DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY ORGANIZATION ACT MONDAY, MARCH 28, 1977 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, LEGISLATION AND NATIONAL SECURITY SUBCOMMITTEE OF THE COMMITTEE ON GOVERNMENT OPERATIONS, Washington, D.C. The subcommittee met, pursuant to notice, at 10:05 a.m., in room 2154, Rayburn House Office Building, Hon. Jack Brooks (chairman of the subcommittee) presiding. Present: Representatives Jack Brooks, John E. Moss, Benjamin S. Rosenthal, William S. Moorhead, Dante B. Fascell, Frank Horton, John N. Erlenborn, and Joel Pritchard. Also present: Elmer W. Henderson, staff director; William M. Jones, general counsel; John E. Moore, staff administrator; Richard L. Thompson, minority staff director; J. P. Carlson, minority counsel; and James L. McInerney, minority professional staff, Committee on Government Operations. OPENING STATEMENT OF CHAIRMAN BROOKS Mr. BROOKS. The committee will come to order. Today we begin our hearings on legislation to create a Department of Energy, recommended to Congress by the President. There is great interest in this matter; and thus far, the legislation has 93 cosponsors in the House. The bill, H.R. 4263, will create a new executive department called the Department of Energy and transfer into the Department the functions now carried out by the Federal Energy Administration, the Energy Research and Development Administration, and the Federal Power Commission, among others. The agencies named will then be abolished. [The bill, H.R. 4263, follows:] (1) 95TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 4263 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MARCH 2, 1977 Mr. BROOKS introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Government Operations A BILL To establish a Department of Energy in the executive branch by the reorganization of energy functions within the Federal Government in order to secure effective management to assure a coordinated national energy policy, and for other purposes. 1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 3 That this Act may be cited as the "Department of Energy 4 Organization Act". 5 6 7 TITLE I-DECLARATION OF PURPOSES SEC. 101. The purposes of this Act are (1) to establish a permanent Department of Energy in the executive branch, 8 (2) to yest in the Secretary of Energy such functions as I 2 1 are vested in or transferred to him by this Act, (3) to 2 achieve, through the Department, effective management of 3 energy functions of the Federal Government, and (4) to 4 provide the mechanism through which a coordinated national 5 energy policy can be formulated and implemented to deal 6 with the short-, mid-, and long-term energy problems of the 7 Nation. 8 TITLE II-ESTABLISHMENT OF DEPARTMENT 9 SEC. 201. There is hereby established at the seat of gov10 ernment an executive department to be known as the Depart11 ment of Energy (hereinafter in this Act referred to as the 12 "Department"). There shall be at the head of the Depart13 ment a Secretary of Energy (hereinafter in this Act referred 14 to as the "Secretary") who shall be appointed by the Presi15 dent by and with the advice and consent of the Senate. The 16 Department shall be administered under the supervision and 17 direction of the Secretary. 18 SEC. 202. There shall be in the Department a Deputy 19 Secretary, two Under Secretaries, eight Assistant Secretaries, 20 and a General Counsel, each of whom shall be appointed by 21 the President by and with the advice and consent of the 22 Senate, and who shall perform such functions as the Secretary 23 shall prescribe from time to time. One of the Assistant Sec24 retaries specified by this section shall be an Assistant Secre25 tary for Conservation, another shall be an Assistant Secre 3 1 tary for Environment and another shall be an Assistant 3 SEC. 203. The Deputy Secretary shall act for, and 4 exercise the functions of, the Secretary during the absence 5 or disability of the Secretary or in the event the office of 6 Secretary becomes vacant. The Secretary shall designate the 7 order in which the Under Secretaries and other officials shall 8 act for and perform the functions of the Secretary during 9 the absence or disability of both the Secretary and Deputy 10 Secretary or in the event of vacancies in both of those 11 offices. 12 SEC. 204. (a) There shall be within the Department an 13 Energy Information Administration to be headed by an 14 Administrator, who shall be appointed by the President by 15 and with the advice and consent of the Senate. 16 (b) The Secretary shall delegate to the Administrator 17 (which delegation may be on a nonexclusive basis as the 18 Secretary may determine) the functions vested in him by law 19 to gather energy information (as defined in section 51 (c) 20 of the Federal Energy Administration Act of 1974), and the 21 Administrator may act in the name of the Secretary for the 22 purpose of obtaining enforcement of the delegated function. SEC. 205. (a) There shall be within the Department an 24 Economic Regulatory Administration to be headed by an 4 1 Administrator, who shall be appointed by the President by 2 and with the advice and consent of the Senate. 3 (b) The Secretary shall utilize the Economic Regula 4 tory Administration to administer 5 .6 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 137 15 16 (1) any function which may be delegated to the Secretary under the Emergency Petroleum Allocation Act of 1973; (2) any function transferred to the Secretary by section 301 of this Act which relates to establishment of rates and charges under the Federal Power Act and the Natural Gas Act (subject to the provisions of section 401 (a)); and (3) such other functions as the Secretary may consider appropriate. TITLE III-TRANSFERS OF FUNCTIONS SEC. 301. Except as otherwise provided in this Act, 17 there are hereby transferred to and vested in the Secretary 18 all of the functions vested by law in the Administrator of 19 the Federal Energy Administration or the Federal Energy 20 Administration, the Administrator of the Energy Research 21 and Development Administration or the Energy Research 22 and Development Administration, and the Federal Power 23 Commission or the Chairman and members of the Commis24 sion and the functions vested by law in the officers and |