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GAO-20-573R 1 (2020-07-30)

handle is hein.gao/gaobaebll0001 and id is 1 raw text is: G A U.S. GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE 441 G St. N.W. Washington, DC 20548 July 30, 2020 The Honorable Dianne Feinstein Ranking Member Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development Committee on Appropriations United States Senate The Honorable Edward J. Markey United States Senate National Nuclear Security Administration: Information on the Fiscal Year 2021 Budget Request and Affordability of Nuclear Modernization Activities The United States is in the midst of a long-term effort to modernize its nuclear security enterprise. As part of this effort, the Department of Energy's (DOE) National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA)1 is currently conducting four weapon modernization programs.2 N NSA manages its weapon modernization programs in coordination with the Department of Defense (DOD), which undertakes related work to modernize nuclear weapon delivery systems, including heavy bombers, intercontinental ballistic missiles, and submarine-launched ballistic missiles and the submarines that carry them. In addition, NNSA is managing numerous, multi-billion-dollar construction projects and related activities to modernize the infrastructure it uses to produce the components and materials needed for its weapon modernization programs. 1NNSA is a separately organized agency within DOE that is responsible for DOE's nuclear weapons, nuclear nonproliferation, and naval reactor programs. It was created under Title 32 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2000, Pub. L. No. 106-65, §§ 3201 - 3299, 113 Stat. 512, 953-971 (1999) (codified as amended at 50 U.S.C. §§ 2401-2484). 2These programs are the B61-12 life extension program (LEP), the W88 Alteration 370, the W80-4 LEP, and the W87-1 Modification program. NNSA undertakes LEPs to refurbish or replace nuclear weapons' components to extend their lives, enhance their safety and security characteristics, and consolidate the stockpile into fewer weapon types to minimize maintenance and testing costs while preserving needed military capabilities. Much like a nuclear weapon LEP, a weapon alteration replaces or refurbishes components to ensure the weapon can continue to meet military requirements. However, an alteration generally refurbishes fewer components than an LEP and does not specifically extend a weapon's operational lifetime. The W87-1 Modification program will replace another weapon's capabilities with a weapon composed of all newly manufactured components. GAO-20-573R Nuclear Modernization Page 1

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