IV
House Calendar No. 255
106TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. RES. 534
[Report No. 106–730]
Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the recent nuclear
weapons security failures at Los Alamos National Laboratory dem-
onstrate 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) sub-
mitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on
Armed Services
JULY 12, 2000
Referred to the House Calendar and ordered to be printed
RESOLUTION
Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that
the recent nuclear weapons security failures at Los Ala-
mos National Laboratory demonstrate that security pol-
icy and security procedures within the National Nuclear
Security Administration remain inadequate, that the in-
dividuals responsible for such policy and procedures must
•HRES 534 RH
be held accountable for their performance, and that im-
mediate action must be taken to correct security defi-
ciencies.
Whereas two computer hard drives containing a large quan-
tity of sensitive classified nuclear weapons data at the
Department of Energy’s Los Alamos National Labora-
tory, Los Alamos, New Mexico, were recently missing for
an undetermined period of time, exposing them to pos-
sible 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 Nu-
clear 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 En-
ergy Reorganization of the Committee on Armed Services
of the House of Representatives concluded in February
2000 that the Department’s plan to implement the provi-
sions of that Act ‘‘taken as a whole appears to allow con-
tinued DOE authority, direction, and control over the
NNSA and retain current DOE management, budget,
and planning practices and organizational structures’’;
•HRES 534 RH
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 improve-
ments;
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 nu-
clear weapons security policies and implementation of
those policies while the computer hard drives were miss-
ing;
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 con-
stitute 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 Rep-
resentatives 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 fa-
cilities of the Administration;
•HRES 534 RH
(2) individuals responsible for the implementa-
tion, oversight, and management of nuclear weapons
security policy and procedures within the Adminis-
tration 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 weap-
ons security deficiencies within the Administration.
House Calendar No. 255
106TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. RES. 534
[Report No. 106–730]
RESOLUTION
Expressing the sense of the House of Representa-
tives that the recent nuclear weapons security
failures at Los Alamos National Laboratory dem-
onstrate that security policy and security proce-
dures within the National Nuclear Security Ad-
ministration remain inadequate, that the individ-
uals responsible for such policy and procedures
must be held accountable for their performance,
and that immediate action must be taken to cor-
rect security deficiencies.
JULY 12, 2000
Referred to the House Calendar and ordered to be
printed