Appropriations – Democrats: Chairman Daniel Inouye Patrick Leahy Tom  Harkin Barbara Mikulski Herb  Kohl Patty  Murray Dianne  Feinstein Richard Durbin Tim  Johnson Mary Landrieu Jack  Reed Frank Lautenberg Ben  Nelso…

GE-Hitachi has applied to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to build a uranium enrichment facility in North Carolina using new laser technology. This specific type of technology poses serious proliferation risks because it is smaller, more efficient and possibly less expensive than current enrichment technologies.

While the grand bargain of the 1970 Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty is that countries are permitted to develop nuclear power as long as they forswear nuclear bombs, it is critical to keep a sharp dividing line between the two.

The new technology risks eroding that line.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission refuses to conduct a proliferation assessment for this technology. In response, the American Physical Society (APS) has submitted a petition to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission requesting that this federal agency include proliferation analyses in its licensing process.

Please take a few minutes to send a letter to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, telling them you support the petition requiring proliferation analyses in the licensing process for enrichment facilities.

The Nuclear Regulator Commission claims that a review of the proliferation risks of nuclear technologies is not within its jurisdiction.  The Atomic Energy Act, however, specifically requires the agency to deny licenses that would be “inimical to the common defense and security” of the United States.

Do not let the Nuclear Regulator Commission grant licenses without considering the proliferation implications; please write them today!

Thank you for all your hard work!

Want to know which House members are on which congressional committees? You can look it up.

Who is on House Armed Services Subcommittees? Click here.

Want to know who are the Republican members of the House Appropriations Committee and the various subcommittees? Click here.

Democrats on the same committee? Click here.

And the Senate committees?

Halt. Stop there. Don’t move forward yet. Don’t pass go.

The Senate works at a more leisurely pace than the House. We all know that.

The committees are not yet complete because they can’t appoint freshmen to the committees because the leadership of the two parties have not yet determined the Democrat-Republican ratio on each committee now that Republicans have gained six seats.

The Senate does not yet even have agreed-upon rules and procedures to govern its actions for the next two years.

And because the freshmen Senators have not yet been assigned to committees or subcommittees – job hunters alert —  they cannot hire policy staff to do the committee work.

In fact, the new Senators were sworn in on January 5 and then the Senate immediately took a hiatus. Went home.  Or away.  Or visited hot spots around the globe.  Certainly did not go on vacation.

But while magicians and older men and women throughout the ages have tried to stop time, the Senate in fact has done just that. When the Senate reconvenes. On Tuesday, January 25, it will still be the same legislative day as January 5 when the new Senate reconvened..

It seems that the two party leaders are negotiating about the party ratios and whether to change any of the rules – such as making it a bit harder to mount filibusters. Those new rules and procedures tend to be adopted on the first day of session. Which began on January 5 and is still running.

Reminds me of the old joke: When is a day 504 hours rather than 24? When the Senate determines those days.

Freshmen Senators of both parties are frustrated by the slow pace of action in the Senate, but what is new?

It will all be resolved.

Eventually.

Freshmen Senators will get their committee assignments.

Eventually.

In the meantime, relax and bide your time.

Turkey is hosting a new round of discussions between Iran and the United States, Germany, the United Kingdom, France, Russia and China – the P5-plus-1 in acronym-ese.

There is little hope for quick progress in solving Iran’s nuclear aspirations – which most observers think means Tehran’s drive to build a nuclear bomb, despite denials from the Iranian government.

But also significant is the increased role that Turkey is undertaking as an intermediary in solving some of the world’s problems.

All too often, it is the United States that has acted as a mediator in conflicts. Sometimes, though, the U.S. appears as a less-than-neutral broker of deals – read Middle East, for example. Many in the region believe the U.S. too often intervenes with its soldiers rather than its diplomats.  

That is why it is indeed good news to see that Turkey is undertaking the middle-person role. Traditionally, Ankara has maintained good relations with most of its neighbors, including Israel (until the Israeli Defense Forces killed a number of Turks on a ship bringing aid to Gaza).

The Washington Post this morning reports that Ankara is focusing on “working through points of contention with neighboring countries to promote regional stability and prosperity.”

Some times we might not like the results of their mediation, as was the case this past May when Turkey joined with Brazil to broker a nuclear fuel swap deal that was rejected by the United States and its European partners.

But Turkey has also helped to facilitate Israeli-Syrian talks and to work for a peaceful resolution of the Lebanon crisis.

I know that 50 years ago yesterday, newly-elected President John F. Kennedy promised:  

“Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe, to assure the survival and the success of liberty.”

I am not sure we need so many burdens.  It is nice to see that other countries, such as Turkey, are increasingly willing to take on part of that burden. Being the international policeman has its blessings and its costs.

Note: Speaking of Turkey, next Wednesday the Monterrey Institute is hosting a panel on Turkey entitled “Partner, Mediator, Spoiler, or all Three? Examining Turkey’s Role in U.S. Nonproliferation Priorities”.  You can RSVP here.

Things are beginning to break in the 2012 Senate contests. Major factors in the eventual outcome include which incumbents decide not to run again. The retirement announcements have begun. First, the announcement that Texas Republican Senator Kay Bailey…