(a) General authority

The Secretary is authorized to enter into and perform such contracts, leases, cooperative agreements, or other similar transactions with public agencies and private organizations and persons, and to make such payments (in lump sum or installments, and by way of advance or reimbursement) as he may deem to be necessary or appropriate to carry out functions now or hereafter vested in the Secretary.

(b) Limitation on authority; appropriations

Terms Used In 42 USC 7256

  • Advice and consent: Under the Constitution, presidential nominations for executive and judicial posts take effect only when confirmed by the Senate, and international treaties become effective only when the Senate approves them by a two-thirds vote.
  • Appropriation: The provision of funds, through an annual appropriations act or a permanent law, for federal agencies to make payments out of the Treasury for specified purposes. The formal federal spending process consists of two sequential steps: authorization
  • Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
  • Department: means the Department of Energy or any component thereof, including the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. See 42 USC 7101
  • Fiscal year: The fiscal year is the accounting period for the government. For the federal government, this begins on October 1 and ends on September 30. The fiscal year is designated by the calendar year in which it ends; for example, fiscal year 2006 begins on October 1, 2005 and ends on September 30, 2006.
  • individual: shall include every infant member of the species homo sapiens who is born alive at any stage of development. See 1 USC 8
  • Lease: A contract transferring the use of property or occupancy of land, space, structures, or equipment in consideration of a payment (e.g., rent). Source: OCC
  • officer: includes any person authorized by law to perform the duties of the office. See 1 USC 1
  • perform: when used in relation to functions, includes the undertaking, fulfillment, or execution of any duty or obligation. See 42 USC 7101
  • Personal property: All property that is not real property.
  • Real property: Land, and all immovable fixtures erected on, growing on, or affixed to the land.
  • State: means a State, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, or any other territory or possession of the United States. See 1 USC 7
  • writing: includes printing and typewriting and reproductions of visual symbols by photographing, multigraphing, mimeographing, manifolding, or otherwise. See 1 USC 1

Notwithstanding any other provision of this subchapter, no authority to enter into contracts or to make payments under this subchapter shall be effective except to such extent or in such amounts as are provided in advance in appropriation Acts.

(c) Leasing of excess Department of Energy property

The Secretary may lease, upon terms and conditions the Secretary considers appropriate to promote national security or the public interest, acquired real property and related personal property that—

(1) is located at a facility of the Department of Energy to be closed or reconfigured;

(2) at the time the lease is entered into, is not needed by the Department of Energy; and

(3) is under the control of the Department of Energy.

(d) Terms of lease

(1) A lease entered into under subsection (c) may not be for a term of more than 10 years, except that the Secretary may enter into a lease that includes an option to renew for a term of more than 10 years if the Secretary determines that entering into such a lease will promote the national security or be in the public interest.

(2) A lease entered into under subsection (c) may provide for the payment (in cash or in kind) by the lessee of consideration in an amount that is less than the fair market rental value of the leasehold interest. Services relating to the protection and maintenance of the leased property may constitute all or part of such consideration.

(e) Environmental concerns

(1) Before entering into a lease under subsection (c), the Secretary shall consult with the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (with respect to property located on a site on the National Priorities List) or the appropriate State official (with respect to property located on a site that is not listed on the National Priorities List) to determine whether the environmental conditions of the property are such that leasing the property, and the terms and conditions of the lease agreement, are consistent with safety and the protection of public health and the environment.

(2) Before entering into a lease under subsection (c), the Secretary shall obtain the concurrence of the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency or the appropriate State official, as the case may be, in the determination required under paragraph (1). The Secretary may enter into a lease under subsection (c) without obtaining such concurrence if, within 60 days after the Secretary requests the concurrence, the Administrator or appropriate State official, as the case may be, fails to submit to the Secretary a notice of such individual‘s concurrence with, or rejection of, the determination.

(f) Retention and use of rentals; report

To the extent provided in advance in appropriations Acts, the Secretary may retain and use money rentals received by the Secretary directly from a lease entered into under subsection (c) in any amount the Secretary considers necessary to cover the administrative expenses of the lease, the maintenance and repair of the leased property, or environmental restoration activities at the facility where the leased property is located. Amounts retained under this subsection shall be retained in a separate fund established in the Treasury for such purpose. The Secretary shall annually submit to the Congress a report on amounts retained and amounts used under this subsection.

(g) Additional authorities

(1) In addition to authority granted to the Secretary under any other provision of law, the Secretary may exercise the same authority to enter into transactions (other than contracts, cooperative agreements, and grants), subject to the same terms and conditions as the Secretary of Defense under section 2371 1 of title 10 (other than subsections (b) and (f) of that section).

(2) In applying section 2371 1 of title 10 to the Secretary under paragraph (1)—

(A) the term “basic” shall be replaced by the term “research”;

(B) the term “applied” shall be replaced by the term “development”; and

(C) the terms “advanced research projects” and “advanced research” shall be replaced by the term “demonstration projects”.


(3) The authority of the Secretary under paragraph (1) shall not be subject to—

(A) section 5908 of this title; or

(B) section 2182 of this title.


(4)(A) The Secretary shall use such competitive, merit-based selection procedures in entering into transactions under paragraph (1), as the Secretary determines in writing to be practicable.

(B) A transaction under paragraph (1) shall relate to a research, development, or demonstration project only if the Secretary determines in writing that the use of a standard contract, grant, or cooperative agreement for the project is not feasible or appropriate.

(5) Protection from disclosure.—

(A) In general.—The Secretary may protect from disclosure any information developed pursuant to a transaction under paragraph (1) that would be protected from disclosure under section 552(b)(4) of title 5, if obtained from a person other than a Federal agency—

(i) for up to 5 years after the date on which the information is developed; or

(ii) for up to 30 years after the date on which the information is developed, if the Secretary determines that the nature of the technology under the transaction, including nuclear technology, could reasonably require an extended period of protection from disclosure to reach commercialization.


(B) Extension during term.—The Secretary may extend the period of protection from disclosure during the term of any transaction described in subparagraph (A) in accordance with that subparagraph.


(6)(A) Not later than 90 days after August 8, 2005, the Secretary shall issue guidelines for transactions under paragraph (1).

(B) The guidelines shall be published in the Federal Register for public comment in accordance with rulemaking procedures of the Department.

(C) The Secretary shall not have authority to carry out transactions under paragraph (1) until the guidelines for transactions required under subparagraph (A) are final.

(7) The annual report of the head of an executive agency under section 2371(h) 1 of title 10 shall be submitted to Congress.

(8)(A) In this paragraph, the term “nontraditional Government contractor” has the meaning given the term “nontraditional defense contractor” in section 845(f) 1 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1994 (Public Law 103-160; 10 U.S.C. 2371 note).

(B) Not later than 1 year after the date on which the final guidelines are published under paragraph (6), the Comptroller General of the United States shall submit to Congress a report describing—

(i) the use by the Department of authorities under this section, including the ability to attract nontraditional Government contractors; and

(ii) whether additional safeguards are necessary to carry out the authorities.


(9) The authority of the Secretary under this subsection may be delegated only to an officer of the Department who is appointed by the President by and with the advice and consent of the Senate.

(10) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the authority to enter into transactions under paragraph (1) shall terminate on September 30, 2030.

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