Efforts by Republicans on the House Armed Services Committee to reform the National Nuclear Security Administration came under fire from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle at a House Energy and Commerce Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee hearing yesterday. Stoked by the July 28 security breach at the Y-12 National Security Complex, lawmakers said the incident reinforces the need for strong oversight across the weapons complex. In an effort to increase efficiency and productivity at the agency, House Armed Services Committee Republicans succeeded in inserting language into the Fiscal Year 2013 Defense Authorization Act that would eliminate oversight of the NNSA by DOE’s Office of Health, Safety and Security, move the agency toward performance-based oversight, and reduce the number of federal officials overseeing the weapons complex. “This effort to weaken oversight of nuclear facilities makes absolutely no sense,” said Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.), the top Democrat on the full House Energy and Commerce Committee. He added: “We need multiple layers of strong oversight at our nuclear facilities. We can’t simply assume that NNSA and its contractors are making appropriate security and safety decisions.” Rep. Diana DeGette (D-Colo), the ranking member of the House Energy and Commerce Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee, said it was “absolutely necessary” to retain a strong oversight role of the weapons complex. “Strong, independent oversight … forces NNSA to take better care of our nuclear facilities,” she said. “Without good oversight, serious issues won’t be identified and fixed and the results could be disastrous. I can’t think of any reason we would want to decrease the oversight of these facilities.”
Republicans on the panel also criticized the language in the FY2013 Defense Authorization Act, which has also been opposed by the Obama Administration. “These contractors and their federal managers—spending billions of taxpayers dollars on dangerous nuclear projects—require rigorous oversight,” said Rep. Cliff Stearns (R-Fla.), the chairman of the subcommittee. He said that the Y-12 incident was a prime example of why more oversight was necessary. “When government vigilance is not sufficiently rigorous, problems obviously occur,” he said. Mark Gaffigan, the managing director of the Government Accountability Office’s Natural Resources and Environment division, said the problems that the NNSA has had are not a result of burdensome oversight. “In our view, the problems we continue to identify in the nuclear security enterprise are not caused by excessive oversight, but instead result from ineffective oversight,” Gaffigan said. The House Armed Services Strategic Forces Subcommittee, which was the main champion of NNSA reform language, is holding its own hearing on the Y-12 security breach at 2 p.m. today.