Department of Energy: NNSA Restructuring and Progress in Implementing Title 32

The National Nuclear Security Administration NNSA is a semiautonomous agency within the Department of Energy DOE with responsibility for the nations nuclear weapons, nonproliferation, and naval reactors programs. NNSA was created to correct long-standing and widely recognized management and security problems at DOE. Although NNSA has made progress genuine change has been difficult to achieve. Although NNSA announced a new headquarters organization in May 2001, it did not meet the Administrators promise of implementing a new structure for the entire organization by October 2001. Further, NNSA lost momentum over the summer in its effort to implement the comprehensive planning, programming, and budgeting process envisioned. Although it has established a conceptual planning, programming, and budgeting process, NNSA still must implement its new process during the fiscal year 2004 budget cycle. NNSA has used only 19 of the 300 excepted service positions authorized by Title 32 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2000. NNSA expects to report to Congress on its plans for using its excepted service authority next month. However, NNSA does not have a long-term strategic approach to ensure a well-managed, properly sized and skilled workforce over the long run.