§6111. Stockpile stewardship program

(a) Establishment.-The Secretary of Energy, acting through the Administrator, shall establish a stewardship program to ensure-

(1) the preservation of the core intellectual and technical competencies of the United States in nuclear weapons, including weapons design, system integration, manufacturing, security, use control, reliability assessment, and certification; and

(2) that the nuclear weapons stockpile is safe, secure, and reliable without the use of underground nuclear weapons testing.

(b) Program Elements.-The program shall include the following:

(1) An increased level of effort for the construction of new facilities and the modernization of existing facilities with production and manufacturing capabilities that are necessary to support the deterrence of strategic attacks against the United States by maintaining and enhancing the performance, reliability, and security of the United States nuclear weapons stockpile, including-

(A) the nuclear weapons production facilities; and

(B) production and manufacturing capabilities resident in the national security laboratories.

(2) Support for advanced computational capabilities to enhance the simulation and modeling capabilities of the United States with respect to the performance over time of nuclear weapons.

(3) Support for above-ground experimental programs, such as hydrotesting, high-energy lasers, inertial confinement fusion, plasma physics, and materials research.

(4) Support for the modernization of facilities and projects that contribute to the experimental capabilities of the United States that support the sustainment and modernization of the United States nuclear weapons stockpile and the capabilities required to assess nuclear weapons effects.

(5) Support for the use of, and experiments facilitated by, the advanced experimental facilities of the United States, including-

(A) the National Ignition Facility at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory;

(B) the Dual Axis Radiographic Hydrodynamic Test Facility at Los Alamos National Laboratory;

(C) the Z Machine at Sandia National Laboratories; and

(D) the experimental facilities at the Nevada National Security Site.

(Added Pub. L. 119–60, div. C, title XXXI, §3111(a), Dec. 18, 2025, 139 Stat. 1344 .)

Editorial Notes

Prior Provisions

A prior section 6111, act Aug. 10, 1956, ch. 1041, 70A Stat. 381 , related to withholding of pay during absence due to use of alcohol or drugs, and is covered by section 802 of Title 37, Pay and Allowances of the Uniformed Services, prior to repeal by Pub. L. 87–649, §14c(35), Sept. 7, 1962, 76 Stat. 501 , effective Nov. 1, 1962.

Provisions similar to those in this section were contained in section 2521 of Title 50, War and National Defense, prior to repeal by Pub. L. 119–60, §3111(b)(1).

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Consultation Requirement With Respect To Transfer to Private Entities of Plutonium or Plutonium Materials; Report

Pub. L. 119–60, div. C, title XXXI, §3128, Dec. 18, 2025, 139 Stat. 1470 , provided that:

"(a) Consultation Required.-

"(1) In general.-The Secretary of Energy shall, on an ongoing basis, consult with the Secretary of Defense with respect to any plans of the Secretary of Energy relating to the transfer to a private entity from Federal stockpiles or storage of any plutonium or plutonium materials.

"(2) Consultation prior to transfer.-The Secretary of Energy may not carry out any such transfer before the date on which such Secretary consults, pursuant to paragraph (1), with the Secretary of Defense with respect to the transfer.

"(b) Congressional Notification; Report.-Not later than 30 days before any date on which the Secretary of Energy carries out a transfer to a private entity of plutonium or plutonium materials, such Secretary shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees the following:

"(1) A notification of the transfer.

"(2) A report that includes-

"(A) a description of-

"(i) the plutonium and plutonium materials to be transferred that includes the-

     "(I) amount;

     "(II) type;

     "(III) age;

     "(IV) relative condition; and

     "(V) current location;

"(ii) the private entity to which such plutonium and plutonium materials will be transferred; and

"(iii) the destination location to which such plutonium and plutonium materials will be transferred.

"(B) A summary of the purpose of the transfer.

"(C) An identification of any direct costs to the United States Government associated with the transfer.

"(3) Except as provided in subsection (c), a written certification, prepared in coordination with the Under Secretary of Energy for Nuclear Security and the Secretary of Defense, that such transfer does not negatively impact the needs of the nuclear weapons stockpile, including such needs related to stockpile stewardship.

"(c) Exception.-A written certification under subsection (b)(3) shall not be required for the transfer of materials from the 34 metric tons of defense plutonium or defense plutonium materials at the Savannah River Site previously declared excess to defense needs and designated for disposal.

"(d) Definitions.-In this section:

"(1) The term 'appropriate congressional committees' means-

"(A) the Committees on Armed Services of the House of Representatives and the Senate;

"(B) the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House of Representatives; and

"(C) the Committee on [Energy and] Natural Resources of the Senate.

"(2) The term 'private entity' means any individual or organization other than-

"(A) a department or agency of the Federal Government; or

"(B) a contractor or subcontractor for management and operations, site cleanup, or site management activities at facilities owned by the Department of Energy."

Plan for Developing Exascale Computing and Incorporating Such Computing Into the Stockpile Stewardship Program

Pub. L. 113–66, div. C, title XXXI, §3129, Dec. 26, 2013, 127 Stat. 1066 , as amended by Pub. L. 119–60, div. C, title XXXI, §3111(c)(2)(H), Dec. 18, 2025, 139 Stat. 1460 , provided that:

"(a) Plan Required.-The Administrator for Nuclear Security shall develop and carry out a plan to develop exascale computing and incorporate such computing into the stockpile stewardship program under section 6111 of title 10, United States Code, during the 10-year period beginning on the date of the enactment of this Act [Dec. 26, 2013].

"(b) Milestones.-The plan required by subsection (a) shall include major programmatic milestones in-

"(1) the development of a prototype exascale computer for the stockpile stewardship program; and

"(2) mitigating disruptions resulting from the transition to exascale computing.

"(c) Coordination With Other Agencies.-In developing the plan required by subsection (a), the Administrator shall coordinate, as appropriate, with the Under Secretary of Energy for Science, the Secretary of Defense, and elements of the intelligence community (as defined in section 3(4) of the National Security Act of 1947 (50 U.S.C. 3003(4))).

"(d) Inclusion of Costs in Future-Years Nuclear Security Program.-The Administrator shall-

"(1) address, in the estimated expenditures and proposed appropriations reflected in each future-years nuclear security program submitted under section 3253 of the National Nuclear Security Administration Act (50 U.S.C. 2453) during the 10-year period beginning on the date of the enactment of this Act, the costs of-

"(A) developing exascale computing and incorporating such computing into the stockpile stewardship program; and

"(B) mitigating potential disruptions resulting from the transition to exascale computing; and

"(2) include in each such future-years nuclear security program a description of the costs of efforts to develop exascale computing borne by the National Nuclear Security Administration, the Office of Science of the Department of Energy, other Federal agencies, and private industry.

"(e) Submission to Congress.-The Administrator shall submit the plan required by subsection (a) to the congressional defense committees [Committees on Armed Services and Appropriations of the Senate and the House of Representatives] with each summary of the plan required by subsection (a) of section 6114 of title 10, United States Code, submitted under subsection (b)(1) of that section during the 10-year period beginning on the date of the enactment of this Act.

"(f) Exascale Computing Defined.-In this section, the term 'exascale computing' means computing through the use of a computing machine that performs near or above 10 to the 18th power floating point operations per second."