Reforming the Department of Energy in the Bottom Line Challenge

Big Bureaucracy ^ | March 6th, 2010 | Ellie Velinska

[Big Bureaucracy]

The Department of Energy was created by President Jimmy Carter in 1977 after the oil crisis. The idea was to end the United States dependence on foreign oil. How’s that working out for you, America?

Carter and every President after him promised Energy independence and never kept his promise. If the same old Department of Energy is not doing the job – it is time to reform the thing and hopefully save some bucks in the process.

The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget has a blog named the Bottom Line. Big Bureaucracy entered their “spending challenge”. So far we identified savings in bureaucracy cuts, stimulus money cuts and education cuts.

Let’s take the hatchet and go line by line through the 2011 budget of the Department of Energy proposed by President Obama.

There are certain activities performed by the DOE that should be transferred back to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers where they originally started. That would be the following:

- Strategic Petroleum Reserve; - Science; - Environmental Clean-up (Defense and non-defense); - Power Marketing Administration.

Atomic Energy Defense Activities (weapons, naval reactors and defense non-proliferation) should be transferred to Department of the Army.

Energy Information Administration should be transferred to Economics and Statistics Administration (Department of Commerce).

The budget for the Departmental Administration should be transferred to Department of Defense for the transition.

Loans that were already made by the Department of Energy should be transferred to the Treasury to be serviced until paid.

[mountainlion]

The last I had heard was that the department of energy had not created any energy.

[FReepaholic]

We need to take the hatchet to a bunch of useless fedgov departments. Take a look at Health and Human Services. Who knew they have a larger budget than the DOD? What the hell do they do?

[Big Bureaucracy]

Agree with you. In the CRFB challenge - I started with the easy things - cutting the Stimulus spending,closing Dept. of Education - now the Energy. Health Department is full of waste - I am still observing their 2011 budget - HHS is a big fat mess!

[americanophile]

"The Department of Energy (DOE) has four main missions: 1) ensuring a dependable energy supply for the American economy;(FAIL) 2) ensuring a secure, reliable nuclear deterrent for the nation’s defense;(Currently being reduced by Obama) 3) improving environmental quality related to energy production;(FAIL - we arguably increase enbironmental quality, but don't produce energy) and 4) advancing science and technology in energy-related areas.(FAIL - no viable alternatives to fossil or nuclear fules) The Department supplements private-sector research efforts to enhance domestic energy production, develop new and cleaner sources of energy, and improve energy conservation and efficiency."

16,000 federal and 100,000 contractors 2003 Spending: $19.8 billion

FOR WHAT? http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/rewrite/budget/fy2004/energy.html

[Big Bureaucracy]

For 30 years they failed in each of their goals. Time to close that thing.

[americanophile]

yep

[Sunbunny]

The Dept of Labor has a huge budget. Too bad there aren’t more folks working in the US! Maybe they should look into that!

[americanophile]

I’m okay with just the mint and the military...everything else is negotiable.

[ataDude]

Reform? How about elimination? Along with Department of Education and others.

[Big Bureaucracy]

If you go to the end of the article - you will see I am closing the Dept. of Energy

[Big Bureaucracy]

Agree, I think of reforming/closing the Department of Housing and Urban development next.