LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — The secretary of energy said Monday that 68 federal workers had been furloughed at the Nevada National Security Site, and thousands of contractors could face the same fate by month's end.
Energy Secretary Chris Wright visited the Mission Support and Test Services complex in North Las Vegas on Monday to meet with workers and brief reporters about the impact of the government shutdown on his department's programs. He later visited the security site itself, at Mercury, Nevada.
VIDEO: Steve Sebelius speaks to the energy secretary about the impact of furloughs at the Nevada National Security Site
"This work is critical. The humans working on it are critical," Wright said. "We need to open the federal government as quickly as we can to assure we don't overly impact the lives of thousands, and soon, tens of thousands, of employees who are critical to our security."
Workers at the Nevada National Security Site perform a variety of jobs, including maintaining the nation's nuclear weapons stockpile and ensuring the weapons are operating properly. They also work on nonproliferation and cybersecurity, Wright said.
While critical contractors and other workers will remain on the job — without pay — others will be furloughed. Wright said if the shutdown goes on for a long time, the government could lose their talent for good.
"You have expertise, and you have a workforce that's working well together," he said. "The last thing we want to do is see that workforce disrupted. People are out of work too long, they go get other jobs. That's a loss to our country. That's a loss to those families."
Wright laid the blame for the shutdown on Democrats, who have refused to support a House-passed Republican budget resolution in the Senate that would reopen the government.
Democrats are demanding Republicans negotiate to extend Affordable Care Act tax credits and reverse Medicare changes made in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. But Republicans are refusing to negotiate until the government is reopened. And despite 10 votes, the Senate has not budged.
Wright praised Nevada Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, a Democrat who has voted repeatedly for the Republican resolution to reopen the government. He encouraged Nevada's other Democratic senator, Jacky Rosen, to vote with Cortez Masto.
But Rosen has steadfastly refused to back off her support for the health care provisions. In a statement released Monday, she said Republicans control the government, and they should act to reopen it.
“Donald Trump and Washington Republicans control Congress and the White House – and it’s on them to end this government shutdown and take action to prevent a spike in health care costs for hardworking families,” Rosen said in the statement.
“The Trump Administration would rather continue this shutdown and furlough federal workers, including at the Nevada National Security Site, than work across party lines to extend the Affordable Care Act’s enhanced premium tax credits that families rely on to keep their health care affordable. We’re less than two weeks from the start of open enrollment and Nevadans are going to see their health care costs sharply increase if we don’t act now. I’ll always fight to ensure families across our state have the ability to see a doctor without breaking the bank.”
And Congresswoman Dina Titus, who voted against the Republican budget resolution in the House, condemned the furloughs in a statement of her own.
“The decision of the Trump administration to furlough 1,400 employees at the National Nuclear Security Administration puts our national security at risk," she said in the statement, referring to contractors whom the government will soon run out of money to pay. "These critical employees oversee the development and maintenance of our nuclear stockpile. Without them, construction of modernized weapons and surveillance of the existing stockpile will grind to a halt, reducing our nuclear deterrence. This is a decision our enemies will welcome. It also demonstrates that President Trump will go to any lengths — including jeopardizing our national security — to achieve his political ends.”
But Wright said the issue comes down to making sure critical national security jobs are filled, something that can only happen if congressionally authorized spending is approved by Congress.
"This is among the most critical workers [sic] in our country," he said. "They test, maintain and ultimately construct the modernized version of our nuclear stockpile. We need to take that deathly serious. We've never had to furlough workers in this area before. We need to end this as soon as possible.
"Of course there's going to be debates and negotiations about particular spending bills," he added. That's what the House and Senate are all about. But let's do it with the government open, with all of our workers being paid, and with all of our critical national security work moving forward."