On June 17, 1999, Secretary of Energy Bill Richardson re-designated Argonne and Brookhaven National Laboratories as defense nuclear facilities for application of sectrion 2161 of the Fiscal Year 1993 National Defense Authorization Act. These facilities had been deleted from the list of such facilities in July 1997. Subsequently, concerns were raised that the change in designation had not included appropriate consultation with stakeholders. The Secretary agreed with these concerns and restored the designation.

Designation as a defense nuclear facility under section 3161 assures that work force changes at the laboratories will be accomplished to the extent practicable in ways that mitigate the impacts on workers and communities. It specifically provides for stakeholder consultation in the process and provides preference-in-hiring for qualified displaced workers.