Anonymously contributed:
NOT Going to Happen... A Snowball's chance in...
Nuclear Weapons & Materials Monitor - Martin Schneider
July 1, 2011
White House Considering Merging DOE With Commerce Department
The idea of broadly restructuring the Department of Energy is set to make a return engagement for the 2012 Presidential Election, with President Obama preparing to float the possibility of a new Department of Competitiveness that would include most of DOE as part of his reelection campaign, NW&M Monitor has learned. The proposal would consolidate the Department of Commerce with non-defense portions of the Department of Energy such as the Department’s loan office, Office of Nuclear Energy, Fossil Energy, and Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy. The National Nuclear Security Administration would be split off into a separate standalone agency. It remains unclear where the offices of Environmental Management and Legacy Management would end up under the proposal.
The merger, which has been proposed in a white paper by White House Office of Management and Budget Deputy Director Jeffrey Zients, would seek to better position the United States to compete against other countries with state- controlled industry, while freeing up the disparate missions within the Department of Energy. Industry officials expect the proposal to enjoy support from Democrats and opposition from Republicans. John Bryson, the Obama Administration’s nominee to be the next Secretary of Commerce, is likely to begin floating the idea if he is confirmed by the Senate.
8 comments:
Works for me! I figure I've got about two years to go before I can bail on my own terms. Crap it will take the new organization two years just to properly craft a mission statement let alone take any significant workforce actions!
Truthfully though congress should choke the DOE to death in its sleep and push NNSA into DOD after stripping as much stupid out as possible (I know it won't happen but a boy can dream can't he)!
The AEC was a wonderful thing. Scientists managing scientists, with everyone agreeing on the mission, and the managers willing to fund it. All that would be required now is a complete overhaul of NNSA's structure and personnel.
Oh yeah, I really want NNSA to be part of DoD. After all, Admiral Nanos worked out so well for LANL. And look at those DoD labs like AFRL, NRL, and ARL, just cutting-edge research once they got done firing all the egg-heads and replacing them with contract monitors. Great idea.
Oh yeah, I really want NNSA to be part of DoD. After all, Admiral Nanos worked out so well for LANL. And look at those DoD labs like AFRL, NRL, and ARL, just cutting-edge research once they got done firing all the egg-heads and replacing them with contract monitors. Great idea.
sotto voce.....I guess they neglected to mention it to you....nuclear weapons....well they have something to do with national defense. What that something is I leave to you for a homework assignment.
But you're right the Commerce Department National Labs are far superior!
Yutz!
Here are some way better Departments we should reside in:
Department of the Treasury
Department of Justice
Department of Health and Human Services
Department of Agriculture
Let's face it no one wants nuclear weapons except Russia, China, North Korea, Iraq, Iran, and al Quaeda. Come on DoD, have some stones and take this "operation" over.
Truthfully though congress should choke the DOE to death in its sleep and push NNSA into DOD after stripping as much stupid out as possible (I know it won't happen but a boy can dream can't he)!
July 6, 2011 7:22 PM
Problem is Congress couldn't "choke a chicken" if it's life depended on it. We've become a bunch of winning babies.
Agree not a chance of happening due to the various self-interest in Congress wanting to keep their oversight and appropriation committee jobs.
But one can dream... so in addition to combining non-defense parts of DOE with Commerce, I would also take out the Office of Science - and turn it into the Department of Science.
The new Dept of Science (headed by Dr. Chu) would have all the national labs (including LLNL, LANL, and SNL) plus NASA and NIST.
The new completely independent NNSA would be the "hands-on" production/testing elements of the current NNSA - Pantex, Kansas City Plant, SRS, NTS, and Y-12. I'd also give them the pit production facility at LANL.
The stockpile science and research elements would still be carried out by Dept of Science labs (LANL, LLNL, SNL) as part of their missions, but NNSA would not own the facilities, just fund the work.
The two liberal Senators from the state of New Mexico will never support taking the labs or NNSA out of DOE. They like things just as they are, regardless of how totally messed up this current situation has become.
This talk is just "window dressing" in preparation for the 2012 elections. It will never happen.
Post a Comment