Staff Reports
The Government Accountability Office released a blunt new audit this week showing the Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management is dangerously thin on staff. The GAO report (GAO-26-108674) says EM ended the last fiscal year with roughly a 45% vacancy rate. That is not a minor staffing hiccup — it is a full-blown competence problem at the agency that oversees our nation’s most hazardous cleanup work.
GAO report: Office of Environmental Management severely understaffed
The GAO found EM’s federal workforce fell from about 1,272 in 2023 to just 856 by the end of 2025. That drop produced an overall vacancy rate of roughly 45% compared with staffing needs. Key roles like nuclear engineers, safety specialists, and physical scientists are among those that left in big numbers. EM is the office that watches over cleanup at Hanford, Los Alamos, Savannah River and other sites — so these vacancies matter for safety and oversight.
Deferred Resignation Program drove mass departures
The audit points a finger at the Deferred Resignation Program as the main driver. Of the 409 people who left EM in 2025, 76% used that program, and nearly half of the departures were in mission‑critical occupations. EM told GAO it plans to hire about 174 people next year, but replacing a tiny slice of what was lost doesn’t undo years of knowledge walking out the door.
What this means for safety, costs, and cleanup
GAO warns the staffing hole threatens safe, timely oversight of work that could cost more than half a trillion dollars over its lifetime. Chronic understaffing has already been linked to delays, cost overruns, and even accidents in the past. With a big share of remaining staff eligible for retirement soon, EM risks losing institutional knowledge right when it’s needed most to manage radioactive waste, contaminated groundwater and aging facilities.
Congress and DOE must act — loudly
It is time for real accountability. Congress needs to ask hard questions and insist on a plan that actually fills mission‑critical jobs and locks down knowledge transfer at Hanford, Los Alamos, Savannah River and elsewhere. Calling a reassessment “reorganization” while leaving nearly half the oversight staff gone is not leadership. If we want safe nuclear waste cleanup instead of PR spin, the GAO report should be a wake-up call — not a reason to hope for better luck next year.
