciences Applications (MESA) Complex at Sandia National Laboratories. This $463 million project is one of the largest federal construction projects undertaken in New Mexico. It will not only aid national defense, but could also lead to advances in business as well.

The bill also has $4.6 million to complete construction of the Center for Integrated Nanotechnology (CINT), a joint Sandia and Los Alamos venture at Kirtland Air Force Base. The bill also has $30 million to establish a National Nanotechnology Enterprise Development Center at CINT to support the transfer of technology from four nanotechnology centers into the commercial market.

And there are bombs in the bill too.  Nukes.  The Robust Nuclear Earth Penetrator (RNEP), which is meant to detonate deeply under the surface to attack buried enemy targets, and the Reliable Replacement Warhead (RRW), are in this version.    Los Alamos Monitor talks about this funding and the 10-page Overskei Report, "Sustaining the Nuclear Enterprise," which reviews our nuclear weapons complex infrastructure.

Cozy and close.  Coco 

Comments

[John Fleck]

Sadly, the Monitor seems to have confused the "Overskei" report, which will be huge when it comes out, with a separate report by the leadership of the three labs. "Sustaining the Nuclear Enterprise" is *not* the report requested by Congress. You can find more discussion of the labs' report at http://www.abqjournal.com/north/361894north_news06-14-05.htm as long as the wacky Journal paid content model doesn't trip you up.

[Coco]

Thanks for clarifying John. The Monitor does say they got an advance copy of the report, but I wondered. When you say the Overskei Report "will be huge" do you mean long or important, or both? C

[John Fleck]

Huge = important. Though it'll probably be long, too.

It's likely to recommend sweeping changes in the shape and structure of the U.S. nuclear weapons complex. Domenici made some comments back in April (reported by the Monitor - they do good work up there, my criticism notwithstanding) suggesting he thinks the report will call for shifting Los Alamos more toward a weapons production role. It's the same sort of thing that David Hobson's House version of the DOE budget is pushing for. But the recommendations of an Independent Panel of Smart People will provide new and stronger impetus.