National Nuclear Security Administration

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**National Nuclear Security Administration**

Established:	2000
Activated:	2000
NNSA Administrator:	Tom D'Agostino (acting)
Principal Deputy Administrator:
Budget:	$9.1 billion (2006)
Employees:	at least 1,500 (2006)

The United States National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) is part of the United States Department of Energy. It works to improve national security through the military application of nuclear energy. The NNSA also maintains and improves the safety, reliability, and performance of the United States nuclear weapons stockpile, including the ability to design, produce, and test, in order to meet national security requirements.

NNSA has four missions with regard to National Security:

To provide the United States Navy with safe, militarily effective nuclear propulsion plants and to ensure the safe and reliable operation of those plants.
To promote international nuclear safety and nonproliferation.
To reduce global danger from weapons of mass destruction.
To support United States leadership in science and technology.

The NNSA maintains a database containing personal information on 37,000 persons who design and maintain nuclear weapons for the U. S. government.

The NNSA's Office of Secure Transportation (OST) provides safe and secure transportation of nuclear weapons and components and special nuclear materials, and conducts other missions supporting the national security of the United States of America. Since 1974, OST has been assigned responsibility to develop, operate, and manage a system for the safe and secure transportation of all government-owned, DOE or NNSA controlled special nuclear materials in "strategic" or "significant" quantities. Shipments are transported in specially designed equipment and are escorted by armed Federal Agents.

[edit] Data security concerns

The NNSA was formed in 2000 in response to the Wen Ho Lee espionage scandal at Los Alamos National Laboratory.^{[citation needed]}

In June 2006, the New York Times reported that sensitive information on nuclear weapons workers had been stolen from the NNSA, and stated that the theft had gone unreported for nine months following the theft.

On January 5, 2007, President Bush accepted the recommendation of Energy Secretary Bodman to designate Tom D'Agostino as Acting Administrator. Most recently, Tom served as Deputy Administrator of NNSA for Defense Programs.