Federal agency responsible for nuclear weapons furloughs employees for first time during a shutdown

As the federal government shutdown entered day 20, the National Nuclear Security Administration temporarily laid off 1,400 of its employees Monday. Another 400 continue to go to work “to support the protection of property and the safety of human life,” Energy Department Deputy Press Secretary Emery Washington said in a statement. Washington did not answer questions about how the furloughs would affect staff in New Mexico. This is the first time NNSA has furloughed employees during a government shutdown.

NNSA’s Office of Secure Transportation, which is responsible for safely transporting government-owned special nuclear materials through the U.S., is funded through Oct. 27. Office of Secure Transportation agents operate from three commands, including its headquarters in Albuquerque.

NNSA also has field offices in New Mexico to oversee compliance and federal contracts with Los Alamos and Sandia national laboratories. The NNSA Los Alamos Field Office spokesperson sent an automated response when emailed for comment on Monday, stating she was on furlough due to the lapse in federal funding.

“We’ve never furloughed workers in the NNSA,” Energy Secretary Chris Wright said during a Monday news conference at the Nevada National Security Site. “This should not happen. But this was as long as we could stretch the funding for the federal workers. We were able to do some gymnastics and stretch it further for the contractors.”

The majority of people working on nuclear weapons and security under NNSA are contract employees. Between federal and contract employees, NNSA includes 65,000 employees at labs, plants and other sites nationwide, according to an NNSA fact sheet.

Wright said there is funding to keep contract workers at work through the end of the month. Some federal employees and contractors will be kept at work regardless of how long the shutdown lasts because not having them work would be too risky, he said.

Democrats and Republicans in Congress have been placing blame for the shutdown on each other since it began, a tactic Wright continued.

The energy secretary called on Democratic Nevada Sen. Jacky Rosen to vote in favor of a Republican-backed temporary funding bill that has repeatedly failed in the Senate and praised Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., for breaking with her party and voting in favor of the bill. Wright placed blame for the shutdown on Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.

“This is Chuck Schumer worried about his personal primary. … We’ve got to think about our country first and our families first,” Wright said.

Congress failed to pass the 12 annual appropriations bills that keep the government open before the fiscal year ended in September. The temporary spending bill backed by Republicans would keep spending levels the same into November, giving more time to negotiate annual appropriations. Senate Democrats have proposed their own temporary spending bill, which would also extend health insurance subsidies. If the subsidies are not extended before the end of the year, health insurance premiums will rise substantially for many Americans.

”President (Donald) Trump did not have to furlough 80% of the workers who maintain our nuclear weapons stockpile — he chose to,” Sen. Martin Heinrich, D-N.M., said in a statement, accusing the president of risking national security.

Sen. Ben Ray Luján, D-N.M., called for Republicans to work with Democrats on a bipartisan agreement to end the shutdown.

“At this time, LANL and Sandia continue to operate at full capacity to deliver the cutting-edge research, technologies, and capabilities that keep our nation safe,” Luján said in a statement. “Secretary Wright and the Trump administration must prioritize this vital workforce to protect our national security.”

Los Alamos National Laboratory, managed by Triad National Security, has funds in place to continue operations and will focus on maintaining the safety and security of its employees and facilities, LANL spokesperson Nick Njegomir said in a statement Friday.

Sandia National Laboratories is open and employees are reporting for work, according to an automated email response from Sandia spokesperson Kenny Vigil on Friday. Sandia will operate in the short term using unspent funding. The media relations team may not be able to help with inquiries during this time and the lab’s website and social media sites may not be updated during the lapse in federal funding, Vigil said.