[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2032 Introduced in House (IH)]







106th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2032

   To amend the Department of Energy Organization Act to establish a 
 Nuclear Security Administration and an Office of Under Secretary for 
             National Security in the Department of Energy.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              June 7, 1999

Mr. Thornberry introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
   Committee on Commerce, and in addition to the Committees on Armed 
 Services, and Science, for a period to be subsequently determined by 
the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall 
           within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To amend the Department of Energy Organization Act to establish a 
 Nuclear Security Administration and an Office of Under Secretary for 
             National Security in the Department of Energy.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. NUCLEAR SECURITY ADMINISTRATION.

    (a) In General.--The Department of Energy Organization Act is 
amended by inserting after section 212 (42 U.S.C. 7143) the following 
new section:

                   ``nuclear security administration

    ``Sec. 213. (a) There shall be within the Department an agency to 
be known as the Nuclear Security Administration, to be headed by an 
Administrator, who shall report directly to, and shall be accountable 
directly to, the Secretary. The Secretary may not delegate to any 
Department official the duty to supervise the Administrator.
    ``(b)(1) The Under Secretary for National Security shall serve as 
the Administrator.
    ``(2) The Administrator shall be responsible for the executive and 
administrative operation of the functions assigned to the 
Administration, including functions with respect to (A) the selection, 
appointment, and fixing of the compensation of such personnel as the 
Administrator considers necessary, (B) the supervision of personnel 
employed by or assigned to the Administration, (C) the distribution of 
business among personnel and among administrative units of the 
Administration, and (D) the procurement of services of experts and 
consultants in accordance with section 3109 of title 5, United States 
Code. The Secretary shall provide to the Administrator such support and 
facilities as the Administrator determines are needed to carry out the 
functions of the Administration.
    ``(c)(1) The personnel of the Administration, in carrying out any 
function assigned to the Administrator, shall be responsible to, and 
subject to the supervision and direction of, the Administrator and 
shall not be responsible to, or subject to the supervision or direction 
of, any officer, employee, or agent of any other part of the Department 
of Energy.
    ``(2) For purposes of this subsection, the term `personnel of the 
Administration' means each officer or employee within the Department of 
Energy, and each officer or employee of any contractor of the 
Department, whose--
            ``(A) responsibilities include carrying out a function 
        assigned to the Administrator; or
            ``(B) employment is funded under the Weapons Activities 
        budget function of the Department.
    ``(d)(1) The Administrator shall (A) manage a program designed to 
ensure the safety and reliability of the nuclear weapons stockpile, (B) 
direct the nuclear weapons production facilities and the national 
laboratories, and (C) be primarily responsible for other national 
security functions of the Department of Energy involving nuclear 
weapons research and development.
    ``(2) The Secretary shall assign to the Administrator direct 
authority over, and responsibility for, the nuclear weapons production 
facilities and the national laboratories. The functions assigned to the 
Administrator with respect to the nuclear weapons production facilities 
and the national laboratories shall include authority over, and 
responsibility for, the following:
            ``(A) Strategic management.
            ``(B) Policy development and guidance.
            ``(C) Budget formulation and guidance.
            ``(D) Resource requirements determination and allocation.
            ``(E) Program management.
            ``(F) Safeguard and security operations.
            ``(G) Emergency management.
            ``(H) Integrated safety management.
            ``(I) Environment, safety, and health operations.
            ``(J) Administration of contracts to manage and operate the 
        nuclear weapons production facilities and the national 
        laboratories.
            ``(K) Oversight.
            ``(L) Relationships within the Department of Energy and 
        with other Federal agencies, the Congress, State, tribal, and 
        local governments, and the public.
            ``(M) Each of the functions described in subsection (f).
    ``(e) The head of each nuclear weapons production facility and of 
each national laboratory shall report directly to, and be accountable 
directly to, the Administrator.
    ``(f) The Administrator may delegate functions assigned under 
subsection (d)(2) only within the headquarters office of the 
Administrator, except that the Administrator may delegate to the head 
of a specified operations office functions including providing or 
supporting the following activities at a nuclear weapons production 
facility or a national laboratory:
            ``(1) Operational activities.
            ``(2) Program execution.
            ``(3) Personnel.
            ``(4) Contracting and procurement.
            ``(5) Facility operations oversight.
            ``(6) Integration of production and research and 
        development activities.
            ``(7) Interaction with other Federal agencies, State, 
        tribal, and local governments, and the public.
    ``(g) The head of a specified operations office, in carrying out 
any function delegated under subsection (f) to that head of that 
specified operations office, shall report directly to, and be 
accountable directly to, the Administrator.
    ``(h) In each annual authorization and appropriation request under 
this Act, the Secretary shall identify the portion thereof intended for 
the support of the Administration and include a statement by the 
Administrator showing (1) the amount requested by the Administrator in 
the budgetary presentation to the Secretary and the Office of 
Management and Budget, and (2) an assessment of the budgetary needs of 
the Administration. Whenever the Administrator submits to the 
Secretary, the President, or the Office of Management and Budget any 
legislative recommendation or testimony, or comments on legislation 
prepared for submission to the Congress, the Administrator shall 
concurrently transmit a copy thereof to the appropriate committees of 
the Congress.
    ``(i) This section may not be construed to limit or restrict the 
ability of a national laboratory to carry out research and development 
activities for an entity within the Department of Energy other than the 
Administration or for any other Federal or non-Federal entity.
    ``(j) As used in this section:
            ``(1) The term `nuclear weapons production facility' means 
        any of the following facilities:
                    ``(A) The Kansas City Plant, Kansas City, Missouri.
                    ``(B) The Pantex Plant, Amarillo, Texas.
                    ``(C) The Y-12 Plant, Oak Ridge, Tennessee.
                    ``(D) The tritium operations facilities at the 
                Savannah River Site, Aiken, South Carolina.
                    ``(E) The Nevada Test Site, Nevada.
            ``(2) The term `national laboratory' means any of the 
        following laboratories:
                    ``(A) The Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los 
                Alamos, New Mexico.
                    ``(B) The Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, 
                Livermore, California.
                    ``(C) The Sandia National Laboratories, 
                Albuquerque, New Mexico, and Livermore, California.
            ``(3) The term `specified operations office' means any of 
        the following operations offices of the Department of Energy:
                    ``(A) Albuquerque Operations Office, Albuquerque, 
                New Mexico.
                    ``(B) Oak Ridge Operations Office, Oak Ridge, 
                Tennessee.
                    ``(C) Oakland Operations Office, Oakland, 
                California.
                    ``(D) Nevada Operations Office, Nevada Test Site, 
                Las Vegas, Nevada.
                    ``(E) Savannah River Operations Office, Savannah 
                River Site, Aiken, South Carolina.''.
    (b) Under Secretary for National Security.--Section 202 of such Act 
(42 U.S.C. 7132) is amended by adding at the end the following new 
subsection:
    ``(c)(1) There shall be in the Department an Under Secretary for 
National Security, who shall be appointed by the President, by and with 
the advice and consent of the Senate, and who shall perform such 
functions and duties as the Secretary shall prescribe. Notwithstanding 
section 203(a), the Secretary shall assign to the Under Secretary for 
National Security the functions described in section 203(a)(5).
    ``(2) The Under Secretary for National Security shall be a person 
who, by reason of professional background and experience, is specially 
qualified--
            ``(A) to manage a program designed to ensure the safety and 
        reliability of the nuclear weapons stockpile;
            ``(B) to manage the nuclear weapons production facilities 
        and the national laboratories; and
            ``(C) to carry out the functions of the Administrator of 
        the Nuclear Security Administration.''.
    (c) Transition Provision.--The Assistant Secretary assigned the 
functions under section 203(a)(5) of such Act on the date before the 
date of the enactment of this Act shall serve as the Under Secretary 
for National Security until an Under Secretary for National Security is 
appointed under section 202(c) of such Act.
    (d) Conforming Amendment.--Section 203(a) of such Act is amended by 
striking ``eight'' and inserting ``seven''.
    (e) Clerical Amendment.--The table of contents in the first section 
of such Act is amended by inserting after the item relating to section 
212 the following new item:

``Sec. 213. Nuclear Security Administration.''.
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