The Department of Energy tells employees that documents used by DOGE to evaluate agency grants and contracts should be marked “legal privileges” to prevent disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act requirements.
Doge will provide agents with a spreadsheet that agency officials will complete and identify grants and contracts that may be flagged for cancellation or renegotiation. David R. Taggart, representative counsel for the department, outlined the Doge-related procedures for the DOE in a memo submitted on March 17th obtained by Axios.
The memo directs political appointees to determine whether grants and contracts are “efficient” or “align with DOE policies and priorities.”
Taggart told agency officials that due to the “heavy litigation environment” surrounding Doge-related department cuts, it would require easy consistency when filling out spreadsheets.
According to the memo, DOE horns are expected to be immune. Even the DOE national experimental system can be included, as each is managed by private companies under contract.
The DOE standard agreement includes a language that allows the division to close the award if it no longer affects the program’s goals or agency priorities.
The note also appears to give insight into how Doge Cuts is enacted. The spreadsheet suggests that there may not be much scrutiny once Doe’s office is left.
Authorities are able to concentrate the centralized awards on group awards, which encourages them to be as detailed as possible, as they could overlook the nuance between eligible contracts and grants, which could lead to efficient contracts being terminated or inefficient contracts.
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