Title II — Nuclear Waste Administration

S. 1240 · 113th Congress · Jun 26, 2013 · Lineage

II Nuclear Waste Administration

Sec. 201 Establishment

(a)

Establishment— There is established an independent agency in the executive branch to be known as the Nuclear Waste Administration.

(b)

Purpose— The purposes of the Administration are—

(1)

to discharge the responsibility of the Federal Government to provide for the permanent disposal of nuclear waste;

(2)

to protect the public health and safety and the environment in discharging the responsibility under paragraph (1); and

(3)

to ensure that the costs of activities under paragraph (1) are borne by the persons responsible for generating the nuclear waste.

Sec. 202 Principal officers

(a)

Administrator—

(1)

Appointment— There shall be at the head of the Administration a Nuclear Waste Administrator, who shall be appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, from among persons who are, by reason of education, experience, and attainments, exceptionally well qualified to perform the duties of the Administrator.

(2)

Term— The term of service of the Administrator shall be 6 years.

(3)

Reappointment— An Administrator may serve more than 1 term.

(4)

Functions and powers— The functions and powers of the Administration shall be vested in and exercised by the Administrator.

(5)

Supervision and direction— The Administration shall be administrated under the supervision and direction of the Administrator, who shall be responsible for the efficient and coordinated management of the Administration.

(6)

Delegation— The Administrator may, from time to time and to the extent permitted by law, delegate such functions of the Administrator as the Administrator determines to be appropriate.

(7)

Compensation— The President shall fix the total annual compensation of the Administrator in an amount that—

(A)

is sufficient to recruit and retain a person of demonstrated ability and achievement in managing large corporate or governmental organizations; and

(B)

does not exceed the total annual compensation paid to the Chief Executive Officer of the Tennessee Valley Authority.

(b)

Deputy administrator—

(1)

Appointment— There shall be in the Administration a Deputy Administrator, who shall be appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, from among persons who are, by reason of education, experience, and attainments, exceptionally well qualified to perform the duties of the Deputy Administrator.

(2)

Term— The term of service of the Deputy Administrator shall be 6 years.

(3)

Reappointment— A Deputy Administrator may serve more than 1 term.

(4)

Duties— The Deputy Administrator shall—

(A)

perform such functions as the Administrator shall from time to time assign or delegate; and

(B)

act as the Administrator during the absence or disability of the Administrator or in the event of a vacancy in the office of the Administrator.

(5)

Compensation— The President shall fix the total annual compensation of the Deputy Administrator in an amount that—

(A)

is sufficient to recruit and retain a person of demonstrated ability and achievement in managing large corporate or governmental organizations; and

(B)

does not exceed the total annual compensation paid to the Administrator.

Sec. 203 Other officers

(a)

Establishment— There shall be in the Administration—

(1)

a General Counsel;

(2)

a Chief Financial Officer, who shall be appointed from among individuals who possess demonstrated ability in general management of, and knowledge of and extensive practical experience in, financial management practices in large governmental or business entities; and

(3)

not more than 3 Assistant Administrators, who shall perform such functions as the Administrator shall specify from time to time.

(b)

Appointment— Officers appointed under this section shall—

(1)

be appointed by the Administrator;

(2)

be considered career appointees; and

(3)

be subject to section 161 d. of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 (42 U.S.C. 2201(d)).

(c)

Order of succession— The Administrator may designate the order in which the officers appointed pursuant to this section shall act for, and perform the functions of, the Administrator during the absence or disability of the Administrator and the Deputy Administrator or in the event of vacancies in the offices of the Administrator and the Deputy Administrator.

Sec. 204 Inspector General

There shall be in the Administration an Inspector General, who shall be appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, in accordance with section 3 of the Inspector General Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.).

Sec. 205 Nuclear Waste Oversight Board

(a)

Establishment— There is established an independent establishment in the executive branch, to be known as the Nuclear Waste Oversight Board—

(1)

to oversee—

(A)

the receipt, disbursement, and use of funds in the Working Capital Fund and the Nuclear Waste Fund;

(B)

the adequacy of the fees collected under section 302(a) of the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 (42 U.S.C. 10222(a)) to ensure the full recovery of the costs incurred by the Federal Government in carrying out activities under this Act and the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 (42 U.S.C. 10101 et seq.); and

(C)

the performance of the Administrator in—

(i)

fulfilling contracts with contract holders; and

(ii)

complying with the mission plan; and

(2)

to review the annual management reports and financial statements submitted by the Administrator under section 505.

(b)

Members— The Oversight Board shall be composed of 5 members appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, from among prominent United States citizens of integrity and reputation who, based on the training, experience, and attainments of the individuals, are exceptionally well qualified to evaluate and oversee the administration of this Act.

(c)

Political affiliation— Not more than 3 members of the Oversight Board may be members of the same political party.

(d)

Terms—

(1)

In general— Except as provided in paragraphs (2) and (3), each member shall serve a term of 5 years.

(2)

Initial terms—

(A)

Starting date— The term of the first 5 members appointed to the Oversight Board shall be treated as having started on the first July 1 after the date of enactment of this Act.

(B)

Staggered term— Of the 5 members first appointed to the Board under subparagraph (A)—

(i)

1 shall be appointed for a term of 1 year;

(ii)

1 shall be appointed for a term of 2 years;

(iii)

1 shall be appointed for a term of 3 years;

(iv)

1 shall be appointed for a term of 4 years; and

(v)

1 shall be appointed for a term of 5 years.

(3)

Extension of term—

(A)

In general— Subject to subparagraph (B), a member of the Oversight Board may continue to serve after the expiration of the term of the member until a successor is appointed, has been confirmed, and has taken the oath of office.

(B)

Limitation— No member of the Oversight Board may serve beyond the end of the session of the Congress in which the term of the member expires.

(4)

Vacancies— A member of the Oversight Board appointed to fill a vacancy occurring before the expiration of the term for which the predecessor of the member was appointed shall be appointed only for the remainder of the term of the predecessor.

(5)

Reappointment— A member of the Oversight Board may be reappointed for an additional term by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate.

(e)

Removal— The President may remove any member of the Oversight Board for inefficiency, neglect of duty, or malfeasance in office.

(f)

Chair— The President shall designate 1 member of the Oversight Board as Chair of the Oversight Board.

(g)

Acting chair— The Chair designated under subsection (f) may from time to time designate any other member of the Oversight Board to act in the place and stead of the Chair during the absence.

(h)

Quorum— 3 members of the Oversight Board shall constitute a quorum for the purpose of doing business.

(i)

Equal responsibility and authority— Each member of the Oversight Board, including the Chair, shall have—

(1)

equal responsibility and authority in all decisions and actions of the Oversight Board;

(2)

full access to all information relating to the performance of the duties and responsibilities of the member; and

(3)

1 vote.

(j)

Conflict of interest— No member of the Oversight Board shall—

(1)

be employed by the Administration or the Department of Energy; or

(2)

have a financial interest in (including an employment relationship with) any contract holder or contractor of the Administration.

(k)

Compensation—

(1)

In general— Each member of the Oversight Board shall be paid at the rate of pay payable for level III of the Executive Schedule in subchapter II of chapter 53 of title 5, United States Code, for each day (including travel time) the member is engaged in the work of the Oversight Board.

(2)

Travel expenses— Each member of the Oversight Board may receive travel expenses, including per diem in lieu of subsistence, in accordance with sections 5702 and 5703 of title 5, United States Code.

(l)

Meetings— The Oversight Board shall meet at least once every 90 days.

(m)

Functions— The Oversight Board shall—

(1)

review, on an ongoing basis—

(A)

the progress made by the Administrator in siting, constructing, and operating nuclear waste facilities under this Act;

(B)

the use of funds made available to the Administrator under this Act;

(C)

whether the fees collected from contract holders are sufficient to ensure full cost recovery or require adjustment; and

(D)

the liability of the United States to contract holders;

(2)

identify any problems that may impede the implementation of this Act; and

(3)

recommend to the Administrator, the President, or Congress, as appropriate, any actions that may be needed to ensure the implementation of this Act.

(n)

Reports— The Oversight Board shall report the findings, conclusions, and recommendations of the Oversight Board to the Administrator, the President, and Congress not less than once per year.

(o)

Response by the administrator— Not later than 45 days after the date on which the Oversight Board submits a report to the Administrator under subsection (n), the Administrator shall transmit to the Oversight Board, in writing—

(1)

a statement of whether the Administrator accepts or rejects, in whole or in part, the recommendations submitted by the Oversight Board;

(2)

a description of the actions taken in response to the recommendations (or an explanation of the reasons for not acting on the recommendations); and

(3)

the views of the Administrator on the recommendations.

(p)

Public availability— The Administrator shall make all reports under subsection (n) and all responses from the Administrator under subsection (o) available to the public.

(q)

Executive Secretary— The Oversight Board shall appoint and fix the compensation of an Executive Secretary, who shall—

(1)

assemble and maintain the reports, records, and other papers of the Oversight Board; and

(2)

perform such functions as the Oversight Board shall from time to time assign or delegate to the Executive Secretary.

(r)

Additional staff—

(1)

Appointment— The Oversight Board may appoint and fix the compensation of such additional clerical and professional staff as may be necessary to discharge the responsibilities of the Oversight Board.

(2)

Limitation— The Oversight Board may appoint not more than 10 clerical or professional staff members under this subsection.

(3)

Supervision and direction— The clerical and professional staff of the Oversight Board shall be under the supervision and direction of the Executive Secretary.

(s)

Staff compensation—

(1)

Clerical staff— Clerical staff shall be appointed subject to the provisions of title 5, United States Code, governing appointments in the competitive service, and shall be paid in accordance with the provisions of chapter 51 and subchapter III of chapter 53 of such title relating to classification and General Schedule rates.

(2)

Professional staff— Professional staff members may be appointed without regard to the provisions of title 5, United States Code, governing appointments in the competitive service, and may be paid without regard to the provisions of chapter 51 and subchapter III of chapter 53 of that title relating to classification and General Schedule pay rates, except that no individual so appointed may receive pay in excess of the maximum rate of pay under the General Schedule.

(t)

Access to information—

(1)

Duty to inform— The Administrator shall keep the Oversight Board fully and currently informed on all of the activities of the Administration.

(2)

Production of documents— The Administrator shall provide the Oversight Board with any records, files, papers, data, or information requested by the Oversight Board.

(u)

Support services— To the extent permitted by law and requested by the Oversight Board, the Administrator of General Services shall provide the Oversight Board with necessary administrative services, facilities, and support on a reimbursable basis.

(v)

Health, safety, and environmental regulation— Nothing in this section gives the Oversight Board jurisdiction to regulate the activities of the Administration to protect the health and safety of the public or the environment.

(w)

Authorization of appropriations— There are authorized to be appropriated to the Oversight Board from amounts in the Nuclear Waste Fund such sums as are necessary to carry out this section.

Sec. 206 Conforming amendments

(a)

Section 901(b)(2) of title 31, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:

“(R) The Nuclear Waste Administration.”

(b)

Section 12 of the Inspector General Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.) is amended—

(1)

in paragraph (1), by inserting “the Nuclear Waste Administration;” after “Export-Import Bank;”; and

(2)

in paragraph (2), by inserting “the Nuclear Waste Administration,” after “Export-Import Bank,”.