SEN-19A-92, Department of Energy Executive Committee

U.S. Department of Energy Secretary of Energy Washington, D.C. NOTICE SEN-19A-92 DATE: 7-7-92 SUBJECT: DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE The purpose of this directive is to revise membership of the Energy Executive Committee to reflect current organization structure and assure appropriate management participation. During my tenure as Secretary, I have undertaken a number of initiatives that cut across all elements of the Department, such as: o Pursuing a comprehensive National Energy Strategy; o Effecting significant management reform in areas such as waste management, environment and safety, program planning and budgets, and education and training; and o Developing and deploying new technologies from DOE programs, laboratories, and facilities to enhance U.S. competitiveness. There is a continuing need for coordinated, executive oversight of such cross-cutting issues. Consistent with my goal to revitalize DOE management and make it more responsive to internal and external demands, I believe we need a faster and more effective mechanism for obtaining executive guidance than the written concurrence process used in the past. The formation of an Executive Committee (EC) in the Department has created a formal mechanism for top DOE executives to discuss and agree on long-term directions of the Department. The mission of the EC is to review and recommend, for my approval, broad policies for the Department of Energy, that will: o provide clear guidance to the program offices, national laboratories, and other Departmental elements, to avoid ambiguity and confusion; o allow DOE offices and laboratories the necessary flexibility to respond to individual organizational needs and the long term needs of the Department; o eliminate confusion and provide a mechanism for resolving potential policy conflicts between different Departmental elements; o improve the quality of decisions by ensuring that all relevant factors are considered in establishing a given policy direction; and o provide a clearly identified path to top management to obtain guidance on critical policy issues. The EC does not have direct management authority, beyond that of its individual members, over the activities of individual programs or other executive-level committees, such as the Clean Coal Technology Executive Board, SEN-14-89. In general, the EC also does not have direct oversight of policy areas that are assigned to individual programs, such as nuclear nonproliferation, which is the responsibility of the Office of Arms Control and Nonproliferation. However, the EC provides executive oversight of all policy issues that cut across Departmental lines. For example, within the technology transfer policy arena, the EC may recommend broad DOE policy positions to enhance U.S. competitiveness, ensure fairness of opportunity for industrial participants in Federal R&D activities, or address conflict of interest guidelines for employees. The Executive Committee is comprised of the following members: Deputy Secretary Under Secretary General Counsel

Assistant Secretary, Domestic and International Energy Policy Assistant Secretary, Nuclear Energy Assistant Secretary, Fossil Energy Assistant Secretary, Conservation and Renewable Energy Assistant Secretary, Defense Programs Assistant Secretary, Environmental Restoration and Waste Management Assistant Secretary, Environment, Safety and Health Assistant Secretary, Congressional and Intergovernmental Affairs Chief Financial Officer Director, Energy Research Director, Civilian Radioactive Waste Management Director, Nuclear Safety Director, Procurement, Assistance and Program Management Director, Administration and Human Resource Management Director, Public Affairs Administrator, Energy Information Administration The following individuals shall be eligible for membership on the Committee on an ad hoc basis, at the request of the Chairman: Director, New Production Reactors Director, Arms Control and Nonproliferation Director, Emergency Planning and Operations Director, Security Affairs Director, intelligence Departmental Representative to the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board The EC will be chaired by the Deputy Secretary and the Under Secretary will serve as vice-chairman. The Assistant Secretary, Domestic and International Energy Policy (EP) has been assigned responsibility to support the EC, and will be responsible for coordinating all EC activities on the Deputy Secretary's behalf. All other Departmental elements are expected to support EP, as necessary, in this effort. I expect the EC to continue to provide guidance to me on cross-cutting DOE issues. James D. Watkins Admiral, U.S. Navy (Retired) <>