[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 145 (1999), Part 12]
[House]
[Page 17775]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



        SECURITY AT OUR NATIONAL LABS--WE MUST ALL BE CONCERNED

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Jones) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. JONES of North Carolina. Mr. Speaker, last week I came to the 
floor to talk about Chinese espionage, something that seems to be 
missing in media coverage. A couple of weeks ago, an interview on The 
O'Reilly Factor caught my attention. Bill O'Reilly spoke with 
Lieutenant Colonel Edward McCallum, the director of Security and 
Safeguards for the Department of Energy. After 9 years serving in this 
position, Colonel McCallum has been placed on administrative leave and 
his job has been threatened.
  Mr. Speaker, Colonel McCallum has a long and distinguished military 
career. The colonel is an individual who takes his job as a defender of 
our Nation and our constitutional rights seriously. Colonel McCallum 
has dedicated his life to protecting the citizens and the critical 
national security interests of America; and now, he is being punished 
because he came forward with facts surrounding espionage at our 
research and weapons laboratories.
  Mr. Speaker, when President Clinton appointed Hazel O'Leary Energy 
Secretary, a dangerously casual attitude invaded the Department of 
Energy. Colonel McCallum has said that as security was relaxed and even 
cut, he and members of his staff repeatedly contacted Secretary 
O'Leary's office urging her to take measures to protect our sensitive 
technology. Unfortunately, their efforts were ignored. This destructive 
management style began with Secretary O'Leary, but similar efforts to 
urge Secretary Bill Richardson to protect the security of our weapons 
laboratories has been stonewalled.
  Mr. Speaker, it is bad enough to think that our national security has 
been compromised. Now the same government that fails to recognize the 
gravity of stolen national security secrets is penalizing individuals 
like Colonel McCallum who fought and continued fighting for the safety 
and protection of our Nation. This is outrageous and completely 
unacceptable. It was Colonel McCallum's responsibility as the director 
of Security and Safeguards to make the Department aware of how to 
better protect U.S. technology; and yet, when he and Members of his 
staff tried to bring attention to the issue and make changes, nobody 
listened, or worse, chose to ignore his warnings.
  This begs the question: What else could have been stolen and who else 
could have gained access to this information? What new information is 
now available to other nations that threaten each and every citizen, 
and why are we not more concerned?
  Mr. Speaker, the safety and protection of our national security is an 
issue of critical national importance. We must commend, not penalize, 
men and women like Colonel McCallum whose dedication and commitment to 
this country is so strong that they would risk losing their jobs and 
their livelihood to protect America.
  We know this administration is responsible for compromising our 
national security. At the very least, that is unforgivable. In 
administrations of greater accountability, these acts would have been 
labeled treasonous. Instead, they would like to quiet Colonel McCallum 
and bury this messy espionage issue.
  This is an issue with serious consequences for each of us. When our 
national security is compromised, so too is the safety of each and 
every American. Unfortunately, this concern is lost on many Americans. 
The advances gained by other nations make all Americans more 
vulnerable. As such, we should all be concerned; we all must be 
concerned.
  Mr. Speaker, last week I had the opportunity to appear on The 
O'Reilly Factor to talk about Chinese espionage and Colonel McCallum's 
quest for the truth. As Mr. O'Reilly and I discussed, something must be 
done for the colonel and the American people who rely on the government 
to protect and defend them and their way of life. Like all Americans, 
Colonel McCallum deserves protection. While the administration is 
threatening his job simply for telling the truth, they threaten 
security and safety of us all.
  Mr. Speaker, it has become clear that the President and the 
administration are not committed to our national security, nor are they 
committed to the individuals who dedicate their lives to protecting it. 
Therefore, my good friend and colleague from Pennsylvania (Mr. Weldon) 
and I joined together to send a letter to the gentleman from South 
Carolina (Mr. Spence), the chairman of the Committee on Armed Services, 
asking the colonel to testify before the committee about this grave 
matter. With help from Fox News and Bill O'Reilly, we have aggressively 
followed and reported on this subject.
  We can continue informing the American people how this administration 
has compromised our national security. Since my appearance last week, 
Mr. O'Reilly and I have heard from scores of average citizens from 
across our Nation. Each e-mail, letter or phone agreed on two basic 
points: first, to protect this country, we must act to address past 
occurrences of espionage while ensuring that it does not happen in the 
future; second, we must protect patriots like Colonel Ed McCallum who 
continues fighting to protect our national security.
  Mr. Speaker, I agree with the citizens who contacted my office: the 
security of our Nation is precious.

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