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The Department of Energy ( DOE ) has told employee that text file used by DOGE to value the agency ’s grants and declaration should be pit with “ effectual privilege ” to prevent them from being disclosed under Freedom of Information Act requests .

DOGE has supply the agency with spreadsheets , which are to be completed by representation official , to discover grants and contracts that could be flagged for outcome or renegotiation . The section ’s acting general counsellor , David R. Taggart , outline the DOE ’s DOGE - related function in a memo transport on March 17 , which wasobtainedby Axios .

The memo directs political appointment to limit whether grants and contracts are “ efficient ” or “ logical with DOE policies and priorities . ”

Taggart told agency official that they require to be abbreviated and ordered when filling out the spreadsheet due to the “ grave judicial proceeding environment ” surrounding DOGE - relate section cuts .

Few corners of the DOE are expect to be immune , fit in to the memoranda . Even the DOE ’s national laboratory system could be included since each is managed by individual companies under contract bridge .

The DOE ’s standard contract bridge hold in language that allow the section to end an awarding if it “ no longer effectuates the program goals or agency priority . ”

The memo also appears to give some insight into the path DOGE cuts might be enacted , suggest that there may not be much examination once the spreadsheet leave DOE berth .

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functionary are urged to be as granular as possible because lumping awards into group “ might overlook nuances between the pass over contracts and grant that might result in send away efficient agreement or keep inefficient agreements . ”