Kettl urges reforms for U.S. energy department

The U.S. Department of Energy is “hamstrung by the accumulation of 50 years of organizational structures” that have been focused on “a very different time and a fundamentally different mission,” according to testimony July 13 by a UW–Madison public administration expert.

Donald F. Kettl, a professor of politcal science, testified before combined science and commerce committees of the U.S. House of Representatives that are looking into China’s espionage of military secrets from the Department of Energy.

Kettl told the committee that some recommendations to separate the nuclear-related programs from the rest of DOE would confuse accountability, bury the department’s key missions in bureaucracy and reduce DOE’s ability to protect national security.

Kettl urged the committee to:

• Create strong and aggressive leadership by senior DOE officials to redefine DOE’s culture and lead the way in reinventing the department.
• Hold those leaders strictly accountable to the President and members of Congress – and clear accountability within DOE of its managers to top departmental officials.
• Streamline connections between headquarters and DOE field operations.
• Integrate national goals – especially national security – into the department’s field operations and their multiple functions.
• Bring DOE’s multiple, crosscutting missions to life in the behavior of its field staff.
• Set clear, high standards for performance – rewarding managers for good performance and enforcing tough penalties for failure.

The House is studying 38 recommendations from a three-volume, 872-page report by U.S. Rep. Christopher Cox, R-Calif., that concluded China has stolen secret information on every nuclear warhead in the U.S. ballistic missile arsenal over the past 20 years.

Kettl teaches public administration and public management at UW–Madison and is past director of the university’s Robert M. La Follette Institute of Public Affairs. He has served as a consultant to several governmental agencies and is director of the Center for Public Management at the Brookings Institution.

A fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration, Kettl is currently engaged in a long-term review of government reform initiatives and in a series of training programs to help government officials more effectively manage change.