While your history is more complete than what I provided, (its not really my area of expertise), my point was that the DoE mission is not really energy independence, at least that is not its top concern. It is the agency that is supposed to be keeping our nuclear (power and weapons) infrastructure up to date and safe.
I try to point out, not necessarily to you, but in general when a certain agency actually has a real and important national security role, as opposed to being a self licking ice cream cone like education or HUD, lest all the agencies be painted as evil or unconstitutional when a few actually serve a good function.
FRegards,
Since it took on the added responsibility of nuclear power and weapons infrastructure safety the DOE has not lived up to its goal of why it was created in the first place and seems to have forgotten it.