Wednesday, September 01, 2010
The Department of Energy likes to play up the fact that it’s investing in new technologies to power America, from wind to solar to even nuclear reactors. But most of the money the Energy Department spends is defense-oriented.
In the next federal fiscal year, the department will allocate $28.4 billion (about three-quarters of its budget) for weapons programs, cleanup activities related to the Cold War era ($6 billion) and nonproliferation ($2.7 billion).
The National Nuclear Security Administration, which oversees the nation’s nuclear arsenal, is slated to receive a 13% funding increase next year, to $11 billion. That’s not counting the additional $5 billion that Energy Secretary Steven Chu wants Congress to approve for the next five years on weapons-related work.
The biggest recipients of the Energy Department’s contracts are Bechtel, Battelle, CH2M Hill, URS and Lockheed Martin, which consume half of the department’s outsourcing dollars.
-Noel Brinkerhoff
Nuclear Security Remains Bulk of Energy Budget (by Katherine McIntire Peters, Government Executive)
Top 25 Energy Department Contractors (Government Executive)
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