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November 18, 2015

Subcommittee on Energy Discusses Recommendations to Improve the Effectiveness of the DOE National Laboratories

(Washington, DC) -Today, the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology's Subcommittee on Energy met to examine a recent report by the Commission to Review the Effectiveness of the National Energy Laboratories (CRENEL) entitled, “Securing America’s Future: Realizing the Potential of the Department of Energy’s National Laboratories.” The report reviewed a number of issues including the value of national energy laboratories within the U.S. research and development enterprise and how effectively DOE manages the lab system. Testifying before the committee was Mr. TJ Glauthier and Dr. Jared Cohon, co-chairs on CRENEL and Dr. Peter B. Littlewood, Director of Argonne National Laboratory.

Ranking Member Alan Grayson (D- FL) of the Subcommittee on Energy said, “The United States has an incredible innovation asset – our national labs. In order to take full advantage of them, we must provide the national labs with the necessary resources not only to maintain and grow a vast array of facilities and equipment, but also to fund the exploratory research that produces results we may have never expected.”

The Members and witnesses discussed how to best implement the recommendations found in the report and spoke in depth on how to improve DOE’s relationship with the labs while providing them with greater independence to achieve the Department’s goals. Subcommittee Members also discussed how to create lasting change that will end the pattern of continuous assessments and incomplete implementation of report recommendations.

In their joint testimony Mr. Glauthier and Dr. Cohon said, “Our overall finding is that the national laboratory system is a unique resource that brings great value to the country in the four mission areas of the Department of Energy: nuclear security, basic science R&D, energy technology R&D, and environmental management.”

Ranking Member Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX) said in her statement for the record, “I encourage the Department of Energy to seriously consider the recommendations in this report that aim to create the right balance between appropriate oversight of the labs and entrusting them with more independence to pursue innovative and cost-effective solutions to addressing DOE’s mission needs.”