[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 74 (Wednesday, June 14, 2000)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5067-S5069]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                           EXECUTIVE SESSION

                                 ______
                                 

   NOMINATION OF GENERAL JOHN A. GORDON, U.S. AIR FORCE, TO BE UNDER 
          SECRETARY FOR NUCLEAR SECURITY, DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, the Senate will now 
go into executive session and proceed to the nomination of Gen. John A. 
Gordon, which the clerk will report.
  The legislative clerk read the nomination of Gen. John A. Gordon, 
United States Air Force, to be Under Secretary for Nuclear Security, 
Department of Energy.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Hutchinson). Who yields time?
  If no one yields time, time will be charged equally to both sides.
  The distinguished Senator from Virginia.
  Mr. WARNER. I thank the Chair. Under that ruling, without objection 
on my part, time will be charged equally to both sides.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The senior assistant bill clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, momentarily, we will vote on the 
nomination of a very distinguished citizen of our country. I want to 
elaborate in these few minutes about his distinguished career.
  We know he has been nominated to be the first Under Secretary for 
Nuclear Security, as well as the first administrator of the National 
Nuclear Security Administration at the Department of Energy. We are all 
familiar with General Gordon's record. He took on many challenging 
assignments over these years in the Department of Defense and currently 
is Deputy Director for the Central Intelligence Agency.
  I would like to go back and give a brief history of the establishment 
of the National Nuclear Security Administration and the position for 
which General Gordon has been nominated.
  The Administration was established by title 32 of the National 
Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 2000. That consolidated all 
of the national security functions of the Department of Energy under a 
single, semi-autonomous organizational unit. This reorganization 
represents the most significant reorganization of the Department of 
Energy in more than 20 years.

  The Congress did not take this action lightly. We established this 
new entity in response to a multitude of reports and assessments which 
called for changes in the Department of Energy's ``dysfunctional'' 
organization structure. The reports include the 1997 ``120-day study'' 
issued by the Institute for Defense Analysis, the 1999 Chiles 
Commission report, and the 1999 Foster Panel report--just to mention a 
few. However, the most compelling report was issued by President 
Clinton's Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board in June 1999. That 
bipartisan report stated that:

       . . . real and lasting security and counterintelligence 
     reform at the weapons labs is simply unworkable within DOE's 
     current structure and culture. To achieve the kind of 
     protection that these sensitive labs must have, they and 
     their functions must have their own autonomous operational 
     structure free of all the other obligations imposed by DOE 
     management.

  The President's Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board went on to make 
the following recommendations to the President and Congress, (1) create 
a new semi-autonomous agency and (2) streamline the management of the 
DOE weapons labs management structure by abolishing ties between the 
weapons labs and all DOE regional, field and site offices, and all 
contractor intermediaries. The committee was very careful to fully 
implement the President's Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board's 
bipartisan recommendations, exactly as they were presented to President 
Clinton.
  The overarching goal was to establish, for the first time in many 
years, a clear chain of command for the Department's national security 
programs. Some disagree with the final product, but I believe we 
accomplished that goal. It is now time for General Gordon to make this 
new entity work.
  I have been trying for some weeks to get this nomination up. Just 
think: Last year, we passed structural reforms. It was signed into law 
by the President. And here we are almost a year later--just today--
about to confirm the President's nominee to head this new entity.
  We have vested a considerable amount of authority in the 
Administrator of the National Nuclear Security Administration; that is, 
General Gordon. We trust that he will use it in the best of U.S. 
national security.
  I have come to know this fine man very well over the months that I 
have worked with him in connection with this nomination. I can tell the 
Senate without any equivocation that I do not know of a more qualified 
person, a man whose background, whose achievements, whose every step in 
life better qualifies him, including a character I think that is beyond 
question, to take on this important responsibility.
  With regard to some details about him, the general entered the Air 
Force through the Reserve Officer Training Corps Program in 1968.
  His early assignments were in research and development and 
acquisition where he was involved in improving the Minuteman 
Intercontinental Ballistic Missile--ICBM--and in developing and 
acquiring the Peacekeeper ICBM. He served with the U.S. Department of 
State in the politico-military affairs. Later, he commanded the 90th 
Strategic Missile Wing, the only Peacekeeper ICBM unit. He served in 
the National Security Council in the areas of defense and arms control, 
including oversight and completion of START II negotiations. The 
general then became senior member of the staff of the Secretary of 
Defense, and later the Director of Operations, Air Force Space Command, 
responsible for overseeing

[[Page S5068]]

and developing policy and guidance for the command's operational 
missions.
  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to have printed in the Record 
the biography of General Gordon.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

                   Biography--General John A. Gordon

       General John A. Gordon is deputy director of central 
     intelligence, Central Intelligence Agency, Washington, D.C.
       The general entered the Air Force through the Reserve 
     Officer Training Corps program in 1968. His early assignments 
     were in research, development and acquisition where he was 
     involved in improving the Minuteman Intercontinental 
     Ballistic Missile (ICBM) and in developing and acquiring the 
     Peacekeeper ICBM. He was a long-range planner at Strategic 
     Air Command and served with the U.S. State Department in 
     politico-military affairs. Later, he commanded the 90th 
     Strategic Missile Wing, the only Peacekeeper ICBM unit. He 
     has served with the National Security Council in the areas of 
     defense and arms control, including the oversight and 
     completion of the START II negotiations. The general then 
     became a senior member of the secretary of defense's staff 
     and later, the director of operations, Air Force Space 
     Command, responsible for overseeing and developing policy and 
     guidance for the command's operational missions. He also has 
     served as special assistant to the Air Force chief of staff 
     for long-range planning, where he was responsible for 
     restarting and integrating a long-range planning process into 
     the Air Force. Prior to assuming his current position, he was 
     associate director of central intelligence for military 
     support, Central Intelligence Agency.


                               education

       1968 Bachelor of science degree with honors in physics, 
     University of Missouri, Columbia.
       1970 Master of science degree, Naval Postgraduate School, 
     Monterey, Calif.
       1972 Master of arts degree in business administration, New 
     Mexico Highlands University, Las Vegas.
       1975 Squadron Officer School, by correspondence.
       1978 Air Command and Staff College, by correspondence.
       1986 Air War College, Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala.


                              assignments

       1. July 1968-June 1970, graduate student, Naval 
     Postgraduate School, Monterey, Calif., and Wright-Patterson 
     Air Force Base, Ohio.
       2. June 1970-June 1974, physicist, Air Force Weapons 
     Laboratory, Kirtland Air Force Base, N.M.
       3. June 1974-April 1976, research associate at DOE, Sandia 
     Laboratories, Albuquerque, N.M.
       4. April 1976-February 1979, long-range planner, 
     Headquarters Strategic Air Command, Offutt Air Force Base, 
     Neb.
       5. February 1979-August 1980, staff officer, research and 
     development, Headquarters U.S. Air Force, Washington, D.C.
       6. August 1980-May 1982, executive assistant to the 
     undersecretary of the Air Force, Washington, D.C.
       7. May 1982-January 1983, deputy director, Office of Policy 
     Analysis, Department of State, Washington, D.C.
       8. January 1983-July 1985, office director for strategic 
     nuclear policy, and director for defense and arms control 
     matters, Bureau of Politico-Military Affairs, Department of 
     State, Washington, D.C.
       9. July 1985-July 1986, student, Air War College, Maxwell 
     Air Force Base, Ala.
       10. July 1986-June 1987, assistant deputy commander for 
     maintenance, 44th Strategic Missile Wing, Ellsworth Air Force 
     Base, S.D.
       11. June 1987-May 1989, vice commander, then commander, 
     90th Strategic Missile Wing, Francis E. Warren Air Force 
     Base, Wyo.
       12. May 1989-January 1993, special assistant to the 
     president for national security affairs and senior director 
     for defense policy and arms control, National Security 
     Council, Washington, D.C.
       13. January 1993-June 1994, deputy undersecretary of 
     defense and chief of staff for policy, Department of Defense, 
     Washington, D.C.
       14. June 1994-September 1995, director of operations, 
     Headquarters Air Force Space Command, Peterson Air Force 
     Base, Colo.
       15. September 1995-September 1996, special assistant to the 
     chief of staff for long-range planning, Headquarters U.S. Air 
     Force, Washington, D.C.
       16. September 1996-October 1997, associate director of 
     central intelligence for military support, Central 
     Intelligence Agency, Washington, D.C.
       17. October 1997-present, deputy director of central 
     intelligence, Central Intelligence Agency, Washington, D.C.


                      major awards and decorations

       Defense Distinguished Service Medal with oak leaf cluster.
       Defense Superior Service Medal.
       Legion of Merit.
       Defense Meritorious Service Medal.
       Meritorious Service Medal with oak leaf cluster.
       Air Force Commendation Medal.


                      effective dates of promotion

       Second Lieutenant Jun 4, 1968.
       First Lieutenant Dec 4, 1969.
       Captain Jun 4, 1971.
       Major Sep 1, 1979.
       Lieutenant Colonel Nov 1, 1981.
       Colonel Dec 1, 1985.
       Brigadier General Jun 1, 1992.
       Major General May 25, 1995.
       Lieutenant General Sep 20, 1996.
       General Oct 31, 1997.
       (Current as of September 1998).

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Michigan.
  Mr. LEVIN. Mr. President, I thank the Chair.
  Mr. President, I join with Senator Warner in supporting the 
President's nomination of Gen. John Gordon to be the Under Secretary 
for Nuclear Security in the Department of Energy, and the first 
administrator of the new National Nuclear Security Agency in the 
Department of Energy.
  General Gordon is an excellent choice to fill this very demanding 
position. General Gordon has served his country for more than 30 years, 
most recently as the Deputy Director of the Central Intelligence 
Agency. He was recommended for this position by a panel of highly 
qualified experts headed by former Deputy Secretary of Energy Charles 
Curtis.
  It is hard to imagine an individual with more experience than General 
Gordon with all aspects of the nuclear forces of the United States. 
During his long and distinguished career in the United States Air 
Force, General Gordon worked in the research and development of nuclear 
weapons programs as a physicist and technician; he is familiar with the 
operational requirements of our nuclear forces from his tours of duty 
with U.S. strategic missile forces, including service as vice commander 
and commander of a Strategic Missile Wing; and he worked at the highest 
policy levels of the Executive Branch during his four years on the 
National Security Council as special assistant to the President for 
national security affairs and senior director for defense policy and 
arms control.
  Upon confirmation, General Gordon will take on one of the most 
challenging assignments in the federal government. The Administrator of 
the new National Nuclear Security Administration is responsible for 
maintaining the safety and reliability of our nation's nuclear 
warheads; for addressing security problems that continue to undermine 
public confidence in the Department of Energy; for managing the 
Department of Energy laboratories; and for cleaning up some of the 
worst environmental problems in the country.
  Moreover, the Administrator will face these assignments as the head 
of an agency so plagued with ``convoluted, confusing and 
contradictory'' reporting channels that the President's Foreign 
Intelligence Advisory Board last year characterized the entire 
Department of Energy as a ``dysfunctional'' organization. Although I 
believe that some of the legislation Congress has passed and is 
currently considering will make General Gordon's job harder and not 
easier, I pledge to work with General Gordon, Secretary Richardson and 
my colleagues in the Congress to do everything I can to give General 
Gordon the support he will need to be successful in this demanding job.
  I think all of us appreciate General Gordon's willingness to serve 
his country on this continuing basis and to take on a very difficult 
assignment.
  I yield the floor.
  Mr. ALLARD. Mr. President, I rise today to show my support for 
General John Gordon to be the Director of the National Nuclear Security 
Administration or the NNSA. But before I do that, I need to mention a 
related item, the lack of security protections at the Los Alamos lab.
  On Monday, June 12, the New York Times reported that computer hard 
drives containing valuable nuclear weapons data and other highly 
sensitive information were found missing from the Los Alamos National 
Laboratory on May 7th. These classified hard drives were stored in 
locked containers in a vault at the weapons X Division at the lab. The 
containers were found but the hard drives are gone. According to 
reports, the material missing is American nuclear weapons data that the 
Nuclear Emergency Search Team needs to disarm nuclear devices during 
emergencies. Also missing is the intelligence information on the 
Russian nuclear weapons program. To make matters worse, the Lab did not 
begin an intensive search until May 24. I realize that a fire was 
raging in the area and

[[Page S5069]]

that people were focused on that, but to wait that long makes little 
sense. I understand that the law now requires that any such incident 
must be reported to the Department of Energy within 8 hours. Finally, 
DOE headquarters was informed of the missing data on June 1.
  While it may seem premature to speculate foul play, I must say that 
neither DOE nor the Administration have a strong track record in the 
area of safeguards and security. Unfortunately, this is not the first 
incident of lax security during this Administration.
  Here are just a few of the reported incidents.
  March 1999--It was determined that the Chinese had penetrated Los 
Alamos Laboratory and stole our nuclear secrets.
  Last December--A Russian diplomat is ordered to leave after a 
microphone transmitter is discovered on the 7th floor of the State 
Department, only a short walk from the office of Secretary Albright.
  Then there is the case of the missing laptops at the State Department 
and the situation with the former CIA Director John Deutch, who since 
has lost all his clearances, of mishandling classified information.
  While not all these cases are related to the newly created NNSA, they 
do show that a new attitude and new ethic must be incorporated into 
this Administration. We have had too many problems at too many places.
  That is why I am glad that General Gordon is finally being voted on 
by this Senate. I am sorry that this vote took so long to take place. 
This vote was objected to by some who wanted to get a better deal on a 
few items in the Defense authorization bill relating to the NNSA. It 
was my belief there would be obstacles in this job, but I never 
believed it would happen before he got to the NNSA. However, now that 
the objection to General Gordon's nomination has been lifted, we can 
finally move this nomination. Gen. Gordon's position is far too 
valuable to be made a political pawn and the latest incident at Los 
Alamos proves that.
  Also, I let him know that I don't expect miracles, I just expect our 
national security be treated as such. No longer should science and 
personnel matters out rank security. We must change this culture and I 
believe that General Gordon is the right person for this job. I want to 
thank General Gordon for his dedication and commitment to his country 
and for serving in this new position.
  Lastly, Mr. President, I look forward to the hearings on the latest 
incident at the lab. For too long I have heard this administration 
crowing that they are taking care of the security problems, but this 
latest incident shows that their actions don't match their words. While 
this administration crowed they attempted to undermine what Congress 
had done last year to strengthen security in the Department of Energy 
through amendments in the Strategic Subcommittee of the Armed Services 
Committee. As chairman of that committee I was appalled at the action 
of Democrat members of the committee as well in their attempts to stop 
the nomination of General Gordon. We must and will get to the bottom of 
our nation's security problems.
  Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The senior assistant bill clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  All time having expired, the question is, Will the Senate advise and 
consent to the nomination of Gen. John A. Gordon, United States Air 
Force, to be Under Secretary for Nuclear Security, Department of 
Energy? On this question, the yeas and nays have been ordered, and the 
clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk called the roll.
  Mr. REID. I announce that the Senator from New York (Mr. Moynihan), 
the Senator from Rhode Island (Mr. Reed), and the Senator from West 
Virginia (Mr. Rockefeller) are necessarily absent.
  The result was announced--yeas 97, nays 0, as follows:

                      [Rollcall Vote No. 128 Ex.]

                                YEAS--97

     Abraham
     Akaka
     Allard
     Ashcroft
     Baucus
     Bayh
     Bennett
     Biden
     Bingaman
     Bond
     Boxer
     Breaux
     Brownback
     Bryan
     Bunning
     Burns
     Byrd
     Campbell
     Chafee, L.
     Cleland
     Cochran
     Collins
     Conrad
     Coverdell
     Craig
     Crapo
     Daschle
     DeWine
     Dodd
     Domenici
     Dorgan
     Durbin
     Edwards
     Enzi
     Feingold
     Feinstein
     Fitzgerald
     Frist
     Gorton
     Graham
     Gramm
     Grams
     Grassley
     Gregg
     Hagel
     Harkin
     Hatch
     Helms
     Hollings
     Hutchinson
     Hutchison
     Inhofe
     Inouye
     Jeffords
     Johnson
     Kennedy
     Kerrey
     Kerry
     Kohl
     Kyl
     Landrieu
     Lautenberg
     Leahy
     Levin
     Lieberman
     Lincoln
     Lott
     Lugar
     Mack
     McCain
     McConnell
     Mikulski
     Murkowski
     Murray
     Nickles
     Reid
     Robb
     Roberts
     Roth
     Santorum
     Sarbanes
     Schumer
     Sessions
     Shelby
     Smith (NH)
     Smith (OR)
     Snowe
     Specter
     Stevens
     Thomas
     Thompson
     Thurmond
     Torricelli
     Voinovich
     Warner
     Wellstone
     Wyden

                             NOT VOTING--3

     Moynihan
     Reed
     Rockefeller
  The nomination was confirmed.

                          ____________________