II 

108TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 2746

To provide for the termination of the current contract for the operation 

of Los Alamos National Laboratory, New Mexico, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JULY 22, 2004 

Mr. ALLARD introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 

to the Committee on Armed Services 

A BILL

To provide for the termination of the current contract for 

the operation of Los Alamos National Laboratory, New 

Mexico, and for other purposes.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Los Alamos National 

5 Laboratory National Security Act for Fiscal Year 2004’’. 

6 SEC. 2. TERMINATION OF CURRENT CONTRACT FOR OPER7 ATION OF LOS ALAMOS NATIONAL LABORA8 TORY, NEW MEXICO. 

9 (a) FINDINGS.—The Senate makes the following 

10 findings: 
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1 (1) The Department of Energy’s nuclear weap2 ons program and its other national defense and re3 search activities at Los Alamos National Laboratory, 

4 New Mexico, are of vital importance to the national 

5 security of the United States. 

6 (2) The workforce, including nuclear weapons 

7 designers, engineers, scientists, and technicians, at 

8 Los Alamos National Laboratory are an invaluable 

9 asset to the national security of the United States. 

10 (3) Significant security and safety violations 

11 have occurred with increasing frequency at Los Ala12 mos National Laboratory over the last decade. 

13 (4) An unacceptable attitude of indifference and 

14 carelessness on the part of the existing contractor, 

15 the University of California, has contributed to a 

16 culture at Los Alamos National Laboratory that has 

17 lead to numerous security and safety violations at 

18 the Laboratory over the last few years. 

19 (5) The University of California has managed 

20 Los Alamos National Laboratory for almost 60 

21 years, but, in spite of repeated admonitions from the 

22 Department of Energy, has not properly addressed 

23 a culture that has led to security and safety viola24 tions at the Laboratory. 
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1 (6) The Secretary of Energy and the Adminis2 trator for Nuclear Security have repeatedly criticized 

3 the University of California for security and safety 

4 failures at Los Alamos National Laboratory, and 

5 even required the termination of a laboratory man6 ager, but the University of California continues to 

7 permit a lax environment and culture to remain at 

8 the Laboratory. While an open academic environ9 ment works well on university campuses, it cannot 

10 be tolerated at the nuclear weapons facilities of the 

11 United States. 

12 (7) Recent violations at Los Alamos National 

13 Laboratory, including the disappearance of two clas14 sified hard drives, the transmission of classified in15 formation via the Internet, the needless injury of 

16 Laboratory employees, and fraudulent use of govern17 ment resources, indicate the immediate need for new 

18 management, mechanisms, and controls to bring the 

19 violations at the Laboratory to an end. 

20 (8) Repeated security and safety violations un21 dermine the critical work at Los Alamos National 

22 Laboratory, place the well-being of workers at risk, 

23 and threaten the national security of the United 

24 States. 
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1 (9) The national security interests of the 

2 United States require that the Department of Ener3 gy’s contract with University of California at Los 

4 Alamos National Laboratory be terminated. 

5 (b) TERMINATION OF CONTRACT.—The Secretary of 

6 Energy shall terminate the contract of the University of 

7 California to operate Los Alamos National Laboratory, 

8 New Mexico, not later than March 15, 2005. 

9 (c) INTERIM CONTRACTOR.—For the period begin10 ning on the date of the termination of the contract of the 

11 University of California to operate Los Alamos National 

12 Laboratory under subsection (b) and ending on the date 

13 of the award of the contract to the successor to the Uni14 versity of California, the Secretary shall appoint as the 

15 contractor to operate Los Alamos National Laboratory 

16 such element of the Federal Government, or such private 

17 entity, as the Secretary considers appropriate for that pur18 pose. 

19 (d) RETENTION OF ESSENTIAL EMPLOYEES.—The 

20 Secretary shall take appropriate actions to ensure the re21 tention of essential employees at Los Alamos National 

22 Laboratory both during the period referred to in sub23 section (c) and after the commencement of operations of 

24 Los Alamos National Laboratory by the successor to the 

25 University of California. 
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1 (e) PROHIBITION ON CONTRACT AWARD TO UNIVER2 SITY OF CALIFORNIA.—No contract (including a multi3 party contract) for the operation of Los Alamos National 

4 Laboratory that is awarded after the date of the enact5 ment of this Act may be awarded to the University of Cali6 fornia, whether as the prime contractor or as a subcon7 tractor in any capacity.

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