In a letter Tuesday to Energy Secretary Rick Perry, two Democratic senators questioned whether the prime contractor for the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California inappropriately billed the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) to fight what the lawmakers called “whistleblower-related” cases in court.
In particular, Sens. Claire McCaskill (Mo.) and Ron Wyden (Ore.) questioned whether the NNSA improperly reimbursed Lawrence Livermore National Security (LLNS) for $24 million in legal costs associated with six whistleblower cases, including “several still ongoing,” according to a letter shared with the press via email.
The senators, who have previously pressed the Department of Energy about potential mishandling of whistleblower cases, said they obtained the records of alleged payments from an unidentified whistleblower. They noted in a press release that DOE is not allowed to reimburse contractor legal costs if that entity has taken retaliatory measures against a whistleblower or “other prohibited actions.”
McCaskill and Wyden asked Perry to address whether the department had acted properly in reimbursing LLNS, and to deliver his explanation in writing by March 20.
LLNS already had an explanation on hand Tuesday.
“The cases in question are employment cases, not whistleblower cases, many of which were either settled or dismissed,” a LLNS spokesperson said by email. “For those cases that were settled, DOE/NNSA reviewed the settlements and determined the costs to be reasonable and allowable.”
The Department of Energy did not reply to a request for comment.
Lawrence Livermore National Security is a consortium led by the University of California and senior industry partner Bechtel National, with industry teammates AECOM, BWX Technologies, and Battelle.
