Schumer: We Should Not Let A Program Shut Its Doors That Is So Critical To Both National Security & The Local Economy

Statement

U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer today announced that, in two separate phone calls, he has urged both Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus and Secretary of the Department of Energy (DOE) Ernest Moniz to provide the funding needed to keep the Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program (NNPP) operated by Knolls Atomic Power Laboratory (KAPL) the Kenneth Kesselring site in West Milton running at full capacity. The program, which trains over 1,000 cadets per year on how to operate the 97 nuclear reactors that provide propulsion to Navy aircraft carriers and submarines, is at risk of having to shut down one of its nuclear training reactors on October 1st due to a $151 million cut in the budget for the NNPP that came as a result of this year's Congressional Budget agreement. KAPL, a world-class naval research facility, houses two nuclear reactors used for training, and it will be forced to shut down one of them if it does not receive $24 million in funding. In addition to pushing the Navy and DOE to plug this year's funding gap, Schumer is fighting for funds for next year as part of the ongoing appropriations process that would take KAPL's nuclear reactor permanently off the chopping block.

"This reactor is important to both our national security and to the Capital Region's economy. We must do everything we can to make sure it stays up and running for the rest of this year and in years to come," said Schumer. "I made it very clear to both the Secretary of the Navy and the Secretary of Energy how important this training reactor is to our national security interests. I will continue to work with them to come up with a way to find the funding needed to keep this critical program up and running this year, and I will do everything in my power to find funds for next year and beyond."

Schumer proposed two potential solutions to Mabus and Moniz, whose agencies each have the ability to close the funding gap. One option Schumer proposed is for DOE to reprogram funds within its own budget to free up the $24 million the NNPP needs to keep the training reactor online. The other option Schumer proposed is for the Department of Defense (DOD), which has jurisdiction over the Navy budget, to transfer the necessary funds to DOE. Schumer made it clear to both Mabus and Moniz that he will fight for the funding needed to keep this reactor open next year as part of the ongoing FY2015 budget process, but that the only way to keep the reactor up and running through the rest of this year is for the money to come from either the DOE or DOD budget.

There are approximately 700 Navy and civilian personnel assigned to the nuclear training reactor that is at risk of closing. This includes 450 sailors who train at this reactor at any one time. Schumer warned that unless there is a clear signal by July that this year's funding gap will be closed, employees will begin to receive notice that they will be laid off or re-assigned. This could have a severe effect on the local economy, as up to 700 personnel could be forced to move elsewhere, in addition to the significant disruption it would cause for the employees, sailors and families affected by the shutdown. Schumer also noted that this program is critical to national security, which makes keeping the reactor open even more urgent.

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