Nuclear Calendar

Sept. or Oct.	President Bush ends the designation of North Korea as a state sponsor of terrorism (possible).
Sept. or Oct.	Defense and Energy Departments release a public version of a white paper on the administration's nuclear weapons policy, entitled "National Security and Nuclear Weapons in the 21st Century." (A classified version of the report was submitted to Congress in March. An earlier, unclassified version is on the Energy Department website.)
Sept. or Oct.	National Academy of Sciences issues the first phase report on assessing and certifying the safety and reliability of the nuclear weapons stockpile (Public Law 109-364, Sec. 3116).
Sept. 8	House and Senate return from their August recess.
Sept. 8	10:00-11:00 a.m., Park Jae Kyu, South Korean Presidential Adviser on Unification Affairs, "Prospects for Inter-Korean and U.S.-DPRK Relations." Wilson Center, Reagan Building, 1300 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W., Sixth Floor Auditorium, Washington. RSVP online.. Webcast on the Wilson Center website.
Sept. 8	5:30 p.m., Senate cloture vote on the defense authorization bill, S. 3001, which includes the nuclear weapons programs of the Energy Department. A successful cloture vote (60 votes) means the Senate would begin floor action on the bill. Broadcast and video and audio webcast on C-SPAN2.
Week of Sept. 8	President Bush withdraws the U.S.-Russian civilian nuclear cooperation agreement from Congress over the Russian-Georgian war (possible).
Week of Sept. 8	President Bush submits the U.S.-Indian civilian nuclear cooperation agreement to Congress for approval (possible).
Sept. 9	10:00 a.m., House Appropriations Committee, markup of the defense appropriations bill. 2359 Rayburn House Office Building, Washington. Video and audio webcast on the committee website.
Sept. 9	12:15-1:45 p.m., Richard Butler, former head of the UN Special Commission on Iraq, "Eliminating Nuclear Weapons: Elements Required for International Consensus." Monterey Institute, Seminar Room (D-100), 400 Pacific St., Monterey, CA
Sept. 9	2:30-3:30 p.m., Brian Jenkins, RAND, "Will Terrorists Go Nuclear?" 2325 Rayburn House Office Building, Washington. RSVP to Carmen Ferro by email or at (703) 413-1100, ext. 5320.
Sept. 9	Barack Obama's book, Change We Can Believe In: Barack Obama's Plan to Renew America's Promise, is released.
Sept. 10	11:00 a.m., Partnership for a Secure America releases its WMD Terrorism Report Card, with former Rep. Lee Hamilton (IN) and former Sen. Slade Gorton (WA). 1111 19th St. N.W., 12th Floor, Washington. RSVP by email.
Sept. 10	Noon-1:30 p.m., Steven Miller, Harvard University, "Iran and the Diplomacy of Nuclear Confrontation: Ambitions, Accusations, Ambiguities." MIT, 292 Main St., E38-615, Cambridge, MA
Sept. 10	2:00 p.m., Senate Foreign Relations Committee, hearing on the nomination of Sung Kim to be Special Envoy for the Six Party Talks (and other nominations). 419 Dirksen Senate Office Building, Washington. Video webcast on the committee website and on OpenHearings.org; audio only on CapitolHearings.org.
Sept. 11	Anniversary of the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon
Sept. 11	6:00-8:00 p.m., Richard Butler, former head of the UN Special Commission on Iraq, "Eliminating Nuclear Weapons: Reaching Global Consensus." Monterey Institute, McCone Building, Irvine Auditorium, 499 Pierce St., Monterey, CA
Sept. 12	Conference on Disarmament, final session for 2008 ends. Geneva
Sept. 13	7:00-8:30 p.m., Miyako Yano and Junko Kayashige, hibakusha from Japan, give the keynote speech at the Peace and Justice Studies Association annual conference, Portland State University, Portland, OR
Week of Sept. 15	House floor action on the defense appropriations bill. Broadcast and video and audio webcast on C-SPAN.
Week of Sept. 15	John Rood, Acting Undersecretary of State for Arms Control and International Security, and Sergei Kislyak, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister, hold talks on nuclear weapons disarmament and missile defense. Location TBA. (The U.S. may cancel the talks due to the Russian-Georgian war.)
Week of Sept. 15 or 22	House and Senate floor action on the second supplemental appropriations bill (possible). Broadcast and video and audio webcast on C-SPAN and C-SPAN2.
Sept. 16	11:00 a.m.-noon, Frank Gaffney, Center for Security Policy; Jeff Kueter, George Marshall Institute; and Henry Cooper, High Frontier, "The Case for Missile Defense." Heritage Foundation, 214 Massachusetts Ave., N.E., Washington. RSVP online. Video webcast on the Heritage website.
Sept. 16	1:00-2:00 p.m., Mark Fitzpatrick, International Institute For Strategic Studies, "Abolishing Nuclear Weapons." Sponsored by the International Institute for Strategic Studies. Arundel House, 13-15 Arundel St., Fifth Floor, Temple Place, London. RSVP to Clara Catherall by email.
Sept. 17	2:30-4:00 p.m., Thomas D'Agostino, National Nuclear Security Administration, "Reducing the Global Nuclear Threat: Nuclear Nonproliferation and the Role of the International Community." Center for Strategic and International Studies, 1800 K St., N.W., Conference Room B1, Washington
Sept. 17	Israel's ruling party, the Kadima Party, holds its primary to replace Prime Minister Ehud Olmert.
Sept. 18	12:15-1:45 p.m., Karl Inderfurth, George Washington University; Michael Krepon, Stimson Center; and Ron Somers, U.S.-India Business Council, "New Energy for the U.S.-India Nuclear Deal: Policy and Business Implications." George Washington University, 1957 E St., N.W., Room 602, Washington. RSVP by Sept. 16 by email.
Sept. 18-19	Yale Divinity School, "Are We Safe Yet? Vulnerability and Security in an Anxious Age: Conference on Nuclear Weapons, Security, and Moral Leadership." Yale Divinity School, 409 Prospect St., New Haven, CT. Registration online. Webcast on the Yale Divinity School website.
Sept. 22	~10:30 a.m. EDT, President Bush addresses the UN General Assembly. United Nations. Broadcast on CNN and video webcast on the UN website.
Sept. 22-26	International Atomic Energy Agency board of governors meeting. Vienna, Austria
Sept. 23	10:00 a.m., Stanley Foundation, release of U.S. Nuclear Policy Review. National Press Club, First Amendment Lounge, 529 14th St., N.W., 13th Floor, Washington
Sept. 24	8:00-9:00 a.m., Frank Gaffney, Center for Security Policy, "The Debate over Nuclear Abolition." Sponsored by the National Defense University Foundation and the National Defense Industrial Association. At the Capitol Hill Club, 300 First St., S.E., Washington. RSVP to Elma Rhue by email or at (202) 685-3582.
Sept. 24	Noon-1:00 p.m., Stephen Blank, U.S. Army War College, "Missile Defenses in Europe: Who Threatens Whom and How?" Wilson Center, Sixth Floor Conference Room, Reagan Building, 1300 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W., Washington
Sept. 26	Noon-2:00 p.m., Federation of American Scientists, "Paths to Zero--Striving Toward a Nuclear-Free World," with Raymond Jeanloz, University of California, Berkeley; Sidney Drell, Stanford Linear Accelerator Center; Joseph Cirincione, Ploughshares Fund; Harold Smith, University of California, Berkeley; and Ivan Oelrich, Federation of American Scientists. At the Commonwealth Club, 595 Market St., Second Floor, San Francisco. RSVP online.
Sept. 26	Congress adjourns. (Tentative; may be delayed until sometime in Oct.)
Sept. 26	9:00-10:30 p.m. EDT, presidential debate. University of Mississippi, Oxford, MS (Domestic policy focus)
Sept. 29	Rosh Hashanah begins at sundown.
Sept. 29-Oct. 4	International Atomic Energy Agency annual general conference. Vienna, Austria
Oct.	House and Senate pass a continuing resolution to continue funding for most of the federal government through Jan. or Feb. 2009 (estimates). Broadcast and video and audio webcast on C-SPAN and C-SPAN2.
Oct. or Nov.	National Nuclear Security Administration issues the final SPEIS (Supplemental Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement) for Complex Transformation, the proposed plan to modernize the nuclear weapons complex.
Oct. or Nov.	Iran begins operating the Bushehr nuclear power plant.
Fall	National Academy of Sciences issues its second phase report on assessing and certifying the safety and reliability of the nuclear weapons stockpile (Public Law 109-364, Sec. 3116).
Fall	National Academy of Sciences and the Russian Academy of Sciences issue a report on the Internationalization of the Civilian Nuclear Fuel Cycle.
Oct. 1	Federal budget year begins.
Oct. 2	8:30 a.m.-9:00 p.m., National Defense University, "Defense Threat Reduction: The First and Next Ten Years." Fort McNair, Marshall Hall, Conference Room 155, Washington. Register online.
Oct. 2	9:00-10:30 p.m. EDT, vice presidential debate. Washington University, St. Louis
Oct. 3	Secretary of Defense Task Force on Nuclear Weapons Management, chaired by former Defense Secretary James Schlesinger, submits its final classified and unclassified reports to Defense Secretary Robert Gates on needed changes in nuclear weapons management.
Oct. 4-12	Global Network Against Weapons and Nuclear Power in Space, "Keep Space for Peace Week"
Oct. 6	International Atomic Energy Agency board of governors meeting. Vienna, Austria
Oct. 6-Nov. 4	UN General Assembly First Committee (Disarmament and International Security) meets. United Nations
Oct. 7	9:00-10:30 p.m. EDT, presidential debate. Belmont University, Nashville, TN (Town meeting format that will include any issue.)
Oct. 8	Yom Kippur begins at sundown.
Oct. 10	5:00 a.m. EDT, Nobel Peace Prize announced. Oslo, Norway
Oct. 11	1:00-3:00 p.m., Richard Rhodes, author of The Making of the Atomic Bomb; Norman Ramsey, Harvard University; Edward Gerjuoy, University of Pittsburgh; and Robert Norris, Natural Resources Defense Council, "The History, Science and Scientists of the Bomb." City University of New York, Graduate Center, Proshansky Auditorium, 365 Fifth Ave., New York
Oct. 11	4:30-6:30 p.m., John Adams, composer; Penny Woolcock, director; Julian Crouch, set designer; and Gerald Finley, playing J. Robert Oppenheimer, "The Making of the Opera Doctor Atomic." City University of New York, Graduate Center, Proshansky Auditorium, 365 Fifth Ave., New York
Oct. 13	Columbus Day (federal holiday)
Oct. 13-Nov. 13.	Metropolitan Opera, Doctor Atomic, an opera by John Adams and Peter Sellars. 150 W. 65th St., New York
Oct. 14	6:30 p.m., David Cassidy, author of J. Robert Oppenheimer: And the American Century; Robert Crease, coauthor of J. Robert Oppenheimer: A Life; and Jeremy Bernstein, author of J. Robert Oppenheimer: A Life, "J. Robert Oppenheimer: The Man, the Manager, the Physicist." City University of New York, Graduate Center, Elebash Hall, 365 Fifth Ave., New York
Oct. 15	9:00-10:30 p.m. EDT, presidential debate. Hofstra University, Hempstead, NY (Foreign policy focus)
Oct. 17	1:00-3:00 p.m., Rachel Fermi and Esther Samra, photographers; Harold Agnew, former director, Los Alamos National Laboratory; and Manhattan Project veterans, "The Manhattan Project: Places, People, and Power." City University of New York, Graduate Center, Proshansky Auditorium, 365 Fifth Ave., New York
Oct. 17	1:15-2:45, p.m., seminar on the "Operational Status of Nuclear Weapon Systems." Sponsored by the governments of Chile and Switzerland. United Nations, Conference Room 5, New York
Oct. 17	6:30-8:30 p.m., Martin Sherwin, coauthor of American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer; Harry Lustig, City College of New York; and Gar Alperovitz, author of The Decision to Use the Atomic Bomb, "Wartime Decisions and the Atomic Age." City University of New York, Graduate Center, Proshansky Auditorium, 365 Fifth Ave., New York
Oct. 20	6:30 p.m., Ruth Howes, book discussion by the coauthor of Their Day in the Sun: Women of the Manhattan Project. City University of New York, Graduate Center, Elebash Hall, 365 Fifth Ave., New York
Oct. 21	Noon, Christina Lin, Korea Economic Institute, "The King from the East: DPRK-Syria-Iran Nuclear Nexus and Strategic Implications for Israel and the ROK." Korea Economic Institute, 1800 K St., N.W., Suite 1010, Washington. RSVP online.
Oct. 21	6:30 p.m., Joseph Kanon, book discussion by the author of Los Alamos. City University of New York, Graduate Center, Skylight Room, Room 9000, 365 Fifth Ave., New York
Oct. 24	United Nations Day
Oct. 27-29	Pacific Northwest Center for Global Security and Arab Institute for Security Studies, "Confronting Biological Threats: Biosecurity, Biological Weapons Nonproliferation, and Regional Cooperative Mechanisms." Amman, Jordan. For information, contact the Arab Institute for Security Studies by email.
Oct. 31	Due date for North Korea to disable the Yongbyon nuclear complex
Nov. or Dec.	National Nuclear Security Administration issues a record of decision on the SPEIS (Supplemental Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement) for Complex Transformation, the proposed plan to modernize the nuclear weapons complex.
Nov. 4	U.S. Election Day
Nov. 10	6:30 p.m., Break-A-Leg Productions, staged reading of Uranium + Peaches, a one-act play by Peter Cook and William Lanouette. City University of New York, Graduate Center, Elebash Hall, 365 Fifth Ave., New York
Nov. 11	Veterans Day (federal holiday)
Nov. 12	Commission on the Prevention of Weapons of Mass Destruction Proliferation and Terrorism, chaired by former Sen. Bob Graham, issues its report to Congress and the President (Public Law 110-53, Sec. 1851 et seq.).
Nov. 13-16	Friends Committee on National Legislation annual meeting. Georgetown University Conference Hotel, 3800 Reservoir Rd., N.W., Washington
Nov. 18	Special election to replace the late Rep. Stephanie Tubbs Jones (OH-11)
Nov. 19-20	Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation foreign ministers meeting. Lima, Peru. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is expected to attend.
Nov. 20	25th anniversary of the ABC television movie The Day After, which portrayed a nuclear war between the United States and the Soviet Union
Nov. 22	Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit. Lima, Peru. President Bush is expected to attend.
Nov. 27	Thanksgiving (holiday)
Nov. 27-28	International Atomic Energy Agency board of governors meeting. Vienna, Austria
Dec.	Missile Defense Agency conducts a ground-based missile defense test, FTG-05. Kodiak Launch Complex, AK, and Vandenberg Air Force Base, CA
Dec.	Shchuch'ye chemical weapons destruction facility in Russia begins operations (tentative).
Dec. 1	Congressional Commission on the Strategic Posture of the United States, chaired by former Defense Secretary William Perry, issues an interim report to Congress (Public Law l110-181, Sec. 1062). (Originally, the final report was due Dec. 1, but formation of the Commission was delayed.)
Dec. 1-5	Biological Weapons Convention annual meeting. Geneva
Dec. 5	U.S. and Russian due date on the decision to extend the START nuclear arms reduction treaty. (The treaty expires Dec. 5, 2009.)
Dec. 21	Hanukkah begins at sundown.
Dec. 25	Christmas (holiday)
2009
Jan. 1	New Year's Day (holiday)
Jan. 1	Energy Department reports to Congress on the status of nuclear materials protection, control, and accounting programs in Russia and other countries (50 U.S. Code Sec. 2563).
Jan. 3	Noon, 110th Congress term expires.
Jan. 5 or 6	111th Congress convenes (estimate).
Jan. 19	Martin Luther King Jr. Day (federal holiday)
Jan. 20	Inauguration Day (federal holiday in Washington)
Jan. 20-March 27	Conference on Disarmament first session for 2009 (estimate). Geneva
Jan. 31	President reports to Congress on a plan to secure nuclear weapons, material, and expertise in the former Soviet Union (22 U.S. Code Sec. 5952 note). The report is usually included as an appendix in the annual report to Congress on how the Cooperative Threat Reduction (Nunn-Lugar) Program can contribute to implementing the Strategic Offensive Reductions Treaty (SORT), or "Moscow Treaty," and to securing Russian nuclear weapons and material (Treaty Document 107-8, Sec. 2(1)).
Feb. 2	President submits the federal budget to Congress. (The budget, prepared by the outgoing Bush administration, is expected to be a slimmed down, "continuing services" budget.)
Feb. 15	President reports to Congress on how the Cooperative Threat Reduction (Nunn-Lugar) program can contribute to implementing the Strategic Offensive Reductions Treaty (SORT), and to securing Russian nuclear weapons and material (Treaty Document 107-8, Sec. 2(1)).
Feb. 15	Energy Department reports to Congress on the mixed oxide (MOX) plant at the Savannah River Site, Aiken, SC (Public Law 107-314, Sec. 3182).
Feb. 16	Presidents Day (federal holiday)
March	Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory completes the National Ignition Facility. Livermore, CA
March-April	UN Disarmament Commission annual meeting. United Nations
March 2-6	International Atomic Energy Agency board of governors meeting. Vienna, Austria
March 13-16	Ecumenical Advocacy Days. Hilton Alexandria Mark Center, Alexandria, VA (March 13-15), and Lutheran Church of the Reformation, 212 E. Capitol St., N.E., Washington (March 16)
March 15	President reports to Congress on Russian proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile items to Iran and to other countries of proliferation concern (22 U.S. Code Sec. 5952 note).
March 20	Sixth anniversary of the invasion of Iraq. (Air strikes began on March 19.)
March 31	Energy Department reports to Congress on its plutonium "pit" production plan (Senate Report 108-105, p. 110).
April	The new president submits a budget amendment to Congress for fiscal year 2010 (estimate).
April	NATO 60th anniversary summit. Strasbourg, France, and Kehl, Germany
Spring	National Museum of Nuclear Science and History opens. Albuquerque, NM
April 1	Congressional Commission on the Strategic Posture of the United States, chaired by former Defense Secretary William Perry, issues its final report to Congress (Public Law 110-181, Sec. 1062). (Originally, the final report was due Dec. 1, 2008, but formation of the Commission was delayed.)
April 1	10th anniversary of the merger of the U.S. Arms Control and Disarmament Agency into the State Department
April 4	NATO 60th anniversary
April 6-7	Carnegie International Non-Proliferation Conference. Reagan Building, 1300 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W., Washington
April 8	Passover begins at sundown.
April 10	Good Friday
April 12	Easter
April 15	President reports to Congress on the implementation of the Strategic Offensive Reductions Treaty (SORT) (Treaty Document 107-8, Sec. 2(2)).
May 1	Defense Department reports to Congress on counterproliferation programs (22 U.S. Code Sec. 2751 note). (Previous reports are posted on the Defense Department website.)
May 4-15	Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty preparatory committee meeting for the review conference in 2010. United Nations
May 20	President reports to Congress on nonproliferation and threat reduction objectives (50 U.S. Code Sec. 2357g).
May 25	Memorial Day (holiday)
June	Iranian presidential election
June or July	G8 summit. La Maddalena, Italy
July 3	Independence Day observed (holiday)
July 4	Independence Day
July 16	Anniversary of "Trinity," the first nuclear test. Alamogordo, NM
Aug. 6	Anniversary of the Hiroshima atomic bombing
Aug. 9	Anniversary of the Nagasaki atomic bombing
Sept.	Conference on Facilitating the Entry into Force of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty. United Nations
Sept.	Annual UN Department of Public Information/NGO Conference. The subject is on disarmament (tentative). United Nations
Sept. 7	Labor Day (holiday)
Sept. 7-11	International Atomic Energy Agency board of governors meeting. Vienna, Austria
Sept. 11	Anniversary of the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon
Sept. 14-18	International Atomic Energy Agency annual general conference. Vienna, Austria. The successor to general director Mohammed ElBaradei will be presented for approval.
Sept. 18	Rosh Hashanah begins at sundown.
Sept. 22	International Atomic Energy Agency board of governors meeting. Vienna, Austria
Sept. 27	Yom Kippur begins at sundown.
Fall	Russia closes its last weapons-grade plutonium production reactor at Zheleznogorsk.
Oct. 1	Federal budget year begins.
Oct. 12	Columbus Day (federal holiday)
Oct. 18	10th anniversary of the Senate defeat of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty
Oct. 24	United Nations Day
Nov.	Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit. Singapore
Nov. or Dec.	International Commission on Nuclear Non-Proliferation and Disarmament, chaired by former Australian foreign minister Gareth Evans and former Japanese foreign minister Yoriko Kawaguchi, former Japanese foreign minister, issues its report. Australia
Nov. 3	Gubernatorial elections in New Jersey and Virginia, and local elections in many states
Nov. 9	20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall
Nov. 11	Veterans Day (federal holiday)
Nov. 26	Thanksgiving (holiday)
Nov. 26-27	International Atomic Energy Agency board of governors meeting. Vienna, Austria
Dec. 1	Energy Department submits a classified report to Congress on the U.S. current and projected: (1) number of nuclear weapons of each type in the active and reserve stockpiles, (2) strategic rationale for each type, and (3) past and projected future total direct lifecycle cost of each type. (FY09 House Energy and Water Appropriations Report, p. 124.)
Dec. 1	New International Atomic Energy Agency director general takes office. Vienna, Austria
Dec. 5	START nuclear arms reduction treaty expires.
Dec. 11	Hanukkah begins at sundown.
Dec. 25	Christmas (holiday)
2010
Jan. 1	New Year's Day (holiday)
Jan. 5	Congress convenes (estimate).
Jan. 18	Martin Luther King Jr. Day (federal holiday)
Late-Jan. or early Feb.	President delivers the State of the Union address. Broadcast and video and audio webcast on C-SPAN, and broadcast on other networks.
Feb. 1	President submits the federal budget to Congress.
Feb. 1	Defense Department submits the Quadrennial Defense Review to Congress (10 U.S. Code Sec. 118).
Feb. 1	Defense Department, in consultation with the Energy and State Departments, submits a U.S. nuclear posture review to Congress. (Public Law 110-181, Sec. 1070).
Feb. 15	Presidents Day (federal holiday)
March 5	40th anniversary of the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty entering into force
March 29	Passover begins at sundown.
April 2	Good Friday
April 4	Easter
April 26-May 21	Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty review conference. United Nations
May 31	Memorial Day (holiday)

An email version of the Nuclear Calendar is published every Monday morning when Congress is in session. Subscribe on FCNL's website: http://www.fcnl.org/forms/forms.php?type=nc-signup.

The editor is David Culp. The publication is made possible by generous contributions from the Colombe Foundation, the Compton Foundation, the Educational Foundation of America, the Steven and Michele Kirsch Foundation, the Lippincott Foundation, the Ploughshares Fund, the Town Creek Foundation, and the individual contributors and supporters of the Friends Committee on National Legislation and the FCNL Education Fund.