It will also be left without a voice in the highest levels of the administration. As I just mentioned, the NSA will not be represented as a Cabinet agency at the White House. Instead, it would have to gain access as an entity within the Department, and would have to obtain resources without the benefit of having the Secretary of Energy fighting for them. Considering our need to bolster our national security, this proposition does not reassure me. Neither I nor any other Secretary of Energy will be able to hire and fire NSA employees.
Accountability is the linchpin of good management.
Such an arrangement can not, and will not, work. Congress has instituted numerous contract reform procedures for the Department of Energy. But the procedure outlined in this legislation would lead to less competition in contracting, running counter to what we need to do. The amendment, however, would short circuit any debate on the merits of this proposal. And local control over Department facilities and contracts would be vastly diminished if this proposal is implemented.