James Wilson
Lifehacker, tips and downloads for getting things done. Pearltrees videos. Help. Chinese Propaganda Accidentally Reveals Cyberwar. Space Politics » Senate energy bill includes no Pu-238 funding. By Jeff Foust on 2011 September 11 at 11:12 am ET The Senate Appropriations Committee passed this week its 2012 energy and water appropriations bill, which includes funding for the Department of Energy (DOE).
Senate appropriators, though, decided not to fund the administration’s request for $15 million for DOE to restart production of plutonium-238 (Pu-238), an isotope used in radioisotope thermoelectric generators (RTGs) for NASA science missions. In the report accompanying the bill, the committee gave no reason for the lack of funding, simply stating, “The Committee provides no funding for the Plutonium-238 Production Restart project.” That move comes after House appropriators similarly declined to fund Pu-238 production in its DOE bill, although in that case appropriators said in their report that DOE should not share the funding burden with NASA for a program that primarily aids the space agency.
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