United States Enrichment Corporation enriched by CR

This week the House of Representatives made public the Continuing Resolution (CR) for fiscal year 2013 appropriations. This follows a summer agreement between the President, Senate, and House to extend government funding for six months after the fiscal year ends September 30th. They needed the agreement because—par for the course—Congress did not get their annual spending bills done.

For months we’ve been hearing about the deal and that it would stick to this year’s spending levels—not add on extra fat. But I guess some things are so well-loved (by the President and Speaker Boehner) that not only can they secure themselves funding, they warrant extra-special treatment. This year one of these extra-special giveaways known euphemistically as “anomalies” was for the United State Enrichment Corporation (USEC).

USEC got themselves $100 million in the massive CR. Funny, today a USEC spokesperson pretty much said thanks, but that’s not enough. The company is in such financial dire straits they’ve been sent a delisting notice from the New York Stock Exchange and earned themselves junk bond status. A sinking ship for sure, and a few taxpayer bailouts aren’t going to solve the company’s financial woes.

Taxpayers were forced to hand USEC $88 million back in June and the Department of Energy promises $2 00 million more. Over the years, USEC has received several other handouts as well. This $100 million can just be added to the mix. Despite all of this USEC’s financial outlook remains bleak. How much money are taxpayers expected to throw at them before we wise up? The way Congress is action, you’d think Uncle Sam has extra cash burning a hole in his pocket.

Preventing Cuts to Meet Defense Budget Goals

Congress is back with a vengeance, holding hearings that detail the Pentagon’s fiscal irresponsibility while simultaneously fielding bills from lawmakers who think the military should get a free pass from sequestration. Meanwhile, the stopgap measure produced by last month’s deal to extend the country’s annual fiscal deadline by six months made a demure debut today. The FY13 Continuing Appropriations Resolution was supposed to be “clean,” i.e. free of policy riders, under the deal cut by Sen. Harry Reid and Rep. John Boehner. But, as always, some directives made their way into the fine print.

A major one can be found in the bill’s defense budget language. Section 121 declares that no money may be used to “retire, divest, realign, or transfer aircraft of the Air Force; disestablish or convert any unit associated with…any unit of the Air National Guard or Air Force Reserve; or retire C–23 Sherpa aircraft.” This is the same language that prompted a potential White House veto threat last May when it appeared in the FY13 House authorization bill . Despite protests from the Defense Secretary that retiring aircraft is necessary in order to meet DOD’s budget cutting goals, the Senate Armed Services Committee followed suit with a bill that would create a commission to evaluate the reductions. A press release said the committee was “unhappy” with the impact of reductions on the Air National Guard, which lobbied heavily against the cuts .

Will the Obama administration go to the mat over aircraft retirements? Looks like the CR might not go down as smoothly as hoped.

Relevant Documents:

Continuing Appropriations Resolution

Read More about USEC’s Financial Flounderings:

  The Even “More” Solyndras Act (September 7, 2012)

Letter to Congress: No More Solyndras Act Fails to Fully Protect Taxpayers (July 31, 2012)

‘No More Solyndras Act’ Moves Forward (July 27, 2012)

Dept. of Energy Offers USEC $280 Million Handout (June 14, 2012)

Congress Votes to Keep Same Program That Brought You Solyndra Alive (June 12, 2012)

End USEC Giveaways in Energy and Water Appropriations Bill (June 5, 2012)

Stop the Next Solyndra: Put the Brakes on Troubled Loan Guarantee Program (June 5, 2012)

House Backdoor Earmarks $150 million for Parochial Boondoggle (May 18, 2012)

Time to U-Turn USEC (May 18, 2012)

Department of Energy Loan Guarantees: Uranium Enrichment (May 16, 2012)

Stop $150 million for troubled uranium project in NDAA (May 16, 2012)