External Interactions (2020 DOE transition)

Book 2 - Issue Papers
Entire 2020 DOE Transition book As of October 2020

DOE’s interactions with Congress, Intergovernmental Partners, and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) are key to fulfilling the Department’s mission and implementing the Administration’s priorities.

Summary

Interactions with key external partners are outlined in three main sections:

Section I: Interactions with Congress - Information on committees of interest for DOE, members with special interests; required reports and updates to Congress; relevant pending legislation; leadership changes in a new Congress; and working with other legislative offices to clear materials for Congress.
Section II: Interactions with Intergovernmental Partners
Section III: Interactions with OMB

Section I: Interactions with Congress

The Secretary and members of DOE’s legislative leadership team have regular interactions with Authorizing, Oversight, and Appropriations Committee Chairs and Ranking Members, and with individual Members of Congress, throughout the hearing, markup, and conference process. The Office of Congressional and Intergovernmental Affairs (CI), assisted by the Office of the Chief Financial Officer (CF) with respect to appropriations and the Office of the General Counsel (GC) with regard to authorization legislation, works with Congressional staff to address Member interests and constituent issues.

Within the Department, the Assistant Secretary for CI manages overall relations with Members of Congress and supports the Secretary as the chief strategic advisor on all congressional interactions not directly related to the House and Senate Appropriations Subcommittees. CI prepares Departmental officials for congressional hearings, including confirmation, programmatic, and oversight hearings before authorizing committees. In this capacity, CI manages testimony development, prepares DOE officials for engaging in hearings, and manages responses to questions for the record. GC provides technical drafting assistance to committees and members and prepares the Department’s authorization legislation proposals. The Department’s primary authorizing committees are: Senate Energy and Natural Resources; Senate Armed Services; House Energy and Commerce; House Armed Services; and House Science and Technology.

The Chief Financial Officer (CF) leads the Department’s day-to-day interaction with the Senate and House Appropriations Committees, informs DOE leadership and staff of the interests and motivations of Appropriators, prepares the Secretary for interactions with Appropriators, and works with Subcommittee staff to achieve the Administration and Secretary’s budget priorities.

Issue(s)

Committees of Interest for DOE

Appropriations Committees (CF)

The United States House of Representatives and United States Senate Appropriations Committees have jurisdiction over discretionary spending legislation for the Federal government. Each Appropriations Committee is divided into 12 subcommittees with jurisdiction over funding for designated Executive Branch departments and agencies. The Subcommittees on Energy and Water Development, and Related Agencies (referred to as “HEWD” for the House subcommittee and “SEWD” for the Senate subcommittee) have jurisdiction over DOE. References in this section to the Appropriations Committee refer to both the full Appropriations Committee and HEWD and SEWD. Member and staff information for the 116th Congress, as of November 1, 2020, is provided below.

CF serves as the central point of contact between Congressional Appropriations Committees and the Department. CF staff interact with the House and Senate Appropriations Committees regularly, primarily through the HEWD and SEWD subcommittees. CF’s congressional relations functions include presenting the President’s annual budget request (“rollout”); preparing principals for hearings before the Appropriations Committees; responding to formal inquiries; and providing information to the Committees through reports; in-person and telephone briefings; and technical assistance. As needed, CF arranges, prepares attendees, and participates in Program and Functional Office interaction with the subcommittees.

Authorizing Committees (CI)

DOE activities fall within the jurisdiction of several congressional authorization committees. The Department’s primary authorizing committees are: Senate Energy and Natural Resources; Senate Armed Services; House Science and Technology; House Armed Services; and the House Energy and Commerce Committee.

Oversight Committees (CI)

CI coordinates with GC in managing Congressional oversight and investigation requests, including the document production process for oversight committee requests on DOE matters. The primary legislative bodies that deal with oversight of DOE issues include:

Other Members with Special Interest

There are a number of Congressional Caucus Groups that focus on specific issues related to DOE. CI has primary responsibility for interacting with these caucus groups, and others. Some congressional caucuses of interest to DOE include:

Advanced Energy Storage Caucus
Arctic Working Group Caucus
Artificial Intelligence Caucus
Biofuels Caucus
Brain Injury Task Force
Climate Solutions Task Force
Coal Caucus
Cybersecurity Caucus
Energy Caucus
Energy Savings Performance Caucus
Grid Innovation Caucus
High Performance Building Caucus
Long Rage Strike Caucus
National Labs Caucus
Natural Gas Caucus
Northwest Energy Caucus
Nuclear Cleanup Caucus
Nuclear Security Working Group
Oil and Gas Caucus
Problem Solvers Caucus
Propane Caucus
Safe Climate Caucus
Smart Cities Caucus
Solar Caucus
Sustainable Energy and Environment Caucus

Required Reports and Updates to Congress (CF)

There is a statutory requirement that the Secretary notify HEWD and SEWD at least three full business days in advance of making any grant awards or contracts of more than $1 million, issuing a letter of intent to make an allocation award, or announcing publicly the intention to make an award. CF works with program offices to notify appropriators of these awards.

Appropriations legislation instructs DOE to provide HEWD and SEWD reports on information of various topics. Reporting requirements appear in both legislative bill text and the report language that accompanies appropriations bill text. CF adopts requirements in report language for an enacted appropriations bill and the original House and Senate reports, even if the legislation accompanying the report was never passed. Appropriators are interested in the Department adhering to this practice.

CF manages reports required in appropriations bill and requested in report language by assigning reports to program offices and tracking progress to completion. Once CF receives a finished report, the report is cleared through the Office of the Secretary and provided to OMB for clearance. The final report and cover letters are transmitted under CF’s signature. In general, reports required by appropriations language are shared only with the relevant Subcommittee and are not public.

Working with Other Legislative Offices to Clear Materials for Congress

Testimony and Questions for the Record

A committee initiates a request to hold a hearing by contacting CI or CF to identify a witness for a hearing under development. This witness may be the Secretary, Deputy Secretary, or other leaders in the Department from relevant Program or Functional Offices. This usually occurs through a formal letter of invitation from the Chairman, and at times CI or CF may receive advance notice from committee staff. CI manages appearances before authorizing committees on authorization- related topics; CF manages appearances before appropriations committees. CI and GC are responsible for Oversight testimony.

Once testimony is drafted by the appropriate program office, CI and CF coordinate the draft testimony with relevant program and functional offices and officials for review and clearance, and then with the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for approval. OMB may disseminate the testimony to other agencies or offices for review under this process. The Secretary and functional office witnesses often rely on CI or CF for Member biographies, briefing materials, and hearing preparation meetings, while Program Office witnesses use internal staff to work these tasks.

Department witnesses are frequently asked to answer questions posed by Members of Congress after a hearing for the hearing record (Questions for the Record or “QFRs”). Responses to QFRs are prepared and cleared through the same process as testimony before being sent back to the Committee and incorporated in the official hearing record.

For budget testimony the Secretary traditionally testifies at hearings on the President’s Budget before the Department’s major committees of jurisdiction: House Energy and Commerce; House Science, Space, & Technology Committee, Senate Energy and Natural Resources, Senate Appropriations Energy and Water Development Subcommittee; and House Appropriations Energy and Water Development Subcommittee. Under Secretaries and Assistant Secretaries may also be asked to testify on the budget.

GC drafts DOE legislative proposals and obtains OMB clearance of these proposals. Further, GC acts as the DOE contact point with OMB on all non-budget legislative matters. This includes participating in the analysis and formulation of DOE positions and comments on pending and enrolled bills, as well as other agencies’ proposed legislation and testimony.

Congressional Budget Office (CBO)

CBO is a legislative branch agency that produces independent analyses of budgetary and economic issues to support the Congressional budget process. CF staff provide technical assistance to CBO staff on an as-needed basis to explain President’s Budget proposals or the impacts of pending legislation in Congress.

Government Accountability Office (GAO)

CF leads DOE interactions with the Government Accountability Office, a legislative branch audit agency with statutory authorities to review DOE programs and operations. CF designates lead offices for new audits, assists Program, Functional and Field offices in responding to data requests as needed, provides weekly reports on GAO activity, and tracks and reviews responses to GAO audit reports. As of October 13, 2020, GAO was performing 63 separate audits or assessments affecting DOE. The current number of audits is consistent with recent years.

Milestone(s)

House Democrats are expected to hold caucus leadership elections November 18 and 19 and contested committee chair elections the week of November 30. House Republican elections will likely occur around the same timeframe.

The Senate has not indicated the timing on caucus leadership elections. Past practice has been that this happens at the beginning of a new Congress.

The 117th Congress is scheduled to begin January 3, 2021.

Relevant Pending Legislation

Continuing Resolution through December 11

On October 1, the President signed a Continuing Resolution (CR) to fund the government through December 11, 2020. The CR continues spending at FY 2020 levels. Anomalies affecting DOE were included in the CR:

Section 113 - Intelligence authorization extension; and,

Section 127 - Stops the Western Area Power Administration payment to Treasury.

Of note, Section 140 of the CR extends Section 3610 of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act for the duration of the CR. This provision authorizes Federal contractors and subcontractors to be paid weather and safety leave if unable to work due to COVID-19.

FY 2021 appropriations bills

In July, the House marked up FY 2021 appropriations bills at both the subcommittee and committee level, and passed the bills off the Floor.

The Senate has not released any FY 2021 appropriations bills to date. The expectation is that SEWD will release a bill after the election ahead of potential final year spending negotiations with the House. The Senate is not expected to mark-up this bill and will instead use the text of the bill to undertake FY 2021 conference negotiations with the House.

FY 2021 Omnibus appropriations bill

During Summer 2020, the House Appropriations Committee considered the FY 2021 HEWD bill.

This bill was considered on the Floor and passed. The expectation is that Congress will work to pass an Omnibus appropriations bill for the remainder of FY 2021. A decision on another CR will be made by leadership after the election.

FY 2020 National Defense Authorization Act

The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) authorizes appropriations for defense programs of the Department of Energy, including the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA); the Office of Intelligence and Counterintelligence (IN); and portions of the Office of Science (SC) and the Office of Environmental Management (EM). The NDAA also establishes new defense policies and changes to previous policies.

The NDAA process begins with the transmission of the President’s budget request to Congress in January/February. The Administration/DOE often transmits legislative policy proposals to the committees of jurisdiction in conjunction with the budget request.

The House Armed Services Committee (HASC) and the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) begin work on the NDAA following annual budget hearings, which typically lead to the drafting and markup of separate bills in the House and the Senate in May/June.

Leadership Changes in the 117th Congress

CF is currently aware of two potential changes to the Appropriations Committees for the 117th Congress: the retirement of House Appropriations Committee Chairwoman Nita Lowey and the retirement of Senate Energy and Water Development Appropriations Subcommittee Chair Lamar Alexander. At this time, the committee replacements are unknown. If the Senate majority changes, a period of reorganization of all committees will likely occur, including voting on Chairmen and Ranking Members and possible redistribution of committee staffs.

CF maintains collegial relationships with the majority and minority staff of the House and Senate Appropriations Committees, especially on the Energy and Water Development Subcommittees. Appropriations staff interactions are focused on technical budget assistance and are normally less partisan than DOE’s interactions with authorizing committees.

CI is currently tracking potential changes to DOE’s authorizing committees for the 117th Congress:

Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee

Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV) is the current Ranking Member of the committee and is expected to serve as Chair or Ranking Member for SENR in the 117th Congress (depending on Senate Majority). The current Chairman, Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), is term-limited under party rules governing committee chairmanship and will be unable to serve as Chair or Ranking Member for SENR in the 117th Congress. Sen. John Barrasso (R-WY) is widely expected to be the next Chairman or Ranking Member unless he decides to remain the Chairman of Senate EPW.

House Energy and Commerce Committee

Rep. Frank Pallone (D-NJ) is the current Chairman of the committee and is expected to continue in this role in the next Congress. Ranking Member Greg Walden (R-OR) is retiring from Congress and at this time a replacement is unknown. Reps. Michael Burgess (R-TX), Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA), and Bob Latta (R-OH) have expressed interest in running to replace Ranking Member Walden.

House Armed Services Committee

Rep. Adam Smith (D-WA) is the current Chairman of the committee and is expected to continue in this role in the next Congress. Ranking Member Mac Thornberry (R-TX) is retiring from Congress and at this time a replacement is unknown. Reps. Joe Wilson (R-SC) and Michael Turner (R-OH) are next in seniority and therefore the likeliest to replace Ranking Member Thornberry.

Section II: Interactions with Intergovernmental Partners

CI maintains ongoing communications with governors, state legislators, tribal, and local officials across the country. CI proactively engages stakeholders to ensure that their views are considered as part of the Department’s decision-making process. CI also communicates routinely with all relevant stakeholders on DOE announcements, initiatives, proposals, and grants; and assures appropriate follow-up.

The Department has a physical presence in 30 states. Of those, much of CI’s focus is on 12 states where multiple, ongoing DOE missions are executed at DOE sites and National Laboratories (California, Colorado, Idaho, Illinois, Ohio, Kentucky, Nevada, New York, New Mexico, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Washington).

CI interacts on a regular basis with intergovernmental and tribal associations including but not limited to: the National Governors Association; regional governors associations; National Association of Attorneys General; National Congress of American Indians; National League of Cities; National Conference of State Legislatures; National Association of Counties; U.S. Conference of Mayors; Southern States Energy Board; and the National Association of State Energy Officials. The focus of CI’s work with these organizations is to communicate the activities of DOE programs, policies, and initiatives; and solicit views, comments, and concerns from these groups. These efforts extend to a broad group of constituencies, to include business/industry, civic groups, colleges, universities, foundations, trade associations, and energy-oriented organizations.

Tribal Affairs

CI engages with the 566 federally-recognized tribes, and the tribes’ more than 250 reservations. This includes: advising and informing DOE senior officials on potential impacts of Departmental programs on tribal interests and culture; developing and enhancing working relationships with Tribal leaders and organizations and entities working with tribal governments; representing DOE with sovereign Tribal governments and at tribal meetings and conferences; and recommending policies and procedures for ongoing collaboration between DOE and tribes. CI also works very closely with the DOE Office of Indian Energy (IE) to assist in the management of the Indian Country Energy Working Group, the National Tribal Energy Summit, and IE’s work with congressional partners to advance the mission of implementing activities that assist American Indian Tribes and Alaska Native villages with energy development, capacity building, energy cost reduction, and electrification of Indian lands and homes.

Section III: Interactions with the Office of Management and Budget (OMB)

OMB is a critical partner in fulfilling the Department’s mission and achieving Administration and Departmental priorities. CF serves as the Department’s liaison to OMB to assess the effectiveness of agency programs, address competing funding demands among programs, and set funding priorities.

OMB Organization

The largest component of OMB is the five Resource Management Offices, the Budget or “B” side, organized along functional lines mirroring the U.S. federal government, each led by an OMB associate director. These are divided into divisions and branches. DOE works with three branches:

Force Structure and Investment Branch (NNSA)
Energy Branch (all programs excluding NNSA and the Power Marketing Administrations)
Water and Power Branch (PMAs)

The Management or “M” side of OMB includes several offices that focus on policy and guidance for Departments to adhere to. For example:

Performance Team: Manages implementation of the Government Performance and Results Act Modernization Act (GPRA-MA) that sets requirements for strategic planning and performance evaluation.
Office of Federal Financial Management and Office of Federal Financial Policy: provide guidance and policy on financial management.

DOE staff also work with OMB-wide support offices which include the Office of General Counsel, the Office of Legislative Affairs, the Budget Review Division, and the Legislative Reference Division.

The Budget Review Division performs government-wide budget coordination and is largely responsible for the technical aspects relating to the release of the President’s budget each February.
The Legislative Reference Division is the central clearing house across the federal government for proposed legislation or testimony. This Division is also responsible for preparing Statements of Administrative Policy (SAPs) for the President. These statements are used for OMB to communicate the President’s and agencies policies to the government as a whole and set forth policymaker’s agendas.

Transition Year Formulation

In a normal budget year, the contents of the President’s Budget are negotiated between federal agencies and OMB from September to January, with a complete budget due to the first Monday in February. In recent transition years, the President has issued a top-level budget in either mid-February (Clinton), late February (Obama, Bush), or March (Trump). The full array of detailed budget publications has commonly been released in early April. The Trump Administration delayed a full budget release until May 2017. The Obama Administration delayed the budget requests in 2009 and 2013 due to the work needed to enact the Recovery Act and a full-year annual appropriation.

OMB typically has all budget-related policy appointees in place quickly. OMB will generally develop a top-level February budget in a manner that reflects the most important campaign promises, with fewer opportunities for cabinet agencies (which may not have confirmed appointees) to negotiate top-line numbers. OMB will usually initiate the process within a week or two of the Inauguration. OMB will usually provide:

A single number for each agency’s appropriations; and,
A few policy issues to be highlighted in the February budget document.

Clearance Process

OMB ensures that agency reports subject to review, rules, testimony, and proposed legislation are consistent with the President’s budget and with administration policies.

Within the Executive Branch, there are several types of clearance processes required for DOE documents. Requirements for OMB clearance of legislative material and the type of reports subject to OMB review are outlined in OMB Circulars A-11 and A-19.