[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 58 (Tuesday, April 27, 1999)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4277-S4278]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. SHELBY:
  S. 887. A bill to establish a moratorium on the Foreign Visitors 
Program at the Department of Energy nuclear laboratories, and for other 
purposes; to the Committee on Armed Services.


department of energy sensitive country foreign visitors moratorium act 
                                of 1999

  Mr. SHELBY. Mr. President, today I am introducing a bill to impose a 
moratorium on the foreign visitors program at the Department of 
Energy's (DOE) nuclear laboratories. The bill prohibits the Secretary 
of Energy from admitting any person from a ``sensitive country'' to our 
national laboratories, unless the Secretary of Energy personally 
certifies to the Congress that the visit is necessary for the national 
security of the United States.
  A ``sensitive country'' is a country that is considered dangerous to 
the United States and that may want to acquire our nuclear weapons 
secrets.
  Mr. President, the Senate Intelligence Committee has been critical of 
the Department of Energy's counterintelligence program for nearly ten 
years. Beginning in 1990, we identified serious shortfalls in funding 
and personnel dedicated to protecting our nation's nuclear secrets. 
Year after year, the Committee has provided additional funds and 
directed many reviews and studies in an effort to persuade the 
Department of Energy to take action. Unfortunately, this and prior 
administrations failed to heed our warnings. Consequently, a serious 
espionage threat at our national labs has gone virtually unabated and 
it appears that our nuclear weapons program may have suffered extremely 
grave damage.
  Now, the administration has finally begun to take affirmative steps 
to address this problem. While I welcome their efforts, I am 
disappointed that it took a some bad press to motivate them rather than 
a known threat to our national security. Nevertheless, the Department 
of Energy has begun the process of repairing the damage caused by years 
of neglect, but it will take time to make the necessary changes. In 
fact, it may take years.

[[Page S4278]]

  In the interim, we must take steps to ensure the integrity of our 
national labs. I understand that a moratorium on the foreign visitors 
program may be perceived as a draconian measure. Until the Department 
fully implements a comprehensive and sustained counterintelligence 
program, however, I believe that we must err on the side of caution. 
The stakes are too high.
  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be 
printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the bill was ordered to be printed in the 
Record, as follows:

                                 S. 887

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``Department of Energy 
     Sensitive Country Foreign Visitors Moratorium Act of 1999''.

     SEC. 2. MORATORIUM ON FOREIGN VISITORS PROGRAM.

       (a) Moratorium.--The Secretary of Energy may not admit to 
     any facility of a national laboratory any individual who is a 
     citizen of a nation that is named on the current Department 
     of Energy sensitive countries list.
       (b) Waiver Authority.--(1) The Secretary of Energy may 
     waive the prohibition in subsection (a) on a case-by-case 
     basis with respect to specific individuals whose admission to 
     a national laboratory is determined by the Secretary to be 
     necessary for the national security of the United States.
       (2) Before any such waiver takes effect, the Secretary 
     shall submit to the Committee on Armed Services and the 
     Select Committee on Intelligence of the Senate and the 
     Committee on Armed Services and the Permanent Select 
     Committee on Intelligence of the House of Representatives a 
     report in writing providing notice of the proposed waiver. 
     The report shall identify each individual for whom such a 
     waiver is proposed and, with respect to each such individual, 
     provide a detailed justification for the waiver and the 
     Secretary's certification that the admission of that 
     individual to a national laboratory is necessary for the 
     national security of the United States.
       (3)(A) A waiver under paragraph (1) may not take effect 
     until a period of 10 days of continuous session of Congress 
     has expired after the date of the submission of the report 
     under paragraph (2) providing notice of that waiver.
       (B) For purposes of subparagraph (A)--
       (i) the continuity of a session of Congress is broken only 
     by an adjournment of the Congress sine die; and
       (ii) there shall be excluded from the computation of the 
     10-day period specified in that subparagraph Saturdays, 
     Sundays, legal public holidays, and any day on which either 
     House of Congress in not in session because of adjournment of 
     more than three days to a day certain.
       (4) The authority of the Secretary under paragraph (1) may 
     not be delegated.

     SEC. 3. BACKGROUND CHECKS ON ALL FOREIGN VISITORS TO NATIONAL 
                   LABORATORIES.

       Before an individual who is a citizen of a foreign nation 
     is allowed to enter a national laboratory, the Secretary of 
     Energy shall require that a security clearance investigation 
     (known as a ``background check'') be carried out on that 
     individual.

     SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS.

       In this Act:
       (1) The term ``national laboratory'' means any of the 
     following:
       (A) The Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, 
     California.
       (B) The Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, New 
     Mexico.
       (C) The Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, New 
     Mexico.
       (2) The term ``sensitive countries list'' means the list 
     prescribed by the Secretary of Energy known as the Department 
     of Energy List of Sensitive Countries.
                                 ______