In response to these problems, the Congress, in  Title 32 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2000,  created a new semiautonomous agency within DOE—the National Nuclear  Security Administration. While the Administrator promised a solution to these problems by October  2001, NNSA’s report to the Congress on the organization and operations of  the NNSA was not expected until February 25, 2002. NNSA’s major programs—Defense Programs, Defense Nuclear  Nonproliferation, and Naval Reactors—and each of NNSA’s  headquarters support offices have drafted program integrated plans. NNSA managers and human resource officials with whom we spoke had  mixed reactions to the excepted service authority granted by Title 32. In addition, in response to congressional direction, NNSA is  preparing a plan for using the remainder of the 300 authorized excepted  service positions.
What GAO Found

Created to correct long-standing and widely recognized management and security problems at the Department of Energy (DOE), the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) manages the nation's nuclear weapons, nonproliferation, and naval reactors programs. Although NNSA announced a new headquarters organization in May 2001, it did not meet the Administrator's promise of implementing a new structure for the entire organization by October 2001. Furthermore, NNSA lost momentum during the summer in its effort to implement a comprehensive planning, programming, and budgeting process. NNSA has used only 19 of the 300 excepted service positions authorized by Title 32 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2000. NNSA expects to report to Congress next month on its plans for using its excepted service authority. However, NNSA lacks a long-term strategic approach to ensure a well-managed, properly sized, and skilled workforce over the long run.