WASHINGTON -U.S. Senator Tom Udall, D-N.M., today sent a letter to Energy Secretary Steven Chu asking him to support a future vision of the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) labs that expands their mission into additional areas of national security. The letter to Secretary Chu follows their conversations regarding future plans for the NNSA, including both Sandia National Laboratories and Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico.
"Focusing on their national security enterprise capabilities and cooperating with other agencies is a perfect way for NNSA labs to use their unparalleled skills and infrastructure to address the problems America faces today," said Udall. "As two of America's premier national security labs, Sandia and Los Alamos can and should continue to play a critical role in securing our nation from existing and future threats."
Udall has long been an advocate for diversifying and growing the NNSA labs' missions. On November 6, 2007, he wrote a letter to then-Office of Management and the Budget Director Jim Nussle calling for additional streams of funding for Los Alamos National Lab. He has since worked with the NNSA leadership toward developing a blueprint for protecting the labs' core missions while expanding their activities into new areas.
Below is the text of Udall's letter to Secretary Chu:
The Honorable Steven Chu
Secretary
U.S. Department of Energy
1000 Independence Avenue, SW
Washington, DC 20585
Dear Secretary Chu:
Congratulations again on your appointment and confirmation as Secretary of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). Our nation is in the midst of an energy crisis that requires substantial attention, and I am certain that you bring the necessary expertise, leadership and ambition that will serve President Obama and the nation well.
As you know, the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) within the DOE provides not only surety for our nuclear arsenal, but acts as one of the strongest scientific research and development engines in the nation. Yet, while our laboratories have continued to support a broad national security objective beyond the core mission of the Stockpile Stewardship Program (SSP), almost all activities of the NNSA are supported fundamentally by a shrinking budget of that core mission. This has led to wide concern that the budget and mission constraints of the NNSA could lead to its being unable to provide the very necessary capabilities that are so critical to our nation.
In response to this growing concern, last year Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman, DOE Undersecretary for Nuclear Security Thomas D'Agostino, DOE Undersecretary for Science Roy Orbach, and the heads of four NNSA facilities (please see the attached letter) signed a four page "Future Vision" statement outlining a path forward for the NNSA labs to move towards a more encompassing national security mission. The purpose was not only to describe an evolving role of the labs, but also to foster a new environment of cooperation between the labs and other agencies.
"The scientific capabilities and infrastructure developed for the nuclear weapons mission have been utilized by many national security agencies," the letter states, "and are recognized as essential to fulfilling their responsibilities. Maintenance of a strong infrastructure - both the workforce and the facilities - will require joint support from these national security agencies, as well as careful planning and budgeting by NNSA and its national laboratories, to enable this broader national security mission."
On the heels of this statement, several Strategic Partnership Agreements (SPA's) between NNSA and other agencies have either been signed or are currently under negotiation. The SPA's represent in real terms the early realization of the vision elucidated in the statement signed last year. However, this simply marks the beginning. In order to allow other federal agencies to benefit from the expertise and capabilities developed at the NNSA labs, I believe additional resources and commitment should be devoted to expanding the mission in general, and as part of that effort, specifically to the vision statement and agreements between NNSA and other agencies.
With that in mind, I respectfully urge you to compile a similar statement and lend your support to the establishment of additional SPA's. By doing so, you will be signaling that these national labs must continue to serve our nation, and must do so in a multitude of disciplines. It is quite clear that each of these labs has recognized the need to diversify their missions, and I firmly believe that we should encourage that diversification, otherwise we risk losing many of the scientists and much of the research that is so crucial and to critical for our national interests.
Several studies are currently being conducted related to the NNSA labs, from the recently released Stimson Report (which encouraged mission diversity and broad investment in the labs by other agencies), to the soon to be released report from the Congressional Commission on Strategic Posture of the United States, to the upcoming Nuclear Posture Review. The confluence of these studies marks what you already know; our national labs are at a crossroads. As such, I believe this represents an historic opportunity to ensure our labs continue to play a critical role in securing our nation from threats not imagined at their birth.
The signatories to last year's statement underscored how important it was for these labs to transform into national security labs, stating "[we] will advocate for and enable a broader national-security role for NNSA and its laboratories...The nation's ability to respond to as yet unknown challenging national security problems in the future demands nothing less." I wholeheartedly echo this sentiment and respectfully ask that you consider lending your crucial voice in support of this effort.
I welcome the opportunity to work with you on this and the many other challenges facing our nation. Please do not hesitate to contact me to discuss further.
Sincerely,
Tom Udall
United States Senator
