On December 16, 2009, the lab directors from Los Alamos National Laboratory, Lawrence Livermore Laboratory and Sandia National Laboratory met with Vice President Joe Biden for a private briefing in the White House. Biden was tapped to be the Administration's point person for CTBT ratification efforts in early 2009.
Biden and the lab directors were joined by Secretary of Energy Steven Chu, Deputy Energy Secretary Dan Poneman, National Nuclear Security Administrator Tom D'Agostino, and officials from the State Department and the Department of Defense.
A Los Alamos National Laboratory press release said the briefing focused on the "state of the stockpile, the future of nuclear weapons policy, and the vitality of the NNSA laboratories," and was part of the Administration's commitment to maintain a secure nuclear arsenal and ratify the CTBT.