The following are excerpts, highlighted in red, from the final legislation and/or conference report which contain
references to and studies for The National Academies of Sciences,
Engineering, and Medicine. (Pound signs [##] between passages
denote the deletion of unrelated text.)
HR5515 Thornberry (R-Texas) 06/27/18
Enrolled (finally passed both houses)
To authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2019 for military
activities of the Department of Defense, for military construction,
and for defense activities of the Department of Energy, to prescribe
military personnel strengths for such fiscal year, and for other
purposes.
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--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---
--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---
--- --- ---
######
SEC. 3132. NUCLEAR FORENSICS ANALYSES.
(a) Independent Assessment.--Not later than 30 days after the
date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Energy, in
consultation with the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of
Homeland Security, shall seek to enter into an agreement with
the National Academy of Sciences for an independent assessment
of nuclear forensic analyses conducted by the Federal
Government.
(b) Elements.--The assessment conducted by the National
Academy of Sciences under subsection (a) shall, at minimum,
include the following:
(1) An assessment of a representative sample of nuclear
forensic analyses from across the Federal departments and
agencies, with particular emphasis on the validity, quality,
value, cost effectiveness, gaps, and timeliness of such
analyses.
(2) An assessment of the methodologies used by nuclear
forensics analyses from across the Federal departments and
agencies, including the scientific rigor of such
methodologies.
(3) Recommendations for improving nuclear forensics analyses
conducted by the Federal Government, including any best
practices or lessons learned that should be shared across the
Federal departments and agencies.
(c) Submission.--Not later than one year after the date of
the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Energy shall submit
to the appropriate congressional committees a report containing
the assessment
of the National Academy of Sciences under subsection (a).
(d) Briefing on
Senior-level Involvement in Exercises.--Not later than 90 days after
the date of the enactment of this Act, the President shall provide
to the appropriate congressional committees a briefing on the
involvement of senior-level executive branch leadership in recent
and planned nuclear terrorism preparedness or response exercises and
any other exercises that have nuclear forensic analysis as a
component of the exercises.
(e) Appropriate Congressional Committees Defined.--In this
section, the term ``appropriate congressional committees''
means--
(1) the congressional defense committees; and
(2) the Committee on Homeland Security of the House of
Representatives and the Committee on Homeland Security and
Governmental Affairs of the Senate.
SEC. 3133. REVIEW OF DEFENSE ENVIRONMENTAL CLEANUP
ACTIVITIES.
(a) In General.--The Secretary of Energy shall enter into an
arrangement with the National Academies of Sciences,
Engineering, and Medicine to conduct a review of the defense
environmental cleanup activities of the Office of Environmental
Management of the Department of Energy.
(b) Elements.--The review conducted under subsection (a) shall
include--
(1) an assessment of—
(A) project management practices with respect to the activities
described in subsection (a);
(B) the outcomes of such activities; and
(C) the appropriateness of the level of engagement and
oversight of the Office of Environmental Management with respect
to such activities; and
(2) recommendations with respect to actions to enhance the
effectiveness and efficiency of such activities.
######
***********************************************************************************************************************************************************
HRpt 115-863 - To accompany H.R. 5515 – To authorize appropriations
for fiscal year 2019 for military activities of the Department of
Defense, for military construction, and for defense activities of
the Department of Energy, to prescribe military personnel strengths
for such fiscal year, and for other purposes.
Conference Committee
(7/23/18)
-- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---
--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---
--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---
######
SUBTITLE A—MILITARY CONSTRUCTION PROGRAM AND MILITARY FAMILY
HOUSING
######
SEC. 2805. UPDATES AND MODIFICATIONS TO DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
FORM 1391, UNIFIED FACILITIES CRITERIA, AND MILITARY
INSTALLATION MASTER PLANS.
(a) Flood Risk Disclosure for Military Construction.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Defense shall modify Department of
Defense Form 1391 to require, with respect to any proposed major or
minor military construction project requiring congressional
notification or approval—
(A) disclosure whether a proposed project will be sited within or
partially within a 100-year floodplain, according to the most recent
available Federal Emergency Management Agency flood hazard data; and
(B) if the proposed project will be sited within or partially within
a 100-year floodplain, the specific risk mitigation plan.
(2) DELINEATION OF FLOODPLAIN.—To the extent that Federal Emergency
Management Agency flood hazard data are not available for a proposed
major or minor military construction site, the Secretary concerned
shall establish a process for delineating the 100-year floodplain
using risk analysis that is consistent with the standards used to
inform Federal flood risk assessments.
(3) REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.—For proposed projects that are to be
sited within or partially within a 100-year floodplain, the
Secretary concerned shall submit to the congressional defense
committees a report with the following:
(A) An assessment of flood vulnerability for the proposed project.
(B) Any information concerning alternative construction sites that
were considered, and an explanation of why those sites do not
satisfy mission requirements.
(C) A description of planned flood mitigation measures.
(4) MINIMUM FLOOD MITIGATION REQUIREMENTS.—When mitigating the flood
risk of a major or minor military construction project within or
partially within the 100-year floodplain, the Secretary concerned
shall require any mitigation plan to assume an additional—
(A) 2 feet above the base flood elevation for non-mission critical
buildings, as determined by the Secretary; and
(B) 3 feet above the base flood elevation for mission-critical
buildings, as determined by the Secretary.
(b) Disclosure Requirements for Department of Defense Form 1391.—Not
later than 30 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the
Secretary of Defense shall amend Department of Defense Form 1391 to
require, for each requested military construction project—
(1) disclosure whether the project was included in the prior year’s
future-years defense program submitted to Congress pursuant to
section 221 of title 10, United States Code; and
(2) inclusion of an energy study or life cycle analysis.
(c) Incorporation of Changing Environmental Condition Projections in
Military Construction Designs and Modifications.—Not later than 30 days after the date of the enactment of this
Act, the Secretary of Defense shall amend section 3-5.6.2.3 of
United Facilities Criteria (UFC) 2-100-01 and UFC 2-100-02 (or
any similar successor regulations) to provide that in order to
anticipate changing environmental conditions during the design
life of existing or planned new facilities and infrastructure,
projections from reliable and authorized sources such as the
Census Bureau (for population projections), the National
Academies of Sciences (for land use change projections and
climate projections), the U.S. Geological Survey (for land use
change projections), and the U.S. Global Change Research Office
and National Climate Assessment (for climate projections) shall
be considered and incorporated into military construction
designs and modifications.
(d) Inclusion of Consideration of Energy and Climate Resiliency
Efforts in Master Plans for Major Military Installations.—Section
2864 of title 10, United States Code, is amended—
(1) in subsection (a)(2)—
(A) in subparagraph (C), by striking “and” at the end;
(B) in subparagraph (D), by striking the period at the end and
inserting “; and”; and
(C) by adding at the end the following new subparagraph:
“(E) energy and climate resiliency efforts.”; and
(2) in subsection (d), by adding at the end the following new
paragraph:
“(3) The term ‘energy and climate resiliency’ means anticipation,
preparation for, and adaptation to utility disruptions and changing
environmental conditions and the ability to withstand, respond to,
and recover rapidly from utility disruptions while ensuring the
sustainment of mission-critical operations.”.
(e) Definition of Military Installation Resilience.—Section 101(e)
of title 10, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the
following new paragraph:
“(8) MILITARY INSTALLATION RESILIENCE.—The term ‘military
installation resilience’ means the capability of a military
installation to avoid, prepare for, minimize the effect of, adapt
to, and recover from extreme weather events, or from anticipated or
unanticipated changes in environmental conditions, that do, or have
the potential to, adversely affect the military installation or
essential transportation, logistical, or other necessary resources
outside of the military installation that are necessary in order to
maintain, improve, or rapidly reestablish installation mission
assurance and mission-essential functions.”.
(f) Adjustment and Diversification Assistance for Responding to
Threats to the Resilience of a Military Installation.—Section
2391(b)(1) of title 10, United States Code, is amended—
(1) by striking “, or (E) by the closure” and inserting “, (E) by
threats to military installation resilience, or (F) by the closure”;
(2) by striking “(A), (B), (C), or (E)” and inserting “(A), (B),
(C), or (F)”; and
(3) by striking “action described in clause (D), if the Secretary
determines that the encroachment of the civilian community” and
inserting “action described in clause (D) or (E), if the Secretary
determines that either the encroachment of the civilian community or
threats to military installation resilience”.
######
“Sec. 4807. Cost-benefit analyses for competition of management and
operating contracts.”.
(c) Termination of Superseded Provision.—Section 3121(e)(1) of the
National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2013 (Public Law
112-239; 126 Stat. 2175), as most recently amended by section 3135
of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2016
(Public Law 114-92; 129 Stat. 1207), is further amended by striking
“2020” and inserting “2018”.
SEC. 3132. NUCLEAR FORENSICS ANALYSES.
(a) Independent Assessment.—Not later than 30 days after the
date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Energy, in
consultation with the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of
Homeland Security, shall seek to enter into an agreement with
the National Academy of Sciences for an independent assessment
of nuclear forensic analyses conducted by the Federal
Government.
(b) Elements.—The assessment conducted by the National Academy
of Sciences under subsection (a) shall, at minimum, include the
following:
(1) An assessment of a representative sample of nuclear
forensic analyses from across the Federal departments and
agencies, with particular emphasis on the validity, quality,
value, cost effectiveness, gaps, and timeliness of such
analyses.
(2) An assessment of the methodologies used by nuclear
forensics analyses from across the Federal departments and
agencies, including the scientific rigor of such
methodologies.
(3) Recommendations for improving nuclear forensics analyses
conducted by the Federal Government, including any best
practices or lessons learned that should be shared across the
Federal departments and agencies.
(c) Submission.—Not later than one year after the date of the
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Energy shall submit to
the appropriate congressional committees a report containing the
assessment of the National Academy of Sciences under subsection
(a).
(d) Briefing on Senior-level Involvement in Exercises.—Not later
than 90 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the
President shall provide to the appropriate congressional committees
a briefing on the involvement of senior-level executive branch
leadership in recent and planned nuclear terrorism preparedness or
response exercises and any other exercises that have nuclear
forensic analysis as a component of the exercises.
(e) Appropriate Congressional Committees Defined.—In this
section, the term “appropriate congressional committees”
means—
(1) the congressional defense committees; and
(2) the Committee on Homeland Security of the House of
Representatives and the Committee on Homeland Security and
Governmental Affairs of the Senate.
SEC. 3133. REVIEW OF DEFENSE ENVIRONMENTAL CLEANUP
ACTIVITIES.
(a) In General.—The Secretary of Energy shall enter into an
arrangement with the National Academies of Sciences,
Engineering, and Medicine to conduct a review of the defense
environmental cleanup activities of the Office of Environmental
Management of the Department of Energy.
(b) Elements.—The review conducted under subsection (a) shall
include—
(1) an assessment of—
(A) project management practices with respect to the activities
described in subsection (a);
(B) the outcomes of such activities; and
(C) the appropriateness of the level of engagement and
oversight of the Office of Environmental Management with respect
to such activities; and
(2) recommendations with respect to actions to enhance the
effectiveness and efficiency of such activities.
######
Nuclear forensics analyses (sec. 3132)
The House bill contained a provision (sec. 3120) that would
require the Secretary of Energy, in consultation with the
Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of Homeland Security, to
seek to enter into an agreement with the National Academy of
Sciences for an independent assessment of nuclear forensic
analyses conducted by the Federal Government.
The Senate amendment contained no similar provision.
The Senate recedes with a technical amendment.
Review of defense environmental cleanup activities (sec.
3133)
The Senate amendment contained a provision (sec. 3122) that
would require the Secretary of Energy to coordinate with the
National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine on a
review of the cleanup activities in the Office of Environmental
Management.
The House bill contained no similar provision.
The House recedes with an amendment to include recommendations
in the assessment that would enhance effectiveness and
efficiency within the program.
######
Clarification of roles and authorities of National Nuclear
Security Administration
The Senate amendment contained a provision (sec. 3111) that would
clarify the roles and authorities of the National Nuclear Security
Administration (NNSA) through a series of amendments to the National
Nuclear Security Administration Act (50 U.S.C. Ch. 41) and the
Atomic Energy Defense Act (50 U.S.C. Ch. 42). The provision would
also make several technical corrections to the Atomic Energy Defense
Act and remove the cap imposed on the number of full-time equivalent
federal employees at the NNSA by section 3241A of the NNSA Act (50
U.S.C. 2441a).
The House bill contained no similar provision.
The Senate recedes.
The conferees note that similar legislation was considered in the
course of the drafting of the National Defense Authorization Act for
Fiscal Year 2013 (Public Law 112-239). The statement of managers
accompanying that Act noted that there was “widespread recognition
that the current system for governance, management, and oversight of
the nuclear security enterprise is broken.” The same statement noted
similar conclusions made by the 2009 Congressional Commission on the
Strategic Posture of the United States and several other bipartisan
or nonpartisan organizations. Additional studies and commissions
have agreed in the years since.
The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2013 also
created a bipartisan advisory commission to provide “actionable
recommendations that directly address the host of systemic problems
identified by previous studies and by the conferees,” later known as
the Augustine-Mies Panel. In 2014, this panel recommended a sweeping
series of major changes at NNSA and the Department of Energy more
broadly, including renaming the Department to be the “Department of
Energy and Nuclear Security,” more fully integrating the NNSA into
the Department, elevating the NNSA Administrator to the level of
Deputy Secretary, and other actions to address deep-rooted cultural
problems. The conferees note that a lack of consensus among the
Department and the many congressional committees of jurisdiction
prevented most of the major recommendations from being implemented,
while others have languished in the bureaucracy or have been
implemented without sufficient efforts to measure success. The conferees appreciate the work of the ongoing joint National
Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NAS) and
National Academy of Public Administration (NAPA) panel created
by the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2016
(Public Law 114-92) to assess the NNSA’s and the Department’s
progress in implementing prior recommendations, and note that
the panel’s most recent interim report concludes that activities
to implement prior reform recommendations have not been “rooted
in an adequate foundation of strategic thinking.”
The conferees note that the Augustine-Mies Panel concluded
that, if “significant progress [was] not made within the next
two years,” the “only remaining course of action—and a clearly
inferior one—is to remove [NNSA] from what is now the Department
of Energy and establish it as an autonomous, independent
organization.”
The conferees note that almost 4 years have elapsed since the
Augustine-Mies Panel made its recommendations, and almost 6
years have elapsed since the 2013 statement of managers
described the nuclear security enterprise as “broken.” While
disagreement remains with some of the specific conclusions of
the panel, the conferees have not witnessed significant
progress—only “changes on the margins,” as anticipated by the
2013 conferees. Continued cost overruns on major projects,
critical capital acquisition decisions mired in dispute, ongoing
safety and security concerns, and delayed infrastructure
modernization projects indicate that significant progress has
not been made.
The conferees expect that the joint NAS/NAPA panel will
conclude its work in 2020. Rather than allowing the panel’s
reports and recommendations to languish along with over two
decades of studies and commissions on this subject, the
conferees believe that, at that time, the appropriate committees
must work with the Department and the NNSA to consider major
reforms to the governance of the nuclear security enterprise,
but stress that a return to previous, failed models of
organization and management are unlikely to be an acceptable
option.
Finally, the conferees also note that a significant
recommendation of the Augustine-Mies Panel was to “solidify
Cabinet Secretary ownership of the mission” of the NNSA. As long
as the NNSA remains part of the Department of Energy under the
current construct of the NNSA Act, the conferees expect
appropriate levels of engagement by the Secretary of Energy, the
Deputy Secretary of Energy, and the Administrator for Nuclear
Security with the committees of jurisdiction on priority atomic
energy defense programs to ensure that the NNSA meets the
military requirements set by the Department of Defense while
making efficient and responsible use of taxpayer dollars.
######
***********************************************************************************************************************************************************
HRpt 115-874 - To accompany H.R. 5515 – To authorize appropriations
for fiscal year 2019 for military activities of the Department of
Defense, for military construction, and for defense activities of
the Department of Energy, to prescribe military personnel strengths
for such fiscal year, and for other purposes.
Conference Committee
(7/25/18)
-- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---
--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---
--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---
######
SEC. 2805. UPDATES AND MODIFICATIONS TO DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
FORM 1391, UNIFIED FACILITIES CRITERIA, AND MILITARY
INSTALLATION MASTER PLANS.
(a) Flood Risk Disclosure for Military Construction.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Defense shall modify Department of
Defense Form 1391 to require, with respect to any proposed major or
minor military construction project requiring congressional
notification or approval—
(A) disclosure whether a proposed project will be sited within or
partially within a 100-year floodplain, according to the most recent
available Federal Emergency Management Agency flood hazard data; and
(B) if the proposed project will be sited within or partially within
a 100-year floodplain, the specific risk mitigation plan.
(2) DELINEATION OF FLOODPLAIN.—To the extent that Federal Emergency
Management Agency flood hazard data are not available for a proposed
major or minor military construction site, the Secretary concerned
shall establish a process for delineating the 100-year floodplain
using risk analysis that is consistent with the standards used to
inform Federal flood risk assessments.
(3) REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.—For proposed projects that are to be
sited within or partially within a 100-year floodplain, the
Secretary concerned shall submit to the congressional defense
committees a report with the following:
(A) An assessment of flood vulnerability for the proposed project.
(B) Any information concerning alternative construction sites that
were considered, and an explanation of why those sites do not
satisfy mission requirements.
(C) A description of planned flood mitigation measures.
(4) MINIMUM FLOOD MITIGATION REQUIREMENTS.—When mitigating the flood
risk of a major or minor military construction project within or
partially within the 100-year floodplain, the Secretary concerned
shall require any mitigation plan to assume an additional—
(A) 2 feet above the base flood elevation for non-mission critical
buildings, as determined by the Secretary; and
(B) 3 feet above the base flood elevation for mission-critical
buildings, as determined by the Secretary.
(b) Disclosure Requirements for Department of Defense Form 1391.—Not
later than 30 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the
Secretary of Defense shall amend Department of Defense Form 1391 to
require, for each requested military construction project—
(1) disclosure whether the project was included in the prior year’s
future-years defense program submitted to Congress pursuant to
section 221 of title 10, United States Code; and
(2) inclusion of an energy study or life cycle analysis.
(c) Incorporation of Changing Environmental Condition Projections in
Military Construction Designs and Modifications.—Not later than 30 days after the date of the enactment of this
Act, the Secretary of Defense shall amend section 3-5.6.2.3 of
United Facilities Criteria (UFC) 2-100-01 and UFC 2-100-02 (or
any similar successor regulations) to provide that in order to
anticipate changing environmental conditions during the design
life of existing or planned new facilities and infrastructure,
projections from reliable and authorized sources such as the
Census Bureau (for population projections), the National
Academies of Sciences (for land use change projections and
climate projections), the U.S. Geological Survey (for land use
change projections), and the U.S. Global Change Research Office
and National Climate Assessment (for climate projections) shall
be considered and incorporated into military construction
designs and modifications.
(d) Inclusion of Consideration of Energy and Climate Resiliency
Efforts in Master Plans for Major Military Installations.—Section
2864 of title 10, United States Code, is amended—
(1) in subsection (a)(2)—
(A) in subparagraph (C), by striking “and” at the end;
(B) in subparagraph (D), by striking the period at the end and
inserting “; and”; and
(C) by adding at the end the following new subparagraph:
“(E) energy and climate resiliency efforts.”; and
(2) in subsection (d), by adding at the end the following new
paragraph:
“(3) The term ‘energy and climate resiliency’ means anticipation,
preparation for, and adaptation to utility disruptions and changing
environmental conditions and the ability to withstand, respond to,
and recover rapidly from utility disruptions while ensuring the
sustainment of mission-critical operations.”.
(e) Definition of Military Installation Resilience.—Section 101(e)
of title 10, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the
following new paragraph:
“(8) MILITARY INSTALLATION RESILIENCE.—The term ‘military
installation resilience’ means the capability of a military
installation to avoid, prepare for, minimize the effect of, adapt
to, and recover from extreme weather events, or from anticipated or
unanticipated changes in environmental conditions, that do, or have
the potential to, adversely affect the military installation or
essential transportation, logistical, or other necessary resources
outside of the military installation that are necessary in order to
maintain, improve, or rapidly reestablish installation mission
assurance and mission-essential functions.”.
(f) Adjustment and Diversification Assistance for Responding to
Threats to the Resilience of a Military Installation.—Section
2391(b)(1) of title 10, United States Code, is amended—
(1) by striking “, or (E) by the closure” and inserting “, (E) by
threats to military installation resilience, or (F) by the closure”;
(2) by striking “(A), (B), (C), or (E)” and inserting “(A), (B),
(C), or (F)”; and
(3) by striking “action described in clause (D), if the Secretary
determines that the encroachment of the civilian community” and
inserting “action described in clause (D) or (E), if the Secretary
determines that either the encroachment of the civilian community or
threats to military installation resilience”.
######
“Sec. 4807. Cost-benefit analyses for competition of management and
operating contracts.”.
(c) Termination of Superseded Provision.—Section 3121(e)(1) of the
National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2013 (Public Law
112-239; 126 Stat. 2175), as most recently amended by section 3135
of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2016
(Public Law 114-92; 129 Stat. 1207), is further amended by striking
“2020” and inserting “2018”.
SEC. 3132. NUCLEAR FORENSICS ANALYSES.
(a) Independent Assessment.—Not later than 30 days after the
date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Energy, in
consultation with the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of
Homeland Security, shall seek to enter into an agreement with
the National Academy of Sciences for an independent assessment
of nuclear forensic analyses conducted by the Federal
Government.
(b) Elements.—The assessment conducted by the National Academy
of Sciences under subsection (a) shall, at minimum, include the
following:
(1) An assessment of a representative sample of nuclear
forensic analyses from across the Federal departments and
agencies, with particular emphasis on the validity, quality,
value, cost effectiveness, gaps, and timeliness of such
analyses.
(2) An assessment of the methodologies used by nuclear
forensics analyses from across the Federal departments and
agencies, including the scientific rigor of such
methodologies.
(3) Recommendations for improving nuclear forensics analyses
conducted by the Federal Government, including any best
practices or lessons learned that should be shared across the
Federal departments and agencies.
(c) Submission.—Not later than one year after the date of the
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Energy shall submit to
the appropriate congressional committees a report containing the
assessment of the National Academy of Sciences under subsection
(a).
(d) Briefing on Senior-level Involvement in Exercises.—Not later
than 90 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the
President shall provide to the appropriate congressional committees
a briefing on the involvement of senior-level executive branch
leadership in recent and planned nuclear terrorism preparedness or
response exercises and any other exercises that have nuclear
forensic analysis as a component of the exercises.
(e) Appropriate Congressional Committees Defined.—In this
section, the term “appropriate congressional committees”
means—
(1) the congressional defense committees; and
(2) the Committee on Homeland Security of the House of
Representatives and the Committee on Homeland Security and
Governmental Affairs of the Senate.
SEC. 3133. REVIEW OF DEFENSE ENVIRONMENTAL CLEANUP
ACTIVITIES.
(a) In General.—The Secretary of Energy shall enter into an
arrangement with the National Academies of Sciences,
Engineering, and Medicine to conduct a review of the defense
environmental cleanup activities of the Office of Environmental
Management of the Department of Energy.
(b) Elements.—The review conducted under subsection (a) shall
include—
(1) an assessment of—
(A) project management practices with respect to the activities
described in subsection (a);
(B) the outcomes of such activities; and
(C) the appropriateness of the level of engagement and
oversight of the Office of Environmental Management with respect
to such activities; and
(2) recommendations with respect to actions to enhance the
effectiveness and efficiency of such activities.
######
Nuclear forensics analyses (sec. 3132)
The House bill contained a provision (sec. 3120) that would
require the Secretary of Energy, in consultation with the
Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of Homeland Security, to
seek to enter into an agreement with the National Academy of
Sciences for an independent assessment of nuclear forensic
analyses conducted by the Federal Government.
The Senate amendment contained no similar provision.
The Senate recedes with a technical amendment.
Review of defense environmental cleanup activities (sec.
3133)
The Senate amendment contained a provision (sec. 3122) that
would require the Secretary of Energy to coordinate with the
National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine on a
review of the cleanup activities in the Office of Environmental
Management.
The House bill contained no similar provision.
The House recedes with an amendment to include recommendations
in the assessment that would enhance effectiveness and
efficiency within the program.
######
Clarification of roles and authorities of National Nuclear
Security Administration
The Senate amendment contained a provision (sec. 3111) that would
clarify the roles and authorities of the National Nuclear Security
Administration (NNSA) through a series of amendments to the National
Nuclear Security Administration Act (50 U.S.C. Ch. 41) and the
Atomic Energy Defense Act (50 U.S.C. Ch. 42). The provision would
also make several technical corrections to the Atomic Energy Defense
Act and remove the cap imposed on the number of full-time equivalent
federal employees at the NNSA by section 3241A of the NNSA Act (50
U.S.C. 2441a).
The House bill contained no similar provision.
The Senate recedes.
The conferees note that similar legislation was considered in the
course of the drafting of the National Defense Authorization Act for
Fiscal Year 2013 (Public Law 112-239). The statement of managers
accompanying that Act noted that there was “widespread recognition
that the current system for governance, management, and oversight of
the nuclear security enterprise is broken.” The same statement noted
similar conclusions made by the 2009 Congressional Commission on the
Strategic Posture of the United States and several other bipartisan
or nonpartisan organizations. Additional studies and commissions
have agreed in the years since.
The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2013 also
created a bipartisan advisory commission to provide “actionable
recommendations that directly address the host of systemic problems
identified by previous studies and by the conferees,” later known as
the Augustine-Mies Panel. In 2014, this panel recommended a sweeping
series of major changes at NNSA and the Department of Energy more
broadly, including renaming the Department to be the “Department of
Energy and Nuclear Security,” more fully integrating the NNSA into
the Department, elevating the NNSA Administrator to the level of
Deputy Secretary, and other actions to address deep-rooted cultural
problems. The conferees note that a lack of consensus among the
Department and the many congressional committees of jurisdiction
prevented most of the major recommendations from being implemented,
while others have languished in the bureaucracy or have been
implemented without sufficient efforts to measure success. The conferees appreciate the work of the ongoing joint National
Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NAS) and
National Academy of Public Administration (NAPA) panel created
by the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2016
(Public Law 114-92) to assess the NNSA’s and the Department’s
progress in implementing prior recommendations, and note that
the panel’s most recent interim report concludes that activities
to implement prior reform recommendations have not been “rooted
in an adequate foundation of strategic thinking.”
The conferees note that the Augustine-Mies Panel concluded
that, if “significant progress [was] not made within the next
two years,” the “only remaining course of action—and a clearly
inferior one—is to remove [NNSA] from what is now the Department
of Energy and establish it as an autonomous, independent
organization.”
The conferees note that almost 4 years have elapsed since the
Augustine-Mies Panel made its recommendations, and almost 6
years have elapsed since the 2013 statement of managers
described the nuclear security enterprise as “broken.” While
disagreement remains with some of the specific conclusions of
the panel, the conferees have not witnessed significant
progress—only “changes on the margins,” as anticipated by the
2013 conferees. Continued cost overruns on major projects,
critical capital acquisition decisions mired in dispute, ongoing
safety and security concerns, and delayed infrastructure
modernization projects indicate that significant progress has
not been made.
The conferees expect that the joint NAS/NAPA panel will
conclude its work in 2020. Rather than allowing the panel’s
reports and recommendations to languish along with over two
decades of studies and commissions on this subject, the
conferees believe that, at that time, the appropriate committees
must work with the Department and the NNSA to consider major
reforms to the governance of the nuclear security enterprise,
but stress that a return to previous, failed models of
organization and management are unlikely to be an acceptable
option.
Finally, the conferees also note that a significant
recommendation of the Augustine-Mies Panel was to “solidify
Cabinet Secretary ownership of the mission” of the NNSA. As long
as the NNSA remains part of the Department of Energy under the
current construct of the NNSA Act, the conferees expect
appropriate levels of engagement by the Secretary of Energy, the
Deputy Secretary of Energy, and the Administrator for Nuclear
Security with the committees of jurisdiction on priority atomic
energy defense programs to ensure that the NNSA meets the
military requirements set by the Department of Defense while
making efficient and responsible use of taxpayer dollars.
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