US agency overseeing nuclear stockpile to layoff staff as shutdown continuess
The U.S. agency that oversees the country’s nuclear stockpile will temporarily lay off about 1,400 of its employees as the government shutdown enters its 20th day.
Fewer than 400 employees will remain on the job after the layoffs at the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), a semi-autonomous agency of the US Department of Energy, officials told US media.
The department is responsible for enhancing national security by protecting the U.S. nuclear stockpile and preventing the proliferation of nuclear weapons throughout the world.
The NNSA has never laid off workers since its creation in 2000. “This time we have no choice,” spokesman Ben Dietderich told US media.
“We extended the funding as long as possible,” he said.
Thousands of federal workers have been laid off after three weeks of government shutdown, with the White House warning of further cuts if the government does not reopen.
The Department of Energy said the NNSA’s Office of Secure Transportation, responsible for transporting nuclear weapons, has enough funds to operate until October 27.
Energy Secretary Chris Wright is expected to discuss furloughs and the shutdown at a news conference in Nevada on Monday.
In an interview last week, Wright said the U.S. nuclear stockpile would remain secure, but the furloughs would hamper efforts to modernize the stockpile’s older weapons.
On Monday, the US Senate is expected to once again vote on a measure already adopted by the US House of Representatives to finance the government. The bill failed to pass the Senate ten times.
Republican Senate Majority Leader John Thune plans to introduce a bill this week to pay federal employees and military personnel who are still working during the shutdown without receiving their pay.
Like military personnel, federal law enforcement officers are considered “essential” and must still report to work, even without being paid.
About 1.4 million federal employees are on unpaid leave or working without pay.
The shutdown came after Republicans and Democrats failed to agree on passing a bill funding government services through October and beyond.
Democrats are pushing to increase health care funding — including tax credits that make health insurance cheaper for millions of people — in exchange for reopening the government.
Republicans have argued that health care issues should be handled separately from budget negotiations after the government reopens.
