Federal agency overseeing US nuclear stockpile will furlough most of its workforce starting Monday

By René Marsh, Ella Nilsen, CNN

(CNN) — The federal agency responsible for overseeing and modernizing the US nuclear stockpile will furlough the vast majority of its staff Monday as the government shutdown drags on, according to the Department of Energy.

About 1,400 employees at the National Nuclear Security Administration, or NNSA, will receive furlough notices Monday, while fewer than 400 employees will remain on the job to safeguard the stockpile, Energy Department spokesperson Ben Dietderich told CNN.

Energy Secretary Chris Wright will speak about the shutdown’s impact on the US’ nuclear deterrent efforts Monday while visiting the Nevada National Security Site.

The NNSA Office of Secure Transportation, which oversees the transportation of nuclear weapons around the country, will be funded through October 27.

“Since its creation in 2000, NNSA has never before furloughed federal workers during funding lapses,” Dietderich said in a statement. “We are left with no choice this time. We’ve extended funding as long as we could.”

The furloughs will first impact NNSA sites that assemble nuclear weapons, such as Pantex in Texas and Y-12 in Tennessee, a source familiar with the situation told CNN. Because those facilities require large teams to manufacture weapons, furloughs will force those sites into safe shutdown mode.

“Contractors will continue doing very minimal work until they themselves run out of money,” another NNSA source said. “But the day-to-day rhythm of federal oversight, the approvals and monitoring of these contractors, keeping everything on track, will grind to a halt because the people responsible for oversight will be furloughed.”

Monday’s furloughs mark the first wave of disruption for the agency.

“Whatever minimal work contractors are able to continue to do as far as building weapons, enriching special nuclear material, stockpile surveillance, that will stop when the contractors run out of money,” the second source warned. “The earliest we could see that happen is around October 28.”

At that point, the agency would no longer be able to deliver weapons to the Department of Defense. “Everything would be locked up,” the second source said.

Shutting down mid-operation comes with its own complications.

“To stop in the middle of disassembling or building a nuclear weapon, there are several steps you must take to ensure everything is safe enough to leave and lock up,” the second source explained. “And then when you come back, you have to do all of that in reverse to restart. It takes time, it’s not like flipping a light switch.”

For now, both NNSA sources say, there is no immediate national security threat.

“The nuclear stockpile today is reliable and can accomplish what it’s designed to do,” the second source said. “But if we can’t continue our modernization, refurbishing, doing surveillance, then it’s the reliability of the stockpile that’s affected, and it’s going to take some time to play catch up on all of that work.”

Security staff guarding facilities with weapons and nuclear materials will remain on the job. However, ceasing operations at Pantex and Y-12 will stall modernization efforts for the US nuclear stockpile, the sources told CNN. The Department of Defense has been pushing the NNSA to produce new and modernized weapons on time, and a government shutdown could delay that schedule significantly — depending on how long it lasts.

“While the Energy Department and NNSA remain committed to ensuring the safety and security of America’s nuclear deterrent, the longer the shutdown lasts, the more damaging and dire the consequences will be for workforce retention and weapons modernization efforts critical to national security,” Dietderich said in the statement.

Inside the agency, frustration is high.

“There’s a lot of frustration and disappointment that Congress can’t get this done,” one source said. “Especially considering what’s at stake.”

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