33 Years Later, Carter’s Energy Department Still Struggling to Meet Goals

The U.S. Department of Energy, which opened its doors on Oct. 1, 1977 amidst the backdrop of the “Energy Crisis” of the 1970s, is still struggling to live up to the goals the Carter Administration set for it. The department, which has become a huge federal bureaucracy over the last 33 years, came into being largely as a result of the 1973 oil “shortage” that occurred when Arab nations in OPEC, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, staged an oil "embargo" against the United States. President Carter underscored his goal of reducing dependence on foreign oil on Aug. 4, 1977, when he signed into law the bill creating the Energy Department...more

So how is this Carter & Congress creation doing? Let's see:

Imports have risen, not declined

Domestic production has declined

Oil consumption in the U.S. is up, not down

Gasoline usage has grown significantly

Gasoline prices have continued to rise

Not looking too good is it. They have accomplished one thing though:

Today, the Department of Energy has 16,000 permanent employees and 100,000 contract employees around the nation. The agency’s budget, meanwhile, has ballooned from $8.4 billion in Fiscal Year 1980 to $26.5 billion in FY2010.