50 U.S.C. § 2402 (WAR AND NATIONAL DEFENSE)
§ 2402. Administrator for Nuclear Security
(a) In general
(1) There is at the head of the Administration an Administrator for Nuclear Security (in this chapter referred to as the “Administrator”).
(2) Pursuant to subsection (c) of section 7132 of title 42, the Under Secretary for Nuclear Security of the Department of Energy serves as the Administrator.
(b) Functions
The Administrator has authority over, and is responsible for, all programs and activities of the Administration (except for the functions of the Deputy Administrator for Naval Reactors specified in the Executive order referred to in section 2406(b) of this title), including the following:
(1) Strategic management.
(2) Policy development and guidance.
(3) Budget formulation, guidance, and execution, and other financial matters.
(4) Resource requirements determination and allocation.
(5) Program management and direction.
(6) Safeguards and security.
(7) Emergency management and Nuclear Emergency Support Team capabilities, including all field-deployed and remote technical support to public health and safety missions, countering weapons of mass destruction operations, technical and operational nuclear forensics, and responses to United States nuclear weapon accidents.
(8) Integrated safety management.
(9) Environment, safety, and health operations.
(10) Administration of contracts, including the management and operations of the nuclear weapons production facilities and the national security laboratories.
(11) Intelligence.
(12) Counterintelligence.
(13) Personnel, including the selection, appointment, distribution, supervision, establishing of compensation, and separation of personnel in accordance with subchapter III of this chapter.
(14) Procurement of services of experts and consultants in accordance with section 3109 of title 5.
(15) Legal matters.
(16) Legislative affairs.
(17) Public affairs.
(18) Eliminating inventories of surplus fissile materials usable for nuclear weapons.
(19) Liaison with other elements of the Department of Energy and with other Federal agencies, State, tribal, and local governments, and the public.
(20) Information resources management, including cybersecurity.
(c) Procurement authority
The Administrator is the senior procurement executive for the Administration for the purposes of section 1702(c) of title 41.
(d) Policy authority
The Administrator may establish Administration-specific policies, unless disapproved by the Secretary of Energy.
(e) Membership on Nuclear Weapons Council
The Administrator serves as a member of the Nuclear Weapons Council under section 179 of title 10.
(f) Reorganization authority
Except as provided by subsections (b) and (c) of section 2481 of this title:
(1) The Administrator may establish, abolish, alter, consolidate, or discontinue any organizational unit or component of the Administration, or transfer any function of the Administration.
(2) Such authority does not apply to the abolition of organizational units or components established by law or the transfer of functions vested by law in any organizational unit or component.
(Pub. L. 106–65, div. C, title XXXII, § 3212, Oct. 5, 1999, 113 Stat. 957; Pub. L. 106–398, § 1 [div. C, title XXXI, §§ 3152(b), 3159(a)], Oct. 30, 2000, 114 Stat. 1654, 1654A–464, 1654A–469; Pub. L. 107–107, div. A, title X, § 1048(i)(12), Dec. 28, 2001, 115 Stat. 1230; Pub. L. 108–375, div. A, title IX, § 902(e), Oct. 28, 2004, 118 Stat. 2025; Pub. L. 110–417, div. C, title XXXI, § 3111, Oct. 14, 2008, 122 Stat. 4753; Pub. L. 112–239, div. C, title XXXI, § 3132(d)(1), Jan. 2, 2013, 126 Stat. 2187; Pub. L. 113–66, div. C, title XXXI, § 3145(a), Dec. 26, 2013, 127 Stat. 1071; Pub. L. 118–31, div. C, title XXXI, §§ 3111(1), 3112(b), Dec. 22, 2023, 137 Stat. 788.)
heading: Editorial Notes
heading: Amendments
text: 2023—Subsec. (b)(7). Pub. L. 118–31, § 3112(b), inserted “and Nuclear Emergency Support Team capabilities, including all field-deployed and remote technical support to public health and safety missions, countering weapons of mass destruction operations, technical and operational nuclear forensics, and responses to United States nuclear weapon accidents” after “management”.
Subsec. (b)(20). Pub. L. 118–31, § 3111(1), added par. (20).
2013—Subsec. (a)(2). Pub. L. 112–239 made technical amendment to reference in original act which appears in text as reference to section 7132 of title 42.
Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 113–66 substituted “section 1702(c) of title 41” for “section 414(3) of title 41”.
2008—Subsec. (b)(18), (19). Pub. L. 110–417 added par. (18) and redesignated former par. (18) as (19).
2004—Subsec. (e). Pub. L. 108–375 struck out “Joint” before “Nuclear” in heading and text.
2001—Subsecs. (e), (f). Pub. L. 107–107 redesignated subsec. (e), relating to reorganization authority, as (f).
2000—Subsec. (e). Pub. L. 106–398, § 1 [div. C, title XXXI, § 3159(a)], added subsec. (e) relating to reorganization authority.
Pub. L. 106–398, § 1 [div. C, title XXXI, § 3152(b)], added subsec. (e) relating to membership on Joint Nuclear Weapons Council.
heading: Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries
heading: Effective Date
text: Section effective Mar. 1, 2000, see section 3299 of Pub. L. 106–65, set out as a note under section 2401 of this title.
heading: Infrastructure Modernization Initiative
text: Pub. L. 115–91, div. C, title XXXI, § 3111(b), Dec. 12, 2017, 131 Stat. 1881, as amended by Pub. L. 117–81, div. C, title XXXI, § 3116, Dec. 27, 2021, 135 Stat. 2227; Pub. L. 119–60, div. C, title XXXI, § 3111(c)(2)(C), Dec. 18, 2025, 139 Stat. 1460, provided that:
“(1) Establishment.—
Not later than 30 days after the date of the enactment of this Act [Dec. 12, 2017], the Administrator for Nuclear Security shall establish and carry out a program, to be known as the ‘Infrastructure Modernization Initiative’, to reduce the backlog of deferred maintenance and repair needs of the nuclear security enterprise (as defined in section 6101 of title 10, United States Code). In carrying out that program, the Administrator shall establish and execute infrastructure modernization milestones that reduce the total deferred maintenance per replacement plant value of the nuclear security enterprise by not less than 45 percent by 2030.
“(2) Authorities.—
“(A) Process.—
“(i) In general.—
The Secretary of Energy shall provide to the Administrator a process that will enhance or streamline the ability of the Administrator to carry out the program under paragraph (1) in an efficient and effective manner, including with respect to—
“(I) the demolition or construction of non-nuclear facilities of the Administration that have a total estimated project cost of less than $100,000,000; and
“(II) the decontamination, decommissioning, and demolition (to be performed in accordance with applicable health and safety standards used by the Defense Environmental Cleanup Program) of process-contaminated facilities of the Administration that have a total estimated project cost of less than $75,000,000.
“(ii) Funding.—
Clause (i) may be carried out using amounts authorized to be appropriated for fiscal year 2018 or any subsequent fiscal year.
“(B) Application of certain requirements.—
For purposes of the Management Procedures Memorandum 2015–01 of the Office of Management and Budget, or a successor memorandum, in carrying out the program under paragraph (1), the Administrator may—
“(i) perform new construction during a fiscal year that differs from the fiscal year of corresponding facility demolition;
“(ii) perform demolition of different facility category codes and have that demolition credit count towards the construction of new facilities with a different facility category code; and
“(iii) have the net reduction in infrastructure footprint for the five fiscal years prior to the date of the enactment of this Act [Dec. 12, 2017], and the demolition during the five fiscal years following such date of enactment, considered as a factor for the purpose of meeting the intent of such memorandum.
“(3) Plan required.—
Not later than March 1, 2022, the Administrator shall submit to the congressional defense committees [Committees on Armed Services and Appropriations of the Senate and the House of Representatives] a plan to carry out the program under paragraph (1) to achieve the goal specified in such paragraph. Such plan shall include—
“(A) the funding required to carry out the program during the period covered by the future-years nuclear security program under section 3253 of the National Nuclear Security Administration Act (50 U.S.C. 2453);
“(B) the criteria for selecting and prioritizing projects within the program under paragraph (1);
“(C) mechanisms for ensuring the robust management and oversight of such projects;
“(D) a description of the process provided to the Administrator to carry out the program pursuant to paragraph (2)(A); and
“(E) a description of any legislative actions the Administrator recommends to further enhance or streamline authorities or processes relating to the program.
“(4) Reassessment.—
Not later than February 1, 2023, the Administrator shall reassess the program under paragraph (1) and, as appropriate, develop and establish goals for the program beyond 2030.
“(5) Annual reports.—
Not later than March 1, 2023, and annually thereafter through 2030, the Administrator for Nuclear Security shall submit to the congressional defense committees a report with respect to whether the updated plan under paragraph (3) is being implemented in a manner adequate to achieve the goal specified in paragraph (1).”
heading: Technology Infrastructure Pilot Program
text: Pub. L. 106–398, § 1 [div. C, title XXXI, § 3161], Oct. 30, 2000, 114 Stat. 1654, 1654A–470, provided that:
“(a) Establishment.—
The Administrator for Nuclear Security shall establish a Technology Infrastructure Pilot Program in accordance with this section.
“(b) Purpose.—
The purpose of the program shall be to explore new methods of collaboration and improvements in the management and effectiveness of collaborative programs carried out by the national security laboratories and nuclear weapons production facilities in partnership with private industry and institutions of higher education and to improve the ability of those laboratories and facilities to support missions of the Administration.
“(c) Funding.—
(1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), funding shall be available for the pilot program only to the extent of specific authorizations and appropriations enacted after the date of the enactment of this Act [Oct. 30, 2000].
“(2) From amounts available in fiscal years 2001 and 2002 for technology partnership programs of the Administration, the Administrator may allocate to carry out the pilot program not more than $5,000,000.
“(d) Project Requirements.—
A project may not be approved for the pilot program unless the project meets the following requirements:
“(1) The participants in the project include—
“(A) a national security laboratory or nuclear weapons production facility; and
“(B) one or more of the following:
“(i) A business.
“(ii) An institution of higher education.
“(iii) A nonprofit institution.
“(iv) An agency of a State, local, or tribal government.
“(2)
(A) Not less than 50 percent of the costs of the project are to be provided by non-Federal sources.
“(B)
(i) The calculation of the amount of the costs of the project provided by non-Federal sources shall include cash, personnel, services, equipment, and other resources expended on the project.
“(ii) No funds or other resources expended before the start of the project or outside the project’s scope of work may be credited toward the costs provided by non-Federal sources to the project.
“(3) The project (other than in the case of a project under which the participating laboratory or facility receives funding under this section) shall be competitively selected by that laboratory or facility using procedures determined to be appropriate by the Administrator.
“(4) No Federal funds shall be made available under this section for—
“(A) construction; or
“(B) any project for more than five years.
“(e) Selection Criteria.—
(1) The projects selected for the pilot program shall—
“(A) stimulate the development of technology expertise and capabilities in private industry and institutions of higher education that can support the nuclear weapons and nuclear nonproliferation missions of the national security laboratories and nuclear weapons production facilities on a continuing basis;
“(B) improve the ability of those laboratories and facilities [to] benefit from commercial research, technology, products, processes, and services that can support the nuclear weapons and nuclear nonproliferation missions of those laboratories and facilities on a continuing basis; and
“(C) encourage the exchange of scientific and technological expertise between those laboratories and facilities and—
“(i) institutions of higher education;
“(ii) technology-related business concerns;
“(iii) nonprofit institutions; and
“(iv) agencies of State, tribal, or local governments;
that can support the missions of those laboratories and facilities.
“(2) The Administrator may authorize the provision of Federal funds for a project under this section only if the director of the laboratory or facility managing the project determines that the project is likely to improve the ability of that laboratory or facility to achieve technical success in meeting nuclear weapons and nuclear nonproliferation missions of the Administration.
“(3) The Administrator shall require the director of the laboratory or facility to consider the following criteria in selecting a project to receive Federal funds:
“(A) The potential of the project to succeed, based on its technical merit, team members, management approach, resources, and project plan.
“(B) The potential of the project to promote the development of a commercially sustainable technology, determined by considering whether the project will derive sufficient demand for its products or services from the private sector to support the nuclear weapons and nuclear nonproliferation missions of the participating laboratory or facility on a continuing basis.
“(C) The potential of the project to promote the use of commercial research, technology, products, processes, and services by the participating laboratory or facility to achieve its nuclear weapons and nuclear nonproliferation missions.
“(D) The commitment shown by non-Federal organizations to the project, based primarily on the nature and amount of the financial and other resources they will risk on the project.
“(E) The extent to which the project involves a wide variety and number of institutions of higher education, nonprofit institutions, and technology-related business concerns that can support the nuclear weapons and nuclear nonproliferation missions of the participating laboratory or facility on a continuing basis and that will make substantive contributions to achieving the goals of the project.
“(F) The extent of participation in the project by agencies of State, tribal, or local governments that will make substantive contributions to achieving the goals of the project.
“(G) The extent to which the project focuses on promoting the development of technology-related business concerns that are small business concerns or involves small business concerns substantively in the project.
“(f) Implementation Plan.—
No funds may be allocated for the pilot program until 30 days after the date on which the Administrator submits to the congressional defense committees [Committees on Armed Services and Appropriations of the Senate and the House of Representatives] a plan for the implementation of the pilot program. The plan shall, at a minimum—
“(1) identify the national security laboratories and nuclear weapons production facilities that have been designated by the Administrator to participate in the pilot program; and
“(2) with respect to each laboratory or facility identified under paragraph (1)—
“(A) identify the businesses, institutions of higher education, nonprofit institutions, and agencies of State, local, or tribal government that are expected to participate in the pilot program at that laboratory or facility;
“(B) identify the technology areas to be addressed by the pilot program at that laboratory or facility and the manner in which the pilot program will support high-priority missions of that laboratory or facility on a continuing basis; and
“(C) describe the management controls that have been put into place to ensure that the pilot program as conducted at that laboratory or facility is conducted in a cost-effective manner consistent with the objectives of the pilot program.
“(g) Report on Implementation.—
(1) Not later than February 1, 2002, the Administrator shall submit to the congressional defense committees a report on the implementation and management of the pilot program. The report shall take into consideration the results of the pilot program to date and the views of the directors of the participating laboratories and facilities. The report shall include any recommendations the Administrator may have concerning the future of the pilot program.
“(2) Not later than 30 days after the date on which the Administrator submits the report required by paragraph (1), the Comptroller General shall submit to the congressional defense committees a report containing the Comptroller General’s assessment of that report.”
[For definitions of “national security laboratory” and “nuclear weapons production facility” as used in section 1 [div. C, title XXXI, § 3161] of Pub. L. 106–398, set out above, see section 1 [div. C, title XXXI, § 3165] of Pub. L. 106–398, set out as a note under section 2401 of this title.]