FAS Roundup: July 28: Advanced Nuclear Reactors Briefing

Advanced nuclear reactors, U.S. sanctions on Russia and more. Image courtesy of Shutterstock. Having trouble reading this email? View it on the web.

FAS Roundup: July 28, 2014 Advanced nuclear reactors, U.S. sanctions on Russia and more.

From the Blogs A Look Behind President Clinton's Veto of an Anti-Leak Bill: In 2000, both houses of Congress passed legislation that would have made any leak of classified information a felony. The provision, contained in the FY2001 intelligence authorization act, was designed “to ensure the prosecution of all unauthorized disclosures of classified information” said Sen. Richard Shelby, the primary sponsor of the provision, at the time. While some unauthorized disclosures of classified information were already prohibited by statute (including the Espionage Act), others have not been specifically outlawed, or else their legal status is uncertain, requiring strenuous efforts by prosecutors to fit a prohibition to the presumed offense. The Shelby provision would have removed all ambiguities and would have simply criminalized all leaks of classified information. But to the astonishment of nearly everyone, and to the relief of many, President Clinton vetoed the 2001 intelligence authorization bill because of the anti-leak measure. U.S. Sanctions on Russia and More from CRS: Secrecy News has obtained recently released CRS reports on topics such as U.S. sanctions on Russia in response to events in Ukraine, use of force in Iraq and the FY15 National Defense Authorization Act.

Advanced Nuclear Reactors Briefing On July 24, FAS and the American Nuclear Society hosted a briefing on Capitol Hill that addressed the safety, science and technology of advanced nuclear reactors. Panelists included Dr. Peter Lyons, Assistant Secretary for Nuclear Energy and Dr. George Apostolakis, former NRC Commissioner. Presentation slides and briefing materials can be found below or on the event page.  Materials: Presentation Slides: Past, Present and Future of Nuclear Power in U.S., Dr. Peter B. Lyons, Assistant Secretary for Nuclear Energy, Department of Energy Fast Reactor Technology: A Path to Long-Term Energy Sustainability, American Nuclear Society Enabling a Sustainable Nuclear Energy Future, Argonne National Laboratory PROTEUS: Simulation Toolset for Reactor Physics and Fuel Cycle Analysis, Argonne National Laboratory SHARP: Reactor Performance and Safety Simulation Suite, Argonne National Laboratory Consortium for Advanced Simulation of Light Water Reactors (CASL), U.S. Department of Energy A Look Inside America’s Source of Energy and Security Solutions, Idaho National Laboratory Solving Big Problems: Science and Technology at Oak Ridge, Oak Ridge National Laboratory

FAS in the News Jul 21: Global Security Newswire, "Senate Bill Mandates Study Of Nuclear-Arms Storage Sites" Jul 21: NBC News, "MH17: Why Com