Rosen, Cortez Masto Demand Transparency Regarding Termination of NNSA Personnel

WASHINGTON, DC– U.S. Senator Jacky Rosen (D-NV) and Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV) sent a letter to President Trump’s Department of Energy (DOE) and National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) regarding recent terminations of NNSA personnel. Given the NNSA’s role in maintaining and modernizing the American nuclear stockpile, largely done at the Nevada National Security Sites (NNSS), the senators expressed grave concern that the chaotic terminations could harm American national security.
“NNSA personnel possess highly specialized expertise that is not easily replaceable, and any disruption to their work could have far-reaching consequences for U.S. national security and global nuclear stability,”wrote the Senators.“Reductions in staff, particularly among senior leadership and technical experts, could compromise the continuity of critical programs, modernization, and weaken the ability of the U.S. to respond to emerging nuclear threats.”
“Adding to these concerns, there are reports the NNSA is now attempting to rehire the terminated employees but has been unable to contact some of them,”they continued.“The fact that the agency is struggling to restore essential personnel suggests these firings were premature, mismanaged, or not conducted with full consideration of the potential impacts on national security operations.”
The senators asked that the following information about the terminations be made public:

The full text of the letter can be foundhere.
Senators Rosen and Cortez Masto are champions for strengthening American national security, especially at sites like the NNSS. They have consistentlyvotedtodelivercritical funding to the NNSS. They also have a strong history of opposing nuclear waste disposal at Yucca Mountain and have introducedlegislationto ensure the Secretary of Energy obtains written consent from state, local, and tribal leaders before allowing construction of a nuclear waste repository.
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