Pete Domenici: “Mr. Pena has an impressive set of challenges ahead of him. From our meetings as well as his committee hearing, I'm…”

“Mr. Pena has an impressive set of challenges ahead of him. From our meetings as well as his committee hearing, I'm confident that he understands the responsibilities of this new assignment and that he is willing to make key changes in the Department to enable future success. Mr. Pena listed the key priorities for the Department, including the need to ensure a safe and reliable nuclear weapons stockpile while reducing the global nuclear danger. He spoke to the importance of cleanup of former nuclear weapons sites and to finding a timely path for disposing of nuclear waste. He emphasized the importance of using and leveraging science and technology throughout the Department. Those are appropriate priorities. Responsibility for the Nation's nuclear weapons and nuclear weapons technologies was rightly prominent on his list. Perhaps no other challenge requires as much of his personal attention. The safety and security of the Nation's nuclear arsenal must be assured. The Nation will place this responsibility squarely on his shoulders. We talked about the importance of avoiding over dependence on his staff and about moving forward with some key recommendations of the Galvin Commission to minimize micromanagement by the Department. He assured me that the nuclear weapons program will receive annual budget support above $4 billion for the foreseeable future.”