[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 87 (Thursday, June 13, 1996)]
[Senate]
[Page S6236]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. JOHNSTON:
  S. 1874. A bill to amend sections of the Department of Energy 
Organization Act that are obsolete or inconsistent with other statutes 
and to repeal a related section of the Federal Energy Administration 
Act of 1974; to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.


          the department of energy standardization act of 1996

  Mr. JOHNSTON. Mr. President, the bill that I have just introduced, 
which is strongly supported by the administration, amends or repeals a 
number of sections in the Department of Energy Organization Act and the 
Federal Energy Administration Act of 1974 that are obsolete or that are 
duplicative or inconsistent with other, Governmentwide statutes 
governing rulemaking and advisory committee management.
  Over the past 3 years, I have proposed, on a number of occasions, 
amendments to remove administrative requirements of the Department of 
Energy Organization Act that are more onerous than similar 
Governmentwide requirements contained in more general statutes. For 
example, with the support of the Department of Energy [DOE] and the 
Office of Government Ethics, I have successfully promoted the repeal of 
financial disclosure and divestiture requirements affecting DOE 
employees that were more stringent than the comparable requirements of 
the Ethics in Government Act and that provided potent recruitment 
disincentives for outstanding potential employees for the Department.
  This bill continues the process of placing DOE on a similar footing 
in administrative law to other Federal agencies. The first subsection 
in section 2 of the bill repeals redundant and obsolete requirements 
affecting DOE rule making under the Administrative Procedure Act, and 
places DOE procurement rulemaking under the same statutory basis, that 
is, the Office of Federal Procurement Policy Act, as all other Federal 
agencies. The second subsection repeals a restriction on DOE advisory 
committees that effectively prevents DOE from using committees under 
the Federal Advisory Committee Act for peer review of scientific and 
technical proposals and the selection of awardees for such departmental 
scientific honors as the Fermi Award and the E.O. Lawrence Award.
  The proposals are noncontroversial, the Department of Energy has 
rendered technical assistance in their drafting, and the administration 
has indicated its strong support for these provisions in a letter dated 
June 10, 1996. I ask unanimous consent that this letter be printed in 
the Record.
  There being no objection, the letter was ordered to be printed in the 
Record, as follows:

                                      The Secretary of Energy,

                                    Washington, DC, June 10, 1996.
     Hon. J. Bennett Johnston,
     Ranking Democrat Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, 
         U.S. Senate, Washington, DC.
       Dear Senator Johnston: This responds to your request for 
     Department of Energy views on proposed amendments to the 
     Department of Energy Organization Act (DOE Organization Act). 
     These amendments would repeal subsections 624(b) and 501(b) 
     and (d) of the Act. The Department strongly supports these 
     amendments.
       The first amendment would repeal section 624(b) of the DOE 
     Organization Act (DOE Act) and section 17 of the Federal 
     Energy Administration Act. The amendment would place DOE 
     advisory committees on the same legal and procedural basis as 
     all committees covered by the Federal Advisory Committee Act. 
     Under current law DOE advisory committees are required to 
     meet in public session, while other agencies may close 
     meetings to protect information exempt from disclosure under 
     the Administrative Procedure Act. DOE's more stringent 
     requirement was justified at the time of its enactment by the 
     economic regulatory role of the Department's predecessor, the 
     Federal Energy Administration.
       The second amendment would repeal subsections 501(b) and 
     (d) of the DOE Organization Act. Subsections 501(b) and (d) 
     elaborate on requirements in the Administrative Procedure Act 
     interpreted by the Supreme Court to require agencies to 
     provide the basis or purpose of the rule in their rulemaking 
     (Motor Vehicle Manufacturers Association v. State Farm, 463 
     U.S. 29, 43 (1983). With repeal of subsections 501(b) and 
     (d), the Department would be governed by the same standard 
     procedural requirements as other agencies in conducting 
     notice-and-comment rulemakings. The Department supports this 
     change.
       The Office of Management and Budget advises that there is 
     no objection from the standpoint of the President's program 
     to submission of this report for the Committee's 
     consideration.
       If you have further questions, please contact me, or have a 
     member of your staff contact Douglas W. Smith, Deputy General 
     Counsel for Energy Policy, at (202) 586-3410.
           Sincerely,
                                                 Hazel R. O'Leary.
                                 ______