50 U.S.C. § 2401 — Establishment and mission

Page 395 TITLE 50—WAR AND NATIONAL DEFENSE § 2401 Sec. 2441a. Authorized personnel levels of the Office of the Administrator. 2442. Repealed. 2443. Notification of employee practices affecting national security. 2444. Nonproliferation and national security schol- arship and fellowship program. 2445. Limitation on bonuses for employees who en- gage in improper program management. 2446. Treatment of contractors who engage in im- proper program management. SUBCHAPTER IV—BUDGET AND FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT 2451. Separate treatment in budget. 2452. Planning, programming, and budgeting proc- ess. 2453. Future-years nuclear security program. 2454. Semiannual financial reports on defense nu- clear nonproliferation programs. 2455. Repealed. 2455a. National Nuclear Security Administration authority for urgent nonproliferation ac- tivities. SUBCHAPTER V—MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS 2461. Environmental protection, safety, and health requirements. 2462. Compliance with Federal Acquisition Regula- tion. 2463. Sharing of technology with Department of Defense. 2464. Use of capabilities of national security lab- oratories by entities outside the Adminis- tration. 2465. Enhancing private-sector employment through cooperative research and develop- ment activities. 2466. Use of funds for the purchase of options to purchase real property. SUBCHAPTER VI—DEFINITIONS 2471. Definitions. SUBCHAPTER VII—TRANSITION PROVISIONS 2481. Functions transferred. 2482, 2483. Repealed. 2484. Applicability of preexisting laws and regula- tions. SUBCHAPTER I—ESTABLISHMENT AND ORGANIZATION § 2401. Establishment and mission (a) Establishment There is established within the Department of Energy a separately organized agency to be known as the National Nuclear Security Admin- istration (in this chapter referred to as the ‘‘Ad- ministration’’). (b) Mission The mission of the Administration shall be the following: (1) To enhance United States national secu- rity through the military application of nu- clear energy. (2) To support the deterrence of strategic at- tacks against the United States by maintain- ing and enhancing the performance, reli- ability, security, and safety of the United States nuclear weapons stockpile, including the ability to design, produce, and test nuclear weapons as necessary in order to meet na- tional security requirements. (3) To provide the United States Navy with safe, militarily effective nuclear propulsion plants and to ensure the safe and reliable oper- ation of those plants. (4) To promote international nuclear safety and nonproliferation. (5) To reduce global danger from weapons of mass destruction. (6) To support United States leadership in science and technology. (c) Operations and activities to be carried out consistently with certain principles In carrying out the mission of the Administra- tion, the Administrator shall ensure that all op- erations and activities of the Administration are consistent with the principles of— (1) fulfilling, to the maximum extent pos- sible, the requirements for nuclear weapons of the Department of Defense; (2) protecting the environment; (3) safeguarding the safety and health of the public and of the workforce of the Administra- tion; and (4) ensuring the security of the nuclear weapons, nuclear material, and classified in- formation in the custody of the Administra- tion. (Pub. L. 106–65, div. C, title XXXII, § 3211, Oct. 5, 1999, 113 Stat. 957; Pub. L. 113–66, div. C, title XXXI, § 3111, Dec. 26, 2013, 127 Stat. 1049; Pub. L. 118–159, div. C, title XXXI, § 3111(a)(1), Dec. 23, 2024, 138 Stat. 2293.) Editorial Notes REFERENCES IN TEXT This chapter, referred to in subsec. (a), was in the original ‘‘this title’’, meaning title XXXII of div. C of Pub. L. 106–65, Oct. 5, 1999, 113 Stat. 953, which is classi- fied principally to this chapter. For complete classi- fication of title XXXII to the Code, see Short Title note set out below and Tables. AMENDMENTS 2024—Subsec. (b)(2). Pub. L. 118–159, § 3111(a)(1)(A), added par. (2) and struck out former par. (2) which read as follows: ‘‘To maintain and enhance the safety, reli- ability, and performance of the United States nuclear weapons stockpile, including the ability to design, produce, and test, in order to meet national security requirements.’’ Subsec. (c)(1) to (4). Pub. L. 118–159, § 3111(a)(1)(B), added par. (1) and redesignated former pars. (1) to (3) as (2) to (4), respectively. 2013—Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 113–66 amended subsec. (c) generally. Prior to amendment, text read as follows: ‘‘In carrying out the mission of the Administration, the Administrator shall ensure that all operations and ac- tivities of the Administration are consistent with the principles of protecting the environment and safe- guarding the safety and health of the public and of the workforce of the Administration.’’ Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries EFFECTIVE DATE Pub. L. 106–65, div. C, title XXXII, § 3299, Oct. 5, 1999, 113 Stat. 971, provided that: ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in subsection (b), the provisions of this title [see Short Title note below] shall take effect on March 1, 2000. ‘‘(b) EXCEPTIONS.—(1) Sections 3202, 3204, 3251, 3295, and 3297 [enacting section 2451 and former section 2483 of this title and sections 7144a to 7144c of Title 42, The Public Health and Welfare, amending section 7132 of Title 42, and enacting provisions set out as a note Page 396 TITLE 50—WAR AND NATIONAL DEFENSE § 2401 below] shall take effect on the date of the enactment of this Act [Oct. 5, 1999]. ‘‘(2) Sections 3234 and 3235 [enacting sections 2424 and 2425 of this title] shall take effect on the date of the en- actment of this Act. During the period beginning on the date of the enactment of this Act and ending on the effective date of this title, the Secretary of Energy shall carry out those sections and any reference in those sections to the Administrator and the Adminis- tration shall be treated as references to the Secretary and the Department of Energy, respectively.’’ SHORT TITLE Pub. L. 106–65, div. C, title XXXII, § 3201, Oct. 5, 1999, 113 Stat. 953, provided that: ‘‘This title [enacting this chapter and sections 7144 to 7144c of Title 42, The Pub- lic Health and Welfare, amending sections 5314, 5315, 5595, and 8905a of Title 5, Government Organization and Employees, and sections 7132, 7133, and 7158 of Title 42, repealing sections 2122a, 7143, and 7271b of Title 42, en- acting provisions set out as notes under this section, and amending provisions set out as a note under sec- tion 435 of this title] may be cited as the ‘National Nu- clear Security Administration Act’.’’ PREPARATION OF INFRASTRUCTURE PLAN FOR THE NUCLEAR WEAPONS COMPLEX Pub. L. 107–107, div. B, title XXX, § 3008, Dec. 28, 2001, 115 Stat. 1352, provided that: ‘‘(a) INFRASTRUCTURE PLAN FOR NUCLEAR WEAPONS COMPLEX.— ‘‘(1) PREPARATION AND SUBMISSION.—Not later than the date on which the budget for the Department of Energy for fiscal year 2004 is submitted to Congress, the Secretary of Energy shall submit to Congress an infrastructure plan for the nuclear weapons complex adequate to support the nuclear weapons stockpile, the naval reactors program, and nonproliferation and national security activities. ‘‘(2) SPECIAL CONSIDERATIONS.—In preparing the in- frastructure plan, the Secretary shall take into con- sideration the following: ‘‘(A) The Department of Defense Nuclear Posture Review required pursuant to section 1041 of the Floyd D. Spence National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2001 (as enacted into law by Public Law 106–398; 114 Stat. 1654A–262 [former 10 U.S.C. 118 note]). ‘‘(B) Any efficiencies and security benefits of con- solidation of facilities of the nuclear weapons com- plex. ‘‘(C) The necessity to have a residual production capability. ‘‘(b) RECOMMENDATIONS REGARDING REALIGNMENTS AND CLOSURES.—On the basis of the infrastructure plan prepared under subsection (a), the Secretary shall make such recommendations regarding the need to close or realign facilities of the nuclear weapons com- plex as the Secretary considers appropriate, including the Secretary’s recommendations on whether to estab- lish a process by which a round of closures and realign- ments would be carried out and any additional legisla- tive authority necessary to implement the rec- ommendations. The Secretary shall submit the rec- ommendations as part of the infrastructure plan under subsection (a). ‘‘(c) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: ‘‘(1) The terms ‘Secretary’ and ‘Secretary of En- ergy’ mean the Secretary of Energy, acting after con- sideration of the recommendations of the Adminis- trator for Nuclear Security. ‘‘(2) The term ‘nuclear weapons complex’ means the national security laboratories and nuclear weapons production facilities (as such terms are defined in section 3281 of the National Nuclear Security Admin- istration Act (50 U.S.C. 2471)) and the facilities of the Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program provided for under the Naval Nuclear Propulsion Executive Order (as such term is defined in section 3216 of such Act (50 U.S.C. 2406)).’’ STUDY AND REPORT RELATED TO IMPROVING MISSION EFFECTIVENESS, PARTNERSHIPS, AND TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER AT NATIONAL SECURITY LABORATORIES AND NUCLEAR WEAPONS PRODUCTION FACILITIES Pub. L. 106–398, § 1 [div. C, title XXXI, § 3163], Oct. 30, 2000, 114 Stat. 1654, 1654A–473, provided that: ‘‘(a) STUDY AND REPORT REQUIRED.—The Secretary of Energy shall direct the Secretary of Energy Advisory Board to study and to submit to the Secretary not later than one year after the date of the enactment of this Act [Oct. 30, 2000] a report regarding the following top- ics: ‘‘(1) The advantages and disadvantages of providing the Administrator for Nuclear Security with author- ity, notwithstanding the limitations otherwise im- posed by the Federal Acquisition Regulation, to enter into transactions with public agencies, private orga- nizations, or individuals on terms the Administrator considers appropriate to the furtherance of basic, ap- plied, and advanced research functions. The Advisory Board shall consider, in its assessment of this author- ity, the management history of the Department of Energy and the effect of this authority on the Na- tional Nuclear Security Administration’s use of con- tractors to operate the national security labora- tories. ‘‘(2) The advantages and disadvantages of estab- lishing and implementing policies and procedures to facilitate the transfer of scientific, technical, and professional personnel among national security lab- oratories and nuclear weapons production facilities. ‘‘(3) The advantages and disadvantages of making changes in— ‘‘(A) the indemnification requirements for pat- ents or other intellectual property licensed from a national security laboratory or nuclear weapons production facility; ‘‘(B) the royalty and fee schedules and types of compensation that may be used for patents or other intellectual property licensed to a small business concern from a national security laboratory or nu- clear weapons production facility; ‘‘(C) the licensing procedures and requirements for patents and other intellectual property; ‘‘(D) the rights given to a small business concern that has licensed a patent or other intellectual property from a national security laboratory or nu- clear weapons production facility to bring suit against third parties infringing such intellectual property; ‘‘(E) the advance funding requirements for a small business concern funding a project at a na- tional security laboratory or nuclear weapons pro- duction facility through a funds-in agreement; ‘‘(F) the intellectual property rights allocated to a business when it is funding a project at a national security laboratory or nuclear weapons production facility through a funds-in agreement; and ‘‘(G) policies on royalty payments to inventors employed by a contractor operating a national se- curity laboratory or nuclear weapons production fa- cility, including those for inventions made under a funds-in agreement. ‘‘(b) DEFINITION OF FUNDS-IN AGREEMENT.—For the purposes of this section, the term ‘funds-in agreement’ means a contract between the Department and a non- Federal organization under which that organization pays the Department to provide a service or material not otherwise available in the domestic private sector. ‘‘(c) SUBMISSION TO CONGRESS.—Not later than one month after receiving the report under subsection (a), the Secretary shall submit to Congress that report, along with the Secretary’s recommendations for action and proposals for legislation to implement the rec- ommendations.’’ DEFINITIONS FOR PURPOSES OF PUB. L. 106–398 Pub. L. 106–398, § 1 [div. C, title XXXI, § 3165], Oct. 30, 2000, 114 Stat. 1654, 1654A–475, provided that: ‘‘For pur- Page 397 TITLE 50—WAR AND NATIONAL DEFENSE § 2402 poses of this subtitle [subtitle E (§§ 3161–3165) of title XXXI of div. C of H.R. 5408, as enacted by section 1 of Pub. L. 106–398, enacting provisions set out as notes under this section and section 2402 of this title], the terms ‘national security laboratory’ and ‘nuclear weap- ons production facility’ have the meanings given such terms in section 3281 of the National Nuclear Security Administration Act (title XXXII of Public Law 106–65; 113 Stat. 968; 50 U.S.C. 2471).’’ REPORT CONTAINING IMPLEMENTATION PLAN OF SECRETARY OF ENERGY Pub. L. 106–65, div. C, title XXXII, § 3297, Oct. 5, 1999, 113 Stat. 971, which provided that not later than Janu- ary 1, 2000, the Secretary of Energy was to submit to the Armed Services committees a report containing the Secretary’s plan for the implementation of the provi- sions of this title, was repealed by Pub. L. 112–239, div. C, title XXXI, § 3132(c)(1)(D), Jan. 2, 2013, 126 Stat. 2187. CLASSIFICATION IN UNITED STATES CODE Pub. L. 106–65, div. C, title XXXII, § 3298, Oct. 5, 1999, 113 Stat. 971, provided that: ‘‘Subtitles A through F of this title [§§ 3211–3281, enacting this chapter and amend- ing sections 5595 and 8905a of Title 5, Government Orga- nization and Employees] (other than provisions of those subtitles amending existing provisions of law) shall be classified to the United States Code as a new chapter of title 50, United States Code.’’ § 2402. Administrator for Nuclear Security (a) In general (1) There is at the head of the Administration an Administrator for Nuclear Security (in this chapter referred to as the ‘‘Administrator’’). (2) Pursuant to subsection (c) of section 7132 of title 42, the Under Secretary for Nuclear Secu- rity of the Department of Energy serves as the Administrator. (b) Functions The Administrator has authority over, and is responsible for, all programs and activities of the Administration (except for the functions of the Deputy Administrator for Naval Reactors specified in the Executive order referred to in section 2406(b) of this title), including the fol- lowing: (1) Strategic management. (2) Policy development and guidance. (3) Budget formulation, guidance, and execu- tion, and other financial matters. (4) Resource requirements determination and allocation. (5) Program management and direction. (6) Safeguards and security. (7) Emergency management and Nuclear Emergency Support Team capabilities, includ- ing all field-deployed and remote technical support to public health and safety missions, countering weapons of mass destruction oper- ations, technical and operational nuclear forensics, and responses to United States nu- clear weapon accidents. (8) Integrated safety management. (9) Environment, safety, and health oper- ations. (10) Administration of contracts, including the management and operations of the nuclear weapons production facilities and the national security laboratories. (11) Intelligence. (12) Counterintelligence. (13) Personnel, including the selection, ap- pointment, distribution, supervision, estab- lishing of compensation, and separation of per- sonnel in accordance with subchapter III of this chapter. (14) Procurement of services of experts and consultants in accordance with section 3109 of title 5. (15) Legal matters. (16) Legislative affairs. (17) Public affairs. (18) Eliminating inventories of surplus fissile materials usable for nuclear weapons. (19) Liaison with other elements of the De- partment of Energy and with other Federal agencies, State, tribal, and local governments, and the public. (20) Information resources management, in- cluding cybersecurity. (c) Procurement authority The Administrator is the senior procurement executive for the Administration for the pur- poses of section 1702(c) of title 41. (d) Policy authority The Administrator may establish Administra- tion-specific policies, unless disapproved by the Secretary of Energy. (e) Membership on Nuclear Weapons Council The Administrator serves as a member of the Nuclear Weapons Council under section 179 of title 10. (f) Reorganization authority Except as provided by subsections (b) and (c) of section 2481 of this title: (1) The Administrator may establish, abol- ish, alter, consolidate, or discontinue any or- ganizational unit or component of the Admin- istration, or transfer any function of the Ad- ministration. (2) Such authority does not apply to the abo- lition of organizational units or components established by law or the transfer of functions vested by law in any organizational unit or component. (Pub. L. 106–65, div. C, title XXXII, § 3212, Oct. 5, 1999, 113 Stat. 957; Pub. L. 106–398, § 1 [div. C, title XXXI, §§ 3152(b), 3159(a)], Oct. 30, 2000, 114 Stat. 1654, 1654A–464, 1654A–469; Pub. L. 107–107, div. A, title X, § 1048(i)(12), Dec. 28, 2001, 115 Stat. 1230; Pub. L. 108–375, div. A, title IX, § 902(e), Oct. 28, 2004, 118 Stat. 2025; Pub. L. 110–417, div. C, title XXXI, § 3111, Oct. 14, 2008, 122 Stat. 4753; Pub. L. 112–239, div. C, title XXXI, § 3132(d)(1), Jan. 2, 2013, 126 Stat. 2187; Pub. L. 113–66, div. C, title XXXI, § 3145(a), Dec. 26, 2013, 127 Stat. 1071; Pub. L. 118–31, div. C, title XXXI, §§ 3111(1), 3112(b), Dec. 22, 2023, 137 Stat. 788.) Editorial Notes AMENDMENTS 2023—Subsec. (b)(7). Pub. L. 118–31, § 3112(b), inserted ‘‘and Nuclear Emergency Support Team capabilities, including all field-deployed and remote technical sup- port to public health and safety missions, countering weapons of mass destruction operations, technical and operational nuclear forensics, and responses to United States nuclear weapon accidents’’ after ‘‘manage- ment’’.