The Department of Energy told employees that the DOGE -used documents to assess the grants and contracts of the agency must be marked with “legal privilege” to prevent them from being disclosed under requests in the Freedom of Information Act.
DOGE provided the agency with spreadsheets, which agency officials must complete, to identify grants and contracts that may be filed for finishing or repairing. Department's general advice David R. Taggart, outlines DOE -associated procedures related to a memo sent on March 17, which obtained by axios.
The memo directs political appointments to determine if the grants and contracts are “great” or “consistent with DOE's policies and priorities.”
Taggart told agency officials that they had to be short and consistent when filling out spreadsheets due to the “heavy trial environment” surrounding the Department-related department cuts.
How many corners of the DOE are expected to become immune, according to the memo. Even the DOE's national laboratory system can be included because each is managed by private companies under the contract.
Common DOE contracts contain the language that allows the department to end a tribute if “it no longer affects the goals of the program or agency priorities.”
The memo also appears to provide some insight into the way the Doge's cuts may be enacted, indicating that there may be no scrutiny once the spreadsheets of the DOE offices leave.
Officials are encouraged to be granular as possible because the awards in the awards in groups “may miss the nuances between covered contracts and grants that may result in the conclusion of good agreements or maintaining bad agreements.”
