§16298c National Energy Technology Laboratory Reforms

Summary

The Director can hire up to 10 full-time people at the National Energy Technology Laboratory for work on specific projects. These hires may be made outside normal civil service rules if the person has an advanced science or engineering background or a business background to help move technology to market. Pay for these hires can be set as high as level II of the Executive Schedule (5 U.S.C. 5313). They can also get extra payments, but in any 12-month period those extras cannot exceed the smallest of $25,000, 25 percent of their annual basic pay, or the calendar-year limit in 5 U.S.C. 5307(a)(1). Each hire’s term cannot be longer than 3 years. The Secretary must give the Director control of NETL’s human resources operations to help do this. Starting in fiscal year 2021, NETL can get laboratory-directed research and development (LDRD) funding. Each year the Secretary may set aside up to the same LDRD rate used for other National Laboratories into a special account for NETL. That account can only be used for LDRD, is run by the Secretary, does not expire each fiscal year, and is not subject to appropriation. NETL must carry out LDRD under DOE Order 413.2C (August 2, 2018) or a successor order. Every year the Secretary must report to the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee and the House Science Committee on how this authority was used. Within two years after December 27, 2020, the Secretary must also send those committees a report that (1) assesses NETL’s science and research quality compared to other labs, (2) reviews how well the hiring and LDRD authorities are working, and (3) recommends policy and legislative changes to give NETL the tools it needs.