FORMER DOE SECRETARY WATKINS PASSES AWAY

Former Secretary of Energy Adm. James Watkins passed away late last week at the age of 85. According to reports, Watkins had suffered from congestive heart failure. Watkins served as Energy Secretary under President George H.W. Bush from 1989 to 1993, and during his tenure he launched DOE’s program to clean up former U.S. nuclear weapons sites, now known as the Department’s Office of Environmental Management. In a statement yesterday, current Secretary of Energy Steven Chu said, “Admiral Watkins was a dedicated public servant who served this Department and his country. … At the Department of Energy, he helped steer the enterprise through the earliest days of the post-Cold War era, leaving behind a strong legacy and a stronger Department. We are grateful for his service to his country, and our thoughts are with his friends and family.”