There has been considerable discussion about whether or not the next management contract for the Los Alamos Laboratory should be competitively bid, and UC is currently expecting a decision from Department of Energy (DOE) Secretary Spencer Abraham on this question by April 30th. As you may know, the current UC management contract for LANL expires a little over two years from now.

While we are awaiting the Secretary’s decision, I wanted to share with you some remarks on this subject made today by U.S. Senator Pete Domenici during the Lab’s 60th anniversary celebration. Specifically, Senator Domenici indicated his support for a competitive contract bid process and UC’s ability to compete in such a process, as well as full protection of benefits for employees.

"I have been proud of the University of California under whose management the laboratory has largely flourished for 60 years… But, we all know that the present manner in which the laboratory is managed must change in ways that are inevitable… As a result, I have told Secretary Abraham that, at the end of the current University of California contract, I will support an effort by the Secretary to conduct a competition to solicit the very best proposals on how the laboratory could be managed… and I will urge him to join me in guaranteeing that whatever management regime we develop, the University of California will be able to compete and compete well. It is my hope that the University will always command a large role at Los Alamos.”

Senator Domenici further stated that he believes the DOE would have to “prepare a unique competitive process for determining lab management that would retain all current employees-with the exception of the most senior officials-and, fully protect current compensation and retirement benefits.”

UC agrees with Senator Domenici’s criticisms of the management problems at Los Alamos, and we are gratified to receive his strong support for the corrective actions we have taken. We are also gratified to hear that the Senator is committed to assuring that Lab employees will be fully protected during this process.

I, and UC Board of Regents Chairman John Moores, want to assure all Lab employees and the UC community at large, that the University of California would like to continue to manage the Los Alamos Laboratory. The most critical issue is what is best for the nation’s security, and UC is extremely proud of the contributions to the country and the world that have resulted from our 60 years of managing LANL in partnership with the Department of Energy.

If the Secretary’s decision is to compete the Los Alamos contract, there of course will be many questions to answer and details to work through, including the cost of such a process and whether or not the Los Alamos decision has potential implications for the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory contract.

The UC Board of Regents will discuss this at our next meeting in May and, as we have done throughout these past months, we will continue to keep Lab employees informed of all important developments as we move through this process.