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Report: Chair of nuclear safety board proposes eliminating it

Posted at 12:43 pm November 2, 2017
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Sean Sullivan (Photo credit: DNFSB.gov)

Sean Sullivan (Photo credit: DNFSB.gov)

The chairman of a nuclear safety board that provides recommendations and advice on public health and safety issues at certain federal facilities, including two in Oak Ridge, has proposed eliminating the board, according to an investigative news organization in Washington, D.C.

In its October 19 report, the nonprofit, nonpartisan Center for Public Integrity said it had obtained a June 29 letter from Sean Sullivan, the Republican chair of the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board, to Mick Mulvaney, director of the White House’s Office of Management and Budget.

The center has posted the five-page letter online along with an attached one-page historical summary of the five-member board, which issues weekly reports for U.S. Department of Energy sites that include Oak Ridge National Laboratory and Y-12 National Security Complex, among other activities. In his letter, Sullivan said the board is a “relic of the Cold War-era defense establishment.”

The Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board is an independent oversight organization within the executive branch. It was created by Congress in 1988 to provide advice and recommendations to the secretary of energy on public health and safety at the defense nuclear facilities managed by DOE. Those reports are publicly available and posted online, and they have been used by reporters and public interest organizations, among others. The Center for Public Integrity said the DNFSB has helped persuade the federal government to impose tighter safety rules and regulations at most of the eight nuclear weapons sites. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Federal, Front Page News, Government, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Top Stories, U.S. Department of Energy, Y-12 National Security Complex Tagged With: Center for Public Integrity, Chuck Fleischmann, Congress, Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board, DNFSB, DOE, Donald Trump, Mick Mulvaney, nuclear safety board, nuclear weapons sites, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Office of Enterprise Assessments, Office of Management and Budget, Sean Sullivan, Tom Udall, U.S. Department of Energy, White House, Y-12 National Security Complex

Labor Secretary announces proposal to raise minimum wage for federal contract workers

Posted at 1:39 pm June 12, 2014
By Oak Ridge Today Staff Leave a Comment

Proposed rule would raise the minimum wage to $10.10 per hour for covered workers

WASHINGTON, D.C.—U.S. Secretary of Labor Thomas E. Perez on Thursday announced a proposed rule raising the minimum wage for workers on federal service and construction contracts to $10.10 per hour. The proposed rule implements Executive Order 13658, which was announced by President Barack Obama on Feb. 12.

“A core American value is that hard work should be rewarded with fair pay,” Perez said in a press release. “And as the president said in his State of the Union address, if you cook our troops’ meals or wash their dishes, you shouldn’t have to live in poverty.

“Raising the minimum wage for workers on federal contracts will provide a much needed boost to many who are working hard, but still struggle to get by, and it will also benefit taxpayers with improved employee retention and productivity. Today the department took an important step toward making the promise of the executive order a reality for thousands of workers.” [Read more…]

Filed Under: Federal, Government, Top Stories Tagged With: 1235-AA10, Barack Obama, Cecilia Muñoz, contracts, executive order, Executive Order 13658, federal construction contracts, federal contracting community, federal contracts, Federal Register, federal service, minimum wage, Office of Management and Budget, OMB, proposed rule, Thomas E. Perez, U.S. Secretary of Labor, wage increases, White House Domestic Policy, workers

New director named at Climate Change Science Institute at ORNL

Posted at 4:46 pm October 21, 2013
By Oak Ridge National Laboratory Leave a Comment

Jack Fellows

Jack Fellows

Jack D. Fellows, who oversaw a $110 billion federal science portfolio under two U.S. presidents and co-founded the U.S. Global Change Research Program integrating all federal Earth system science research programs, has been appointed director of the Climate Change Science Institute at Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

Martin Keller and Jeff Nichols, leaders of the Energy and Environmental Sciences Directorate and the Computing and Computational Sciences Directorate respectively, announced Fellows’ appointment.

“Jack Fellows is a welcome addition to our climate change science program,” said ORNL Director Thom Mason. “His extensive experience in directing research and education programs, most recently as vice-president for the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research, will be particularly valuable as CCSI moves forward in its work of advancing the understanding of the Earth system, describing the consequences of climate change, and evaluating and informing policy on the potential outcomes of responses to climate change.” [Read more…]

Filed Under: Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Science, Top Stories Tagged With: climate change, Climate Change Science Institute, Computing and Computational Sciences Directorate, CSCI, Earth, Energy and Environmental Sciences Directorate, funding, G2Groups LLC, James J. Hack, Jeff Nichols, Martin Keller, National Climate Adaptation Summit, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Office of Management and Budget, research, The Globe Program, Thom Mason, U.S. Global Change Research Program, University Corporation for Atmospheric Research

With ‘fiscal cliff’ looming, ORNL says it’s as well-prepared as it can be

Posted at 2:38 pm December 19, 2012
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

As President Barack Obama and House Speaker John Boehner continue their high-stakes negotiations over tax revenues and spending cuts, officials at Oak Ridge National Laboratory say they have prepared as best they can for automatic spending cuts that could go into effect in January.

“We have been preparing for increased budget pressures for several years now and have taken a number of steps to reduce our costs, including workforce restructuring, benefits changes, reduction in energy consumption, and other operational costs,” ORNL Director Thom Mason said in a statement Monday. “Since we don’t know exactly how any cuts would be allocated by the various governments agencies that fund ORNL, we can’t really say with certainty what the impacts would be, other than to say we are as well-prepared for uncertainty as we can be.”

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Government, Top Stories, U.S. Department of Energy Tagged With: Bob Corker, Congress, DOE, fiscal cliff, House Speaker John Boehner, National Nuclear Security Administration, NNSA, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Office of Management and Budget, OMB, ORNL, President Barack Obama, sequestration, spending cuts, U.S. Department of Energy, White House, Y-12 National Security Complex

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Classifieds

Public Notice: NNSA announces no significant impact of Y-12 Development Organization operations at Horizon Center

AVAILABILITY OF THE FINAL ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT FOR THE OFFSITE HOUSING OF THE Y-12 DEVELOPMENT … [Read More...]

ADFAC seeks contractors for five homes

Aid to Distressed Families of Appalachian Counties (ADFAC) is a non-profit community based agency, … [Read More...]

Public notice: Draft environmental assessment for Y-12 Development Organization at Horizon Center

AVAILABILITY OF THE DRAFT ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT FOR THE OFFSITE HOUSING OF THE Y-12 DEVELOPMENT … [Read More...]

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