I
106TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 1348
To establish a moratorium on the Foreign Visitors Program at the Depart-
ment of Energy nuclear laboratories and to require the establishment
of a counterintelligence program at each of those laboratories.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
MARCH 25, 1999
Mr. RYUN of Kansas (for himself and Mr. TAYLOR of Mississippi) introduced
the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Armed Services
A BILL
To establish a moratorium on the Foreign Visitors Program
at the Department of Energy nuclear laboratories and
to require the establishment of a counterintelligence pro-
gram at each of those laboratories.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Department of Energy
Foreign Visitors Program Moratorium Act of 1999’’.
SEC. 2. MORATORIUM ON FOREIGN VISITORS PROGRAM.
(a) MORATORIUM.—Until otherwise provided by law,
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 En-
ergy sensitive countries list.
(b) WAIVER AUTHORITY.—(1) The Secretary of En-
ergy may waive the prohibition in subsection (a) on a case-
by-case basis with respect to specific individuals whose ad-
mission to a national laboratory is determined by the Sec-
retary 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 of the
Senate and Committee on Armed Services of the House
of Representatives a report in writing providing notice of
the proposed waiver. The report shall identify each indi-
vidual for whom such a waiver is proposed and, with re-
spect to each such individual, provide a detailed justifica-
tion 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 (B)—
(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 computa-
tion of the 10-day period specified in that subpara-
graph 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. COUNTERINTELLIGENCE PROGRAM.
(a) ESTABLISHMENT AT EACH LABORATORY.—The
Secretary of Energy shall establish a counterintelligence
program at each of the national laboratories. The counter-
intelligence program at each such laboratory shall have a
full-time staff assigned to counterintelligence functions at
that laboratory, including such personnel from other agen-
cies as may be approved by the Secretary. The counter-
intelligence program at each such laboratories shall be
under the direction of, and shall report to, the Director
of the Office of Counterintelligence of the Department of
Energy.
(b) 
INVESTIGATION
OF
PAST
SECURITY
BREACHES.—The Secretary shall require that the coun-
terintelligence program at each laboratory include a spe-
cific plan to investigate any breaches of security discovered
after the date of the enactment of this Act that occurred
at that laboratory before the establishment of that pro-
gram at that laboratory.
(c) REQUIRED BACKGROUND CHECKS ON ALL FOR-
EIGN VISITORS.—Before an individual who is a citizen of
a foreign nation is allowed to enter a national laboratory,
the Secretary shall require that a security clearance inves-
tigation (known as a ‘‘background check’’) be carried out
on that individual.
SEC. 4. REPORT TO CONGRESS.
The Secretary of Energy shall submit to the Com-
mittee on Armed Services of the Senate and Committee
on Armed Services of the House of Representatives a re-
port on the status of counterintelligence activities at each
of the national laboratories. The report shall be submitted
not earlier than the end of the six-month period beginning
on the date of the enactment of this Act and shall include
the recommendation of the Secretary as to whether section
2 of this Act should be repealed.
SEC. 5. DEFINITIONS.
For purposes of this Act:
(1) The term ‘‘national laboratory’’ means any
of the following: