[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 534 Introduced in House (IH)]







106th CONGRESS
  2d Session
H. RES. 534

 Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the recent 
  nuclear weapons security failures at Los Alamos National Laboratory 
  demonstrate that security policy and security procedures within the 
 National Nuclear Security Administration remain inadequate, that the 
  individuals responsible for such policy and procedures must be held 
 accountable for their performance, and that immediate action must be 
                taken to correct security deficiencies.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             June 27, 2000

  Mr. Spence (for himself, Mr. Skelton, Mr. Hunter, Mr. Sisisky, Mr. 
 Weldon of Pennsylvania, Mr. Thornberry, and Mrs. Tauscher) submitted 
the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Armed 
                                Services

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
 Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the recent 
  nuclear weapons security failures at Los Alamos National Laboratory 
  demonstrate that security policy and security procedures within the 
 National Nuclear Security Administration remain inadequate, that the 
  individuals responsible for such policy and procedures must be held 
 accountable for their performance, and that immediate action must be 
                taken to correct security deficiencies.

Whereas two computer hard drives containing a large quantity of sensitive 
        classified nuclear weapons data at the Department of Energy's Los Alamos 
        National Laboratory, Los Alamos, New Mexico, were recently missing for 
        an undetermined period of time, exposing them to possible compromise;
Whereas the President's Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board, in its report dated 
        June 1999 on security problems at the Department of Energy, concluded 
        that ``the Department of Energy and the weapons laboratories have a 
        deeply rooted culture of low regard for and, at times, hostility to 
        security issues'';
Whereas in response to longstanding security problems with the nuclear weapons 
        complex and to recommendations made by the President's Foreign 
        Intelligence Advisory Board in that report, Congress enacted the 
        National Nuclear Security Administration Act (title XXXII of Public Law 
        106-65) to establish a semi-autonomous National Nuclear Security 
        Administration with responsibility for the administration of programs 
        for the national security applications of nuclear energy;
Whereas the Special Oversight Panel on Department of Energy Reorganization of 
        the Committee on Armed Services of the House of Representatives 
        concluded in February 2000 that the Department's plan to implement the 
        provisions of that Act ``taken as a whole appears to allow continued DOE 
        authority, direction, and control over the NNSA and retain current DOE 
        management, budget, and planning practices and organizational 
        structures'';
Whereas the Secretary of Energy has recognized the need to address nuclear 
        weapons security problems within the Department of Energy and has sought 
        to make improvements;
Whereas the Secretary of Energy, in fulfilling the duties and functions of the 
        Under Secretary for Nuclear Security, and the Director of the Office of 
        Security and Emergency Operations of the Department of Energy, in 
        serving as the Chief of Defense Nuclear Security of the National Nuclear 
        Security Administration, were responsible for nuclear weapons security 
        policies and implementation of those policies while the computer hard 
        drives were missing;
Whereas the effective protection of nuclear weapons classified information is a 
        critical responsibility of those individuals entrusted with access to 
        that information; and
Whereas the compromise of the nuclear weapons data stored on the computer hard 
        drives, if confirmed, would constitute a clear and present danger to the 
        national security of the United States and its allies: Now, therefore, 
        be it
    Resolved, That it is the sense of the House of Representatives 
that--
            (1) the security failures at Los Alamos National Laboratory 
        revealed to Congress on June 9, 2000, demonstrate the continued 
        inadequacy of nuclear weapons security policy and procedures 
        within the National Nuclear Security Administration and at 
        facilities of the Administration;
            (2) individuals responsible for the implementation, 
        oversight, and management of nuclear weapons security policy 
        and procedures within the Administration and its facilities 
        must be held accountable for their performance; and
            (3) the Administrator for Nuclear Security must take 
        immediate action to improve procedures for the safeguarding of 
        classified nuclear weapons information and correct all 
        identified nuclear weapons security deficiencies within the 
        Administration.
                                 <all>