“Some short-sightedly want to cut funding for both projects. U.S. Rep. Ed Markey, senior member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, has introduced legislation that would slash the nuclear weapons program by $100 billion over 10 years. His bill would kill the UPF.
“Fortunately, U.S. Rep. Michael Turner, R-Ohio, is a tireless advocate for sustaining the nuclear weapons production infrastructure. Turner has released photographs of aged parts of Building 9212 and invited Markey to tour the antiquated facility.”
Editorial: Obama's budget proposal positive for Oak Ridge
By NEWS SENTINEL EDITORIAL BOARD
Thursday, February 23, 2012
The Obama administration has signaled its support for two key federal projects in Oak Ridge, giving East Tennessee's Republican lawmakers ample reason to support the Energy Department portion of his budget proposal.
The administration's budget proposal would increase funding for the Uranium Processing Facility at the Y-12 nuclear weapons plant and augment dollars available for the environmental cleanup at the former K-25 gaseous diffusion plant. Funding for Oak Ridge National Laboratory, one of the nation's leading research facilities, would basically remain constant.
The biggest boost would be an increase in funding for the UPF, which is estimated to cost up to $6.5 billion. The National Nuclear Security Administration is seeking $340 million for the UPF project next fiscal year, more than double the current funding.
The UPF would be a state-of-the-art facility that would enable workers to build or dismantle nuclear warhead parts and recycle enriched uranium. The main facility now used for these processes, Building 9212, is crumbling from age. Sections of it date back to the World War II Manhattan Project.
The UPF is at the core of the effort to modernize the nation's nuclear production facilities. Given the tough budgetary climate, the Obama administration opted to fund UPF at the expense of a similarly priced project at Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico.
Some short-sightedly want to cut funding for both projects. U.S. Rep. Ed Markey, senior member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, has introduced legislation that would slash the nuclear weapons program by $100 billion over 10 years. His bill would kill the UPF.
Fortunately, U.S. Rep. Michael Turner, R-Ohio, is a tireless advocate for sustaining the nuclear weapons production infrastructure. Turner has released photographs of aged parts of Building 9212 and invited Markey to tour the antiquated facility.
U.S. Reps. Chuck Fleishmann and John J. Duncan Jr., whose districts most benefit from Y-12, should join Turner in outspoken advocacy for Y-12. The Energy Department is the region's largest employer, and the UPF project promises to be the largest construction project ever undertaken in Tennessee. Tennessee's Republican senators, Bob Corker and Lamar Alexander, have expressed support for modernization, though without endorsing the Obama administration's overall budget proposal.
The rest of the budget for the Energy Department's Oak Ridge effort is a mixed bag. Environmental cleanup efforts would receive about $430 million, which is more than anticipated though less than what is needed to keep remediation efforts on schedule. Funding for Oak Ridge National Laboratory will remain basically the same.
East Tennessee's Republican lawmakers should be able to find the good in President Barack Obama's budget proposal — modernizing a key national security facility — even if they oppose many other aspects of the federal spending plan. As they seek changes in some areas, they should vigorously defend the appropriations for Oak Ridge. DOE's Oak Ridge operations benefit the regional economy and are vital to the nation's security, and are too important to slip through the cracks during the give and take of Washington politics.