Energy and Science Issue Area Plan--Fiscal Years 1995-1996 (Letter
Report, 08/01/95, GAO/IAP-95-20).

GAO provided information on its Energy and Science issue area plan for
fiscal years 1995 through 1996.

GAO plans to: (1) examine the missions, organizational structure, and
management practices of the Department of Energy (DOE) and related
energy and science agencies; (2) determine whether the federal
government is using the most cost-effective ways to deal with the
safety, security, and environmental legacies of nuclear weapons; (3)
ensure that DOE is effectively using competition to obtain the lowest
prices in energy markets, while providing secure and environmentally
sound sources of supply; and (4) examine the appropriateness and
outcomes of the federal government's sizeable investment in science and
technology programs.

--------------------------- Indexing Terms -----------------------------

 REPORTNUM:  IAP-95-20
     TITLE:  Energy and Science Issue Area Plan--Fiscal Years 1995-1996
      DATE:  08/01/95
   SUBJECT:  Cost effectiveness analysis
             Nuclear waste management
             Nuclear weapons
             Energy supplies
             Competition
             Prioritizing
             Agency missions
             Scientific research
             Nuclear facility safety
IDENTIFIER:  DOE Cleanup Technology Development Program
             DOE National Energy Policy Plan
             
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Cover
================================================================ COVER


Resources, Community, and Economic Development Division

August 1995

ENERGY AND SCIENCE ISSUE AREA PLAN

FISCAL YEARS 1995-96

GAO/IAP-95-20



Abbreviations
=============================================================== ABBREV

  DOE - test
  NRC - test

FOREWORD
============================================================ Chapter 0

As the investigative arm of Congress and the nation's auditor, the
General Accounting Office is charged with following the federal
dollar wherever it goes.  Reflecting stringent standards of
objectivity and independence, GAO's audits, evaluations, and
investigations promote a more efficient and cost-effective
government; expose waste, fraud, abuse, and mismanagement in federal
programs; help Congress target budget reductions; assess financial
information management; and alert Congress to developing trends that
may have significant fiscal or budgetary consequences.  In fulfilling
its responsibilities, GAO performs original research and uses
hundreds of databases or creates its own to compile and analyze
information. 

To ensure that GAO's resources are directed toward the most important
issues facing Congress, each of GAO's 35 issue areas develops a
strategic plan that describes its key issues and their significance,
how those issues influence audit objectives, the focus of its work,
and the planned major job starts.  Each issue area relies heavily on
input from congressional committees, agency officials, and
subject-matter experts in developing its strategic plan. 

The Energy and Science issue area focuses on the Department of Energy
(DOE), the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), the Federal Energy
Regulatory Commission, and the Tennessee Valley Authority.  In
addition, it reviews science and technology issues on a
governmentwide basis, with particular emphasis on the programs and
activities of the National Science Foundation and the Department of
Commerce's National Institute of Standards and Technology, Patent and
Trademark Office, and National Technical Information Service. 

Our work in the Energy and Science area--where federal funding is
approaching $100 billion a year--is designed to assist Congress in
(1) examining the role and continued need for a federal presence in
many of the programs and activities; (2) exposing incidences of
waste, fraud, abuse, and mismanagement; and (3) promoting a smaller,
more efficient, and cost-effective government. 

The principal issues are

  -- examining the missions, organizational structures, and
     management practices of the Department of Energy and related
     energy and science agencies in view of changing national
     priorities;

  -- determining whether the federal government is using the most
     cost-effective ways to deal with the safety, security, and
     environmental legacies of nuclear weapons as well as nuclear
     power in the post-Cold War era;

  -- ensuring that federal policies are effectively using competition
     to obtain the lowest prices in energy markets, while providing
     secure and environmentally sound sources of supply; and

  -- examining the appropriateness and outcomes of priority-setting
     and evaluation measures for the federal government's sizeable
     investment in science and technology activities. 

In the pages that follow, we describe our key planned work on these
important issues. 

Because events may significantly affect this plan, our planning
process provides for updating this plan and responding quickly to
emerging issues.  If you have any questions or suggestions, please
call me at (202) 512-3841, or my associate, Bernice Steinhardt, at
(202) 512-6543. 

Victor S.  Rezendes
Director
Energy and Science Issues


CONTENTS
============================================================ Chapter 1


   FOREWORD
---------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 1:1

1


   TABLE I:  KEY ISSUES
---------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 1:2

4


   TABLE II:  PLANNED MAJOR WORK
---------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 1:3

6


TABLE I:  KEY ISSUES
============================================================ Chapter 2

Issue                          Significance
-----------------------------  -------------------------------------------------
Examining the missions and     Changing national priorities and significant
management of energy and       congressional interest in reforming the federal
science agencies: Are the      government and reducing its budget have made DOE
missions and management        and related energy and science agencies prime
practices of the Department    candidates for restructuring and/or
of Energy and related energy   dismantlement. Reevaluating agencies' missions is
and science agencies           a fundamental part of any major restructuring
consistent with changing       process because it involves determining if those
national priorities?           agencies should remain in their present form and
                               if their missions could be performed elsewhere or
                               eliminated altogether. Significant restructuring,
                               however, would likely take several years to
                               accomplish.




Addressing the consequences    Priority once given to stockpiling nuclear
and implications of the        weapons and rapidly building new nuclear power
nuclear age: Is the            plants in the private sector has given way to an
government dealing in the      emphasis on reducing weapons stockpiles;
most cost-effective way with   safeguarding and preventing the proliferation of
the safety, security, and      nuclear materials and technologies, both in the
environmental legacies of      United States and abroad; cleaning up,
nuclear weapons and nuclear    dismantling, and disposing of waste from old
power in a post-Cold War era?  nuclear facilities; and restructuring the nuclear
                               weapons complex to meet post-Cold War needs. All
                               this must be accomplished while protecting the
                               safety and health of workers and the public.
                               These new priorities are costly, are often
                               controversial, and will require decades to
                               complete; moreover, they come at a time of
                               increasing attention to cutting the cost of
                               government.





Achieving competition and      The past 2 years have witnessed major regulatory
security of energy supplies:   reforms to promote more competition, consumer
Are government policies        choices, and lower prices in energy markets. For
maximizing competition in      example, the gas and electric industry has been
energy markets and ensuring    restructured, and regulators are experimenting
reliable and environmentally-  with more market-based approaches to energy
acceptable energy supplies?    production and use. Meanwhile, the United States
                               is importing more than 50 percent of the oil it
                               consumes. Because oil imports are expected to
                               grow, particularly from Middle East countries,
                               supply disruptions might occur and trade deficits
                               might increase. Energy production and use also
                               release many harmful pollutants into the
                               atmosphere, raising concerns, both domestically
                               and internationally, about the effects of acid
                               rain and global warming.




Assessing the outcomes of      With a limited budget, Congress and the
federal investment in science  administration are faced with the increasingly
and technology programs: Are   difficult challenge of finding better ways to
the intended outcomes of       prioritize and coordinate funding for science and
federal science and            technology-related programs--now scattered over
technology-related programs    20 agencies--as well as to evaluate the results
being achieved and are         and effects of such spending. Critical decisions
priority-setting and           must be made on the proper balance between basic
evaluation measures credible   and applied research as well as among various
and appropriate?               competing needs and the appropriate role of
                               government in collaborating with industry to help
                               maintain competitiveness in global markets.




--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Objectives                                         Focus of work
-------------------------------------------------  -----------------------------
ï¿½Identify missions, programs, and activities       ï¿½Mission and structure of
within DOE and related energy and science          DOE
agencies that can be downsized, restructured,
privatized, or eliminated.                         ï¿½NRC regulatory activities

ï¿½Evaluate DOE's efforts to achieve mission         ï¿½DOE contracting reforms
objectives and to implement contracting reforms.
                                                   ï¿½Information systems
ï¿½Identify ways to strengthen information systems   supporting new management
to support DOE's oversight of contractors.         oversight

ï¿½Recommend ways to improve agencies' management    ï¿½Opportunities to downsize,
and operations.                                    privatize, or eliminate
                                                   agency programs and
                                                   activities

ï¿½Recommend cost-saving ways to deal with safety,   ï¿½Effectiveness and efficiency
health, and environmental risks at nuclear         in reducing the nuclear
sites.                                             weapons infrastructure

ï¿½Evaluate DOE's efforts to develop a nuclear       ï¿½U.S. efforts to dismantle
weapons infrastructure that responds to current    nuclear weapons and store or
U.S. needs.                                        dispose of excess materials

ï¿½Identify better ways to dismantle nuclear         ï¿½Environmental and health
weapons, store nuclear materials, and clean up     risks at sites
and dispose of waste from nuclear weapons and
civilian nuclear facilities.                       ï¿½Cleanup and disposal of
                                                   waste from civilian and
ï¿½Determine if U.S. arms control and                defense nuclear facilities
nonproliferation efforts serve post-Cold War
security interests.                                ï¿½U.S. arms control and
                                                   nonproliferation efforts

ï¿½Identify opportunities for additional regulatory  ï¿½Federal initiatives to
reforms in the natural gas and electricity         promote competition in
sectors to increase market competition.            regulated energy markets

ï¿½Assess the government's ability to ensure a       ï¿½National Energy Policy Plan
stable and secure supply of energy at reasonable
prices and adequate emergency preparedness.        ï¿½Environmental impact of
                                                   energy production and use
ï¿½Evaluate programs designed to foster a balanced,
environmentally sound, and sustainable energy      ï¿½Deregulation of electric
future.                                            utility industry

ï¿½Analyze the effectiveness of federal efforts to   ï¿½Energy efficiency, renewable
promote more efficient energy use by public and    energy sources, and
private sectors.                                   alternative fuels

ï¿½Identify ways to improve the processes for        ï¿½Overlap and duplication of
establishing goals and coordinating and            science and technology
evaluating program results.                        programs

ï¿½Assess progress and provide timely feedback on    ï¿½Federal programs to improve
the effects of key federal and private sector      manufacturing technologies
partnerships.
                                                   ï¿½Research activities at
ï¿½Identify opportunities for savings or             federal laboratories and
alternative ways to achieve science and            universities
technology goals.
                                                   ï¿½Evaluating results and
ï¿½Recommend better approaches and methodologies to  impact of scientific research
evaluate science and technology programs.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

TABLE II:  PLANNED MAJOR WORK
============================================================ Chapter 3

Issue                    Planned major job starts
-----------------------  -------------------------------------------------------
Examining the missions   ï¿½Identify programs and activities that are no longer
and management of        essential to DOE's mission.
energy and science       ï¿½Identify lessons learned from DOE's experience in
agencies                 acquiring major systems.
                         ï¿½Reassess NRC's regulatory mission and functions.
                         ï¿½Follow up on DOE's implementation of major contracting
                         reforms.
                         ï¿½Review information resource management activities of
                         DOE's contractors.
                         ï¿½Identify potential savings at DOE and other agencies
                         through "budget scrubs."
                         ï¿½Analyze issues surrounding privatizing power marketing
                         agencies.

Addressing the           ï¿½Assess the cost-effectiveness of DOE's environmental
consequences and         restoration activities.
implications of the      ï¿½Assess the accuracy of DOE's estimates for improving
nuclear                  cleanup productivity.
age                      ï¿½Assess the cost-effectiveness of the Cleanup
                         Technology Development Program.
                         ï¿½Identify ways to reduce the cost of DOE's landlord
                         services.
                         ï¿½Evaluate DOE's ability to maintain nuclear weapons.
                         ï¿½Analyze security costs at DOE's facilities.
                         ï¿½Assess the effectiveness of U.S. assistance to
                         increase safety of nuclear facilities in former Soviet
                         Union countries.
                         ï¿½Assess the status of DOE's efforts to convert Russian
                         research reactors from using high enriched uranium to
                         using low enriched uranium.
                         ï¿½Analyze U.S. and international efforts to contain
                         radiation at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant.
                         ï¿½Analyze U.S. efforts to assist the Russians in closing
                         aging plutonium production reactors.
                         ï¿½Analyze the fixed costs of maintaining the Nevada Test
                         Site and the appropriateness of allocating these costs
                         to the civilian nuclear waste disposal program.
                         ï¿½Assess the quality and effectiveness of DOE's tunnel
                         boring activities at Yucca Mountain, Nevada.


Achieving competition    ï¿½Assess the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's
and security of energy   efforts to promote incentives and market-based rates in
supplies                 the gas pipeline industry.
                         ï¿½Analyze DOE's National Energy Policy Plan and related
                         Department of Commerce and DOE studies dealing with oil
                         import vulnerability.
                         ï¿½Determine the need for the international energy
                         agencies' emergency oil-sharing system.
                         ï¿½Determine the need for and potential impact of
                         mandates to use alternative fuels for private vehicle
                         fleets.
                         ï¿½Assess U.S. actions to deal with global climate
                         change.
                         ï¿½Analyze management of state-administered energy
                         conservation programs.
                         ï¿½Analyze issues surrounding the restructuring of the
                         electric power industry.
                         ï¿½Assess progress in meeting mandates of the Energy
                         Policy Act of 1992.
                         ï¿½Analyze hydropower licensing and decommissioning.


Assessing outcomes of    ï¿½Assess the role of Office of Science and Technology
federal investment in    policy in establishing priorities for funding science
science and technology   and technology initiatives.
programs                 ï¿½Assess DOE's approach to developing fusion energy.
                         ï¿½Assess the Advanced Technology Program.
                         ï¿½Assess the effect of the Small Business Technology
                         Transfer Program.
                         ï¿½Identify ways to develop renewable energy
                         technologies.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

*** End of document. ***