Energy officials postpone employee bonuses, awards

Energy Department officials are delaying bonuses for all employees until Congress makes a final decision on the department's funding for fiscal 2007.

It will not be clear whether the department has enough money for performance-based awards or even to avoid layoffs until lawmakers approve the Energy appropriations bill, Jeff Pon, the agency's chief human capital officer, stated in a memorandum to employees Tuesday. Employees will have to wait until Congress acts.

Lawmakers have passed a continuing resolution sustaining the Energy Department at the level equal to what the House passed so far. They can continue extending the CR until a permanent spending bill is passed. It is unclear whether that will happen during the lame-duck session, or be put off until the 110th Congress convenes next year.

"This decision to delay performance-based awards was a difficult one," Pon said in the memo. "The secretary and the department's leadership have decided that in the current circumstances, it would not be prudent to pay performance awards that could, in only a few weeks, place the very jobs of co-workers at risk."

The continuing resolution alone is not justification for the department to make layoffs. Congressional appropriators included a clause in it that protects employees from furloughs or reductions in force until permanent spending bills are passed.

There is one area of the potential fiscal 2007 budget that is of particular concern to Energy officials. Two amendments were attached to the House's version of the Energy appropriations bill would collectively cut funding for the Departmental Administration account from a requested $278 million to $225 million. Fiscal 2006 funding for the office, which has about 1,000 employees, was $251 million. That account pays for a number of offices including the general counsel and human resources.

Rep. Rosa Delauro, D-Conn., offered one of the amendments. The language, approved by a vote of 217-204, would increase funding for state energy grants. The bump would be offset by stripping $25 million from the Departmental Administration Office.

Rep. Robert Andrews, D-N.J., offered the second amendment to add $27 million to convert nuclear power plants to use low-enriched uranium. This would be countered by a 10 percent reduction to the department's administrative expenses. The language was agreed to by a vote of 227-195.

If the lower funding level makes it into the final version of the spending bill, reductions in force are "certainly something we're going to have to take a look at," Energy spokesman Craig Stevens said. And the layoffs won't necessarily be limited to the Departmental Administration Office because of seniority, veterans' preference or other mitigating factors, he said.

"It is much easier to make accounting for a $50 million cut on day one of the fiscal year than day 180 of the fiscal year," Stevens said. "There are draconian measures we would have to take" if we waited.

Despite specific offices with budgetary concerns, the policy postponing bonuses applies to every employee.

"It would not be equitable to delay the payment of performance awards for employees in the many affected offices, while employees of other offices received their awards as if the department was operating in a business as usual manner," Pon said.