42 U.S.C. § 7251 — General authority

Page 7085 TITLE 42—THE PUBLIC HEALTH AND WELFARE § 7251 of the Department of Energy Organization Act which comprises this chapter. § 7238. Temporary appointments for scientific and technical experts in Department of En- ergy research and development programs (a) The Secretary, utilizing authority under other applicable law and the authority of this section, may appoint for a limited term, or on a temporary basis, scientists, engineers, and other technical and professional personnel on leave of absence from academic, industrial, or research institutions to work for the Department. (b) The Department may pay, to the extent au- thorized for certain other Federal employees by section 5723 of title 5, travel expenses for any in- dividual appointed for a limited term or on a temporary basis and transportation expenses of his or her immediate family and his or her household goods and personal effects from that individual’s residence at the time of selection or assignment to his or her duty station. The De- partment may pay such travel expenses to the same extent for such an individual’s return to the former place of residence from his or her duty station, upon separation from the Federal service following an agreed period of service. The Department may also pay a per diem allow- ance at a rate not to exceed the daily amounts prescribed under section 5702 of title 5 to such an individual, in lieu of transportation expenses of the immediate family and household goods and personal effects, for the period of his or her em- ployment with the Department. Notwith- standing any other provision of law, the employ- er’s contribution to any retirement, life insur- ance, or health benefit plan for an individual ap- pointed for a term of one year or less, which could be extended for no more than one addi- tional year, may be made or reimbursed from appropriations available to the Department. (Pub. L. 104–271, title III, § 301, Oct. 9, 1996, 110 Stat. 3307.) Editorial Notes CODIFICATION Section was enacted as part of the Hydrogen Future Act of 1996, and not as part of the Department of En- ergy Organization Act which comprises this chapter. Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries DEFINITIONS Pub. L. 104–271, § 2, Oct. 9, 1996, 110 Stat. 3304, provided that: ‘‘For purposes of titles II and III [enacting this section and provisions set out as a note under section 12403 of this title]— ‘‘(1) the term ‘Department’ means the Department of Energy; and ‘‘(2) the term ‘Secretary’ means the Secretary of Energy.’’ § 7239. Transferred Editorial Notes CODIFICATION Section, Pub. L. 106–65, div. C, title XXXI, § 3164, Oct. 5, 1999, 113 Stat. 946, which related to the whistleblower protection program, was renumbered section 4602 of Pub. L. 107–314, the Bob Stump National Defense Au- thorization Act for Fiscal Year 2003, by Pub. L. 108–136, div. C, title XXXI, § 3141(i)(3)(A)–(C), Nov. 24, 2003, 117 Stat. 1776, and is classified to section 2702 of Title 50, War and National Defense. PART C—GENERAL ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS § 7251. General authority To the extent necessary or appropriate to per- form any function transferred by this chapter, the Secretary or any officer or employee of the Department may exercise, in carrying out the function so transferred, any authority or part thereof available by law, including appropria- tion Acts, to the official or agency from which such function was transferred. (Pub. L. 95–91, title VI, § 641, Aug. 4, 1977, 91 Stat. 598.) Editorial Notes REFERENCES IN TEXT This chapter, referred to in text, was in the original ‘‘this Act’’, meaning Pub. L. 95–91, Aug. 4, 1977, 91 Stat. 565, known as the Department of Energy Organization Act, which is classified principally to this chapter. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Short Title note set out under section 7101 of this title and Tables. Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries IMPROVEMENT AND STREAMLINING OF THE MISSIONS AND OPERATIONS OF THE DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY AND NATIONAL NUCLEAR SECURITY ADMINISTRATION Pub. L. 112–239, div. C, title XXXI, § 3120, Jan. 2, 2013, 126 Stat. 2174, provided that: ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Energy and the Administrator for Nuclear Security shall review and, to the extent practicable, revise the Department of En- ergy Acquisition Regulation and other regulations, rules, directives, orders, and policies that apply to the administration, execution, and oversight of the mis- sions and operations of the Department of Energy and the National Nuclear Security Administration to im- prove and streamline such administration, execution, and oversight. ‘‘(b) IMPROVEMENT AND STREAMLINING.—In carrying out subsection (a), the Secretary and the Adminis- trator shall review and, to the extent practicable, carry out the following actions: ‘‘(1) Streamline business processes and structures to reduce unnecessary, burdensome, or duplicative approvals. ‘‘(2) Delegate approval for work for others agree- ments and cooperative research and development agreements (except those that the Secretary or Ad- ministrator determine are high value or unique) to the lowest appropriate officials and streamline the approval processes. ‘‘(3) Establish processes for ensuring routine or low- risk procurement and subcontracting decisions are made at the discretion of the management and oper- ating contractors while ensuring that the Secretary or Administrator apply appropriate oversight. ‘‘(4) Assess procurement thresholds as of the date of the enactment of this Act [Jan. 2, 2013] and take steps as appropriate to adjust such thresholds. ‘‘(5) Eliminate duplicative or low-value reports and data calls and ensure consistency in management and cost-accounting data. ‘‘(6) Actions to otherwise streamline, clarify, and eliminate redundancy in the regulations, rules, direc- tives, orders, and policies described by subsection (a). ‘‘(c) BRIEFING.— ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act [Jan. 2, 2013], the Page 7086 TITLE 42—THE PUBLIC HEALTH AND WELFARE § 7252 1 See References in Text note below. Secretary and the Administrator shall provide to the appropriate congressional committees a briefing on the review conducted under subsection (a), including the status of such review and any actions taken or planned to be taken to improve and streamline the regulations, rules, directives, orders, and policies de- scribed in such subsection. ‘‘(2) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEES DE- FINED.—In this subsection, the term ‘appropriate con- gressional committees’ means— ‘‘(A) the congressional defense committees [Com- mittees on Armed Services and Appropriations of the Senate and the House of Representatives]; and ‘‘(B) the Committee on Energy and Natural Re- sources of the Senate and the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House of Representatives.’’ DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY SECURITY MANAGEMENT BOARD Pub. L. 105–85, div. C, title XXXI, § 3161, Nov. 18, 1997, 111 Stat. 2048, required the Secretary of Energy to es- tablish the Department of Energy Security Manage- ment Board, and provided for its duties which related to the security functions of the Department, and its membership, appointments, personnel, compensation, expenses, and termination on Oct. 31, 2000, prior to re- peal by Pub. L. 106–65, div. C, title XXXI, § 3142(h)(1), Oct. 5, 1999, 113 Stat. 933. § 7252. Delegation Except as otherwise expressly prohibited by law, and except as otherwise provided in this chapter, the Secretary may delegate any of his functions to such officers and employees of the Department as he may designate, and may au- thorize such successive redelegations of such functions within the Department as he may deem to be necessary or appropriate. (Pub. L. 95–91, title VI, § 642, Aug. 4, 1977, 91 Stat. 599.) Editorial Notes REFERENCES IN TEXT This chapter, referred to in text, was in the original ‘‘this Act’’, meaning Pub. L. 95–91, Aug. 4, 1977, 91 Stat. 565, known as the Department of Energy Organization Act, which is classified principally to this chapter. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Short Title note set out under section 7101 of this title and Tables. Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries REORGANIZATION OF FIELD ACTIVITIES AND MANAGEMENT OF NATIONAL SECURITY FUNCTIONS Pub. L. 104–206, title III, § 302, Sept. 30, 1996, 110 Stat. 2999, provided that: ‘‘None of the funds appropriated by this or any other Act may be used to implement sec- tion 3140 of H.R. 3230 as reported by the Committee of Conference on July 30, 1996 [Pub. L. 104–201, set out below]. The Secretary of Energy shall develop a plan to reorganize the field activities and management of the national security functions of the Department of En- ergy and shall submit such plan to the Congress not later than 120 days after the date of enactment of this Act [Sept. 30, 1996]. The plan will specifically identify all significant functions performed by the Depart- ment’s national security operations and area offices and make recommendations as to where those func- tions should be performed.’’ Pub. L. 104–201, div. C, title XXXI, § 3140, Sept. 23, 1996, 110 Stat. 2833, which was formerly set out as a note under this section, was renumbered section 4102 of Pub. L. 107–314, the Bob Stump National Defense Au- thorization Act for Fiscal Year 2003, by Pub. L. 108–136, div. C, title XXXI, § 3141(d)(3)(A)–(C), Nov. 24, 2003, 117 Stat. 1757, and is classified to section 2512 of Title 50, War and National Defense. § 7253. Reorganization (a) Subject to subsection (b), the Secretary is authorized to establish, alter, consolidate or dis- continue such organizational units or compo- nents within the Department as he may deem to be necessary or appropriate. Such authority shall not extend to the abolition of organiza- tional units or components established by this chapter, or to the transfer of functions vested by this chapter in any organizational unit or com- ponent. (b) The authority of the Secretary to estab- lish, abolish, alter, consolidate, or discontinue any organizational unit or component of the Na- tional Nuclear Security Administration is gov- erned by the provisions of section 2409 of title 50. (c) The authority of the Secretary under sub- section (a) does not apply to the National Nu- clear Security Administration. The cor- responding authority that applies to the Admin- istration is set forth in section 2402(e) 1 of title 50. (Pub. L. 95–91, title VI, § 643, Aug. 4, 1977, 91 Stat. 599; Pub. L. 106–377, § 1(a)(2) [title III, § 314(b)], Oct. 27, 2000, 114 Stat. 1441, 1441A–81; Pub. L. 106–398, § 1 [div. C, title XXXI, § 3159(b)], Oct. 30, 2000, 114 Stat. 1654, 1654A–470; Pub. L. 112–239, div. C, title XXXI, § 3132(e), Jan. 2, 2013, 126 Stat. 2187.) Editorial Notes REFERENCES IN TEXT This chapter, referred to in subsec. (a), was in the original ‘‘this Act’’, meaning Pub. L. 95–91, Aug. 4, 1977, 91 Stat. 565, known as the Department of Energy Orga- nization Act, which is classified principally to this chapter. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Short Title note set out under section 7101 of this title and Tables. Section 2402(e) of title 50, referred to in subsec. (c), probably means the subsec. (e) of section 2402 of title 50 which relates to reorganization authority and was added by Pub. L. 106–398, § 1 [div. C, title XXXI, § 3159(a)], Oct. 30, 2000, 114 Stat. 1654, 1654A–469 and re- designated section 2402(f) of title 50 by Pub. L. 107–107, div. A, title X, § 1048(i)(12), Dec. 28, 2001, 115 Stat. 1230. AMENDMENTS 2013—Subsecs. (b), (c). Pub. L. 112–239 redesignated subsec. (b) relating to nonapplicability of authority of Secretary to National Nuclear Security Administration as (c). 2000—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 106–398, § 1 [div. C, title XXXI, § 3159(b)(1)], which directed amendment of sec- tion by substituting ‘‘(a) Except as provided in sub- section (b), the Secretary’’ for ‘‘The Secretary’’, could not be executed because the words ‘‘The Secretary’’ did not appear after execution of the amendment by Pub. L. 106–377, § 1(a)(2) [title III, § 314(b)(1)]. See below. Pub. L. 106–377, § 1(a)(2) [title III, § 314(b)(1)], des- ignated existing provisions as subsec. (a) and sub- stituted ‘‘Subject to subsection (b), the Secretary’’ for ‘‘The Secretary’’. Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 106–398, § 1 [div. C, title XXXI, § 3159(b)(2)], added subsec. (b) relating to nonapplica- bility of authority of Secretary under subsec. (a) of this section to National Nuclear Security Administration.