Department of Energy.(Nonproliferation and Threat Reduction Assistance: U.S. Programs in the Former Soviet Union)(Report)

The Department of Energy has contributed to U.S. threat reduction and nonproliferation assistance to the former Soviet states from the start, when CTR included a small amount of funding for materials control and protection. Officials from DOE participated, along with their counterparts at DOD, in early efforts to outline projects and reach agreement with Russian officials on assistance to secure nuclear materials. But these government-to-government negotiations proceeded slowly, in part because Russia's nuclear energy ministry--known as Minatom at the time--was less open to cooperation than the Ministry of Defense. Consequently, projects at facilities that housed nuclear materials did not begin until 1994. In a parallel effort that sought to reduce these delays, experts from the U.S. nuclear laboratories, which are a part of DOE, also began less formal contacts with their counterparts in Russia to identify and solve safety and security problems at Russian facilities. Together, these government-to-government and lab-to-lab projects evolved into an effort to apply Material Protection, Control and Accounting (MPC&A) techniques to Russian facilities.

The MPC&A program began with less than $3 million in FY1993. This amount grew to $73 million in FY1995. In FY1996, DOE assumed budgetary and management responsibility for the program. DOE also initiated a second program, the Initiatives for Proliferation Prevention, which sought to provide employment opportunities for scientists and engineers from Russia's nuclear weapons complex. In the latter half of the 1990s, DOE expanded these efforts and added several other programs to its nonproliferation assistance. These programs are now managed by DOE's National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA). The discussion below summarizes the objectives and achievements of many of these efforts. (81)

International Nuclear Materials Protection and Cooperation

The International Nuclear Materials Protection and Cooperation program seeks to "secure nuclear weapons and weapons-usable nuclear materials by upgrading security at nuclear sites, by consolidating these materials to sites where installation of enhanced security systems have already been completed, and by improving nuclear smuggling detection capabilities at international borders." (82) The MPC&A program (83) addresses the first of these objectives. The Materials Consolidation and Conversion Program addresses the second, and the Second Line of Defense (SLD) and Megaports programs address the third. Each of these is discussed below.

MPC&A Funding

The budget for MPC&A grew rapidly during the 1990s, reaching $169 million in FY2001, the last year of the Clinton Administration. The Bush Administration, in its budget request for FY2002, reduced funding for the MPC&A program to $138.8 million, in part because it believed that the program had enough unexpended funds from prior years to carry on with less funding. Its first budget also shifted money from Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation Programs to U.S. nuclear weapons programs. Congress objected to this reduction, and both the Senate and House Appropriations Committees, in the Energy and Water Appropriations bills for FY2002, restored funding to the FY2001 level. Furthermore, Congress added $150 million in a supplemental appropriations bill passed at the end of 2001, after the September 11 attacks had raised new concerns about the potential threat that terrorists might seek to acquire nuclear materials from insecure facilities in Russia. The Bush Administration allocated much of this new funding to the Second Line of Defense and Radiological Dispersion Devices. But the Bush Administration did increase its budget request for MPC&A in FY2003, to $223 million, so that it could accelerate the installation of comprehensive upgrades and material consolidation and conversion efforts. (84) The Bush Administration requested $227 million for these efforts for FY2004; Congress approved $260 million, adding $5 million for "high priority" activities and $28 million for an initiative under the Second Line of Defense Program (described below).

The Bush Administration requested $238 million for MPC&A in FY2005. The reduction from FY2004 to FY2005 reflected, in part, the completion of physical security upgrades at Russian Navy warhead storage sites. (85) In the Conference report on the FY2005 Defense Authorization Bill (H.Rept. 108-767; P.L. 108-375), Congress authorized the full amount requested by the President. The House had reduced that amount by around $10 million, citing delays in the program caused by Russia's refusal to allow the United States access to some facilities, but the Senate prevailed in conference. The Appropriations Committee added $84 million to the MPC&A program, for a total of $322 million. The conference report accompanying the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2005 (H.Rept. 108-792; P.L. 108-447), notes that this added funding should be used to accelerate efforts to secure nuclear weapons sites and nuclear materials production sites in Russia. (86)

The Bush Administration requested $343.4 million for these programs in FY2006. Nearly $100 million of this total was allocated to the Second Line of Defense and Megaports Initiative, leaving approximately $245 million to secure nuclear materials in Russia. In the FY2006 Defense Authorization Act (P.L. 109-163, H.Rept. 109-360), Congress added approximately $20 million to this total, in part to accelerate warhead security work at the Strategic Rocket Force facilities. The Energy and Water Appropriations Committee added $83.6 million to this portion of the DOE budget, so that DOE could pursue "new opportunities in warhead security work with Russia.

In the FY2007 budget, the Bush Administration requested $413.2 million for MPC&A. Although this exceeds the Administration's request for FY2006, it falls below the appropriated amount of $422.7 million. In addition, it includes $124 million for Second Line of Defense and Megaports, leaving $298.7 million to secure nuclear materials in Russia. Within this total, as is noted below, the Administration shifted money among the different project areas, as some ongoing projects accelerate and others move toward their conclusion. Specifically, the budget indicated that work at the Rosatom complex, which houses most of Russia's nuclear weapons materials, would be reduced, while sustainment activities would increase. Congress did not accept some of these changes, appropriating a total of $472.7 million for this program area and shifting money among the budget areas, as is noted in more detail below.

The FY2008 budget request sought a total of $371.7 million for the MPC&A program areas, with $119.3 million going to the Second line of Defense and Megaports initiatives. This leaves $251.8 million for the efforts to secure nuclear warheads and materials in Russia. The DOE budget request also reflects continuing declines in the MPC&A budget in the outyears, as many of the MPC&A upgrades to storage facilities are completed and the program switches to sustainment activities. DOE also noted that Russia has added some Rosatom sites to its list of sites in need of upgrades; if these are approved, they would also be added to budget and work effort after FY2008.

Congress increased, in some cases significantly, funding for the MPC&A programs in the FY2008 Defense Authorization Act (H.Rept. 110-477) and the FY2008 Omnibus Appropriations Bill (H.R. 2764). For example, the House version of the FY2008 Defense Authorization Bill (H.R. 1585) included $401 million for MPC&A, which essentially incorporates $30 million from the FY2008 Supplemental request into the Authorization Bill. The Senate, for its part, added only $10 million, authorizing $381.8 million. The Conference Committee added $30 million, with most of this going to the Second Line of Defense program. On the other hand, the House Energy and Water Development Subcommittee of the House Appropriations Committee more than doubled the request for funding for MPC&A, providing $831.8 million (H.Rept. …