There hereby is established within the Department of Energy an Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management. The Office shall be headed by a Director, who shall be appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, and who shall be compensated at the rate payable for level IV of the Executive Schedule under section 5315 of title 5.

The Director of the Office shall be responsible for carrying out the functions of the Secretary under this chapter, subject to the general supervision of the Secretary. The Director of the Office shall be directly responsible to the Secretary.

The Director of the Office shall annually prepare and submit to the Congress a comprehensive report on the activities and expenditures of the Office.

If requested by either House of the Congress (or any committee thereof) or if considered necessary by the Comptroller General, the Government Accountability Office shall conduct an audit of the Office, in accord with such regulations as the Comptroller General may prescribe. The Comptroller General shall have access to such books, records, accounts, and other materials of the Office as the Comptroller General determines to be necessary for the preparation of such audit. The Comptroller General shall submit a report on the results of each audit conducted under this section.

(Pub. L. 97–425, title III, § 304, Jan. 7, 1983, 96 Stat. 2261; Pub. L. 104–66, title I, § 1052(l), Dec. 21, 1995, 109 Stat. 719; Pub. L. 108–271, § 8(b), July 7, 2004, 118 Stat. 814.)