SASC’s FY’16 Defense Bill Seeks to Curtail ‘Improper’ NNSA Program Mgmt.

Tthe Senate Armed Services Committee’s version of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2016 would limit bonuses for National Nuclear Security Administration employees who engage in "improper" program management. “If the Secretary of Energy or the Administrator determines that a senior employee of the Administration committed improper program management, the Secretary and the Administrator may not pay a bonus to that employee during the one-year period beginning on the date of the determination,” the bill’s text states. The bill seeks prevention of actions that significantly delay, downscale or increase the costs of projects.

 

Another part of the bill would require the Energy Department to arrange a third party, or “owner’s agent,” to help oversee the Hanford Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant contract between DOE’s Office of River Protection and Bechtel National. The third party would work alongside the Energy Secretary, and would perform design, construction, nuclear safety and operability oversight of each facility covered under the contract. By one year after the date of enactment of the FY 2016 NDAA, the entity would also be required to ensure that the contractor promptly acts to resolve any unreviewed safety questions, and that preliminary documented safety analyses for all contract-covered facilities meet the requirements of all “applicable [DOE] regulations and guidance” the bill’s language states.