On Ending The Department Of Energy

From The Patriot Word:

Tuesday, October 5, 2010Patriot Paper #6 Ending the Department of Energy


Patriot Paper #6

Ending the Department of Energy

By

Walter L Brown Jr



The criteria for evaluating the constitutionality of Federal Government Activities is whether any particular activity is proper and necessary (indispensable) for carrying out an enumerated power.



While there is no mention of energy policy regulation in Article 1 Section 8 of the Constitution, there is authority to “to provide and maintain a Navy” additionally the Federal Government is directed and obligated to, guarantee to every State in this Union a Republican Form of Government, to protect each of them against Invasion; and on Application of the Legislature, or of the Executive (when the Legislature cannot be convened), against domestic Violence.



The authorities and obligations ratified as the law of the land establish the propriety and necessity provide a Navy, which requires Nuclear Energy and Nuclear Weapons today. Therefore, it is proper and necessary for the Government to be involved in producing warships and armaments for them. What is not clear is why these purely military activities should not be part of the Navy, considering that the Army and Air force don’t have constitutional authority for their existence.



The remainder of what the Department of Energy describes as its overarching mission has no constitutional justification and is therefore prohibited by the tenth amendment.



Here are some of the unconstitutional parts of the Department of Energy’s mission and strategic goals:

• Advancing the national, economic, and energy security, promoting reliable, clean, and affordable energy.

• Promoting scientific and technological innovation, strengthening U.S. scientific discovery, economic competitiveness, and improving quality of life through innovations in science and technology



According to the Institute for Policy Studies, 65% of the department’s 2011 budget request of $28.4 billion is for “Atomic Defense Activities” which could be justified under the authorities and obligations ratified in the Constitution. The remaining $9.9 billion, not related to “Atomic Defense Activities”, is unconstitutional spending.



Considering the fact that the lion’s share of the constitutional activities of the Department of Energy are solely dedicated to the Navy and protection against foreign invasion, it seems logical that these activities should be moved to the Department of Defense, which also requires substantial reorganization to be constitutional, but that’s a project for another day.



I submit that the Federal Government and the Department of Energy have dramatically limited access to and increased the cost of energy. Today, all forms of commercial energy are produced under strict federal regulations that make energy much more expensive than it should be. These regulations strangle the innovations and investments that would naturally provide the clean, safe, abundant, energy they are dedicated to providing.



The Department of Energy is not the answer to our energy problems, it is the problem.

Posted by Walter L. Brown Jr. at 9:42 PM