WASHINGTON, DC - The Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee, chaired by Rep. Tim Murphy (R-PA), today held a hearing entitled, “DOE for the 21st Century: Science, Environment, and National Security Missions." Members examined two Congressional advisory panels’ findings and recommendations concerning the performance of the Department of Energy’s national laboratory system and in particular the structure of nuclear enterprise governance and accountability within the department.
DOE has a long and troubling history of oversight, management, and performance shortcomings, many of which continued to surface following the National Nuclear Security Administration’s formation as a semi-autonomous agency within DOE.
As Chairman Murphy pointed out, “The new agency did not improve oversight or accountability. Problems persisted - billion dollar cost overruns; delayed and cancelled projects; deferred maintenance; serious safety and security mishaps; and oversight failures at the Department, site office, and contractor level - all documented in this committee’s oversight."
Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton (R-MI) echoed this sentiment, stating, “Some reforms have worked and some clearly have not taken hold. In recent years, as demonstrated by our oversight of security failures at nuclear weapons production sites, safety failures at the national laboratories, and contractor oversight failures overall, the reforms of 2000 did not achieve the results Congress envisioned."
Witnesses, in their testimonies, identified shortcomings at the NNSA and DOE and recommended suggested paths to move forward.
The Honorable Norman R. Augustine, Co-Chairman of the Congressional Advisory Panel on the Governance of the Nuclear Security Enterprise, said, “Serious management lapses over the years have undermined NNSA’s and DOE’s credibility in Congress, in DOD, and in the other Agencies that rely on DOE. … We concluded that DOE governance practices are most certainly inefficient and in some instances ineffective, putting the entire Enterprise at risk over the long term. … Success is imaginable only with the strong and active engagement of a knowledgeable Secretary, supported by both the White House and Congress. "
Admiral Richard Mies, Co-Chairman of the Congressional Advisory Panel on the Governance of the Nuclear Security Enterprise, stated, “It was naïve of Congress to think that by simply creating NNSA as a semi-autonomous organization they could legislate an enduring solution without simultaneously encouraging DOE to address the more fundamental, underlying cultural problems. … To achieve the right leadership structure-a Cabinet Secretary who sets policy and an operational Director who is empowered to implement the policy-the panel recommends amending…the NNSA Act to replace the ‘separately-organized’ NNSA with a new Office of Nuclear Security (ONS) within the Department."
Dr. Jared L. Cohon and the Honorable TJ Glauthier, Co-Chairmen of the Commission to Review the Effectiveness of the National Energy Laboratories, added, “Our most fundamental conclusions deal with the relationship between the Department of Energy and the National Labs. We find that the trusted relationship that is supposed to exist between the federal government and its National Labs is broken and is inhibiting performance."
Murphy concluded, “The thoughtful recommendations from these panels complement each other, and can serve this committee as a guide for identifying what is necessary to address DOE governance and management shortcomings going forward." Related Items
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