Site now known as Nevada National Security Site

August 23, 2010

 Las Vegas, NV—Nevada Senator Harry Reid today joined with the National Nuclear Security Administration, Nevada Congresswomen Shelley Berkley and Dina Titus, and other federal officials to announce the renaming and new expanded mission of the Nevada Test Site. The Site has been renamed to the Nevada National Security Site (N2S2) to reflect the diversity of activities associated with detecting weapons, weapons nonproliferation, arms control agreement compliance, and expanded training activities that the site will be used for. Reid has supported efforts to modernize N2S2’s mission as well as the jobs of 3,000 men and women who work at the site as highly skilled engineers and scientists.  Reid’s prepared remarks are included below.

“As we establish a new name and a new mission today, we’re inaugurating a new way to keep Nevada and our nation safe.

“For a long time our state has played an enormous role in keeping weapons out of the hands of those who want to do us harm.  We are a key piece of the nonproliferation puzzle, and a key player in the efforts to respond rapidly to national emergencies.

“N2S2 will also be a key part of our economic recovery.  This site and these changes aren’t only about national security.  They’re also about economic security, and job security.  N2S2 will protect Nevadans, and it will help put them back to work.

“This site was once a critical battlefield of the Cold War.  For decades it served as our nuclear proving ground.  To many Nevadans, the Nevada Test Site was a secretive place in the middle of the desert, the mysterious grounds where the world’s most dangerous weapons were tested.

“It served a vital mission, but that mission is over.  After the Berlin Wall fell and the nuclear tests slowed, so did jobs and funding.

“We’re going to turn those trends around.  Our country is at a turning point.  Our nuclear and national security efforts need to rise to our new challenges, and Nevada is once again going to take the lead. This site will now be the center of our fight against terrorism and nuclear smuggling.  It will be on the front lines of our intelligence, arms control and nonproliferation efforts.  It will even help us reverse the dangers of the climate crisis and help protect our precious environment.

“The Nevada National Security Site is the perfect laboratory to achieve these goals.  It is large, remote and uniquely secure – and it’s close enough to Las Vegas and towns in Nye County to attract a highly qualified workforce.  So many Nevadans are eager to get back to work as soon as they can find a good job, and many of those good jobs are going to be right here.

“Changing this site’s name doesn’t just mean a new logo, and its new mission isn’t just words on a piece of paper.  We’re going to back them up with real investments.

“I’m proud to announce that we’re well positioned to invest $40 million in this new mission next year.  Administrator D’Agostino’s roadmap will guide the new work here at N2S2, and I will continue working hard to expand opportunities for the site, for all of you and for the many more Nevadans who will soon work here.

“A strong nation means a strong Nevada, and a strong Nevada means a strong nation.  More than anywhere else, those truths are proven day in and day out right here at the Nevada National Security Site.

‘There are a lot of changes happening around here, but I know one thing won’t change a bit:  That’s your commitment to working hard here every day to serve your country and keep it safe.”