The new administration which takes office next January must overhaul the Department of Energy(DOE), the federal agency that runs the nation’s nuclear weapons program, according to a “Report Card” issued today by leaders of groups from communities downwind and downstream from DOE research, testing, production and waste disposal sites.

“DOE and its National Nuclear Security Agency are out of control,” said Susan Gordon, Director

of the Alliance for Nuclear Accountability (ANA). “They are ignoring instructions from Congress to

end wasteful projects, hiding money for new weapons in the budget, and failing to heed many

environmental requirements. A new administration must reign in this rogue agency.” ANA’s “Report Card” gave DOE an “F” for “Funding Environmental Obligations” and a “D” for pursuing a new generation of nuclear weapons under the benign label “Complex Transformation.”

The only high mark was a tongue-in-cheek “A+” for “Provocative Weapons Production,” projects

ANA called “budget-busting ‘solutions’ to nonexistent problems.”

Each ANA grade included recommendations for the new administration, such as “Replace top DOE leaders with appointees committed to fulfilling U.S. obligations under the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty” and “Provide adequate funding to meet cleanup obligations.”

Marylia Kelley, Executive Director of Tri-Valley CAREs (Communities Against a Radioactive Environment) who lives across the street from DOE’s Lawrence Livermore Laboratory, explained, “Congress voted last year to de-fund the ‘Reliable Replacement Warhead’ (RRW) program, but as much as $90 million is hidden in DOE’s current budget request for RRW projects. DOE’s ‘Complex Transformation’ scheme puts the cart before the horse by planning to construct new weapons facilities before the new administration completes a legally required Nuclear Posture Review.”

“DOE Secretary Samuel Bodman has admitted that his agency’s program to address the toxic and radioactive legacy of nuclear weapons production has ‘decelerated,’” added Gerry Pollett, J.D., Executive Director of Heart of America Northwest in Seattle. “DOE’s current budget request falls short of fulfilling its environmental obligations by about $1.5 billion. That will result in greater risk to water, worker safety and public health at sites such as Hanford. DOE is simply not up to the task of running the nation’s largest cleanup program, with a projected cost of $250 billion or more.”