§ 138c. Assistant Secretary of Defense for Operational Energy Plans and Programs
(a)
Appointment.—
The Assistant Secretary of Defense for Operational Energy Plans and Programs shall be appointed without regard to political affiliation and solely on the basis of fitness to perform the duties of the office of Assistant Secretary.
(b)
Duties.—
The Assistant Secretary shall—
(1)
provide leadership and facilitate communication regarding, and conduct oversight to manage and be accountable for, operational energy plans and programs within the Department of Defense and the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps;
(c)
Principal Advisor for Operational Energy Plans and Programs.—
(1)
The Assistant Secretary is the principal adviser to the Secretary of Defense and the Deputy Secretary of Defense regarding operational energy plans and programs and the principal policy official within the senior management of the Department of Defense regarding operational energy plans and programs.
(2)
The Assistant Secretary may communicate views on matters related to operational energy plans and programs and the operational energy strategy required by subsection (d) directly to the Secretary of Defense and the Deputy Secretary of Defense without obtaining the approval or concurrence of any other official within the Department of Defense.
(d)
Operational Energy Strategy.—
(1)
The Assistant Secretary shall be responsible for the establishment and maintenance of a department-wide transformational strategy for operational energy. The strategy shall establish near-term, mid-term, and long-term goals, performance metrics to measure progress in meeting the goals, and a plan for implementation of the strategy within the military departments, the Office of the Secretary of Defense, and Defense Agencies.
(2)
The Secretary of each military department shall designate a senior official within each armed force under the jurisdiction of the Secretary who shall be responsible for operational energy plans and programs for that armed force. The officials so designated shall be responsible for coordinating with the Assistant Secretary and implementing initiatives pursuant to the strategy with regard to that official’s armed force.
(3)
By authority of the Secretary of Defense, the Assistant Secretary shall prescribe policies and procedures for the implementation of the strategy. The Assistant Secretary shall provide guidance to, and consult with, the Secretary of Defense, the Deputy Secretary of Defense, the Secretaries of the military departments, and the officials designated under paragraph (2) with respect to specific operational energy plans and programs to be carried out pursuant to the strategy.
(e)
Budgetary and Financial Matters.—
(1)
The Assistant Secretary shall review and make recommendations to the Secretary of Defense regarding all budgetary and financial matters relating to the operational energy strategy.
(2)
The Secretary of Defense shall require that the Secretary of each military department and the head of each Defense Agency with responsibility for executing activities associated with the strategy transmit their proposed budget for those activities for a fiscal year to the Assistant Secretary for review before submission of the proposed budget to the Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller).
(3)
The Assistant Secretary shall review a proposed budget transmitted under paragraph (2) for a fiscal year and, not later than January 31 of the preceding fiscal year, shall submit to the Secretary of Defense a report containing the comments of the Assistant Secretary with respect to the proposed budget, together with the certification of the Assistant Secretary regarding whether the proposed budget is adequate for implementation of the strategy.
(4)
Not later than 10 days after the date on which the budget for a fiscal year is submitted to Congress pursuant to section
1105 of title
31, the Secretary of Defense shall submit to Congress a report on the proposed budgets for that fiscal year that the Assistant Secretary has not certified under paragraph (3). The report shall include the following:
(f)
Access to Initiative Results and Records.—
(g)
Staff.—
The Assistant Secretary shall have a dedicated professional staff of military and civilian personnel in a number sufficient to enable the Assistant Secretary to carry out the duties and responsibilities of the Assistant Secretary.
(h)
Definitions.—
In this section: