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Tauscher Favors More Autonomous NNSA

Weapons Complex Monitor
December 19, 2012

Tauscher Favors More Autonomous NNSA

Former Congresswoman and Under Secretary of State Ellen Tauscher weighed in on NNSA governance during a speech at the American Security Project yesterday, suggesting that she supported much of the reform language in the House and ultimately said she’d favor making NNSA an autonomous agency that reports to the Energy Secretary without the baggage of DOE bureaucracy. As a California Congresswoman [her district included LLNL], Tauscher was instrumental in creating the NNSA in 1999, and she said NNSA could be structured like NASA or the Securities Exchange Commission, with a link to the Energy Secretary and “understanding that this is so important that the President has to be involved at times, and maybe with a director that is somebody with a real pedigree that gets appointed, like the FBI director, for 10 years so that there’s not a question of in and out and up and down.”

Comments

Anonymous said…
There are worse ideas out there, but you would have to look hard to find them. This will just make the problems worse. Thanks for nothing, Tauscher!
Anonymous said…
If Tauscher think this is how the NNSA should be structured, she and St. Pete should have formed it that way in the beginning.

In a sense, it makes NNSA seem to be an entity onto itself - one does not usually think of NASA's chain of command, simply that NASA is its own boss. In a sense, it raises the NNSA from the red headed step child to something more distinguished. Maybe it should be done, but take a stiff broom and sweep out the people staffing this travesty of a department. No sense in making them think that they are getting a promotion.
Anonymous said…
The problem with NNSA began when it was formed. The same retards who couldn't run the weapons complex as DOE changed their letterhead and office symbols. Why would anyone expect a different result that what we have?
Anonymous said…
Tauscher may now see the error of creating NNSA but two wrongs don't make a right. The issue is not the autonomy of the organization, rather it is the accountability of those in charge.
Anonymous said…
Giving MORE autonomy to NNSA? Isn't that "cutting the fox loose in the henhouse".
Anonymous said…
Why is the discussion around fixing NNSA, when the NNSA labs and facilities are as screwed up, if not more.

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