Date: 2003-04-10
Speaker: EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Chairman. I rise today in favor of the Wu amendment. this is a simple. noncontroversial amendment that requires the Secretary of Energy to make a biennial report to Congress on DOE labs EEO practices. Why is such a requirement needed? This amendments reporting requirements mirror the April 2002 GAO reports recommendations and I believe it would help safeguard our national security and help maintain Americas scientific edge. A Department of Energy internal survey demonstrates the sentiments of many minorities at the department. According to the survey. many minorities feel there are racial problems in this department. In fact 80 percent of African Americans. 62 percent of Hispanic Americans. 26 percent of Caucasians. and 74 percent of Asian Pacific Americans working at DOE labs agreed that there is racial profiling at the labs. Whether these are real or perceived sentiments. it is problematic that such a high percentage of lab employees have concerns about their work environment. Should this trend continue. the labs would cease to be an attractive workplace for American scientists. As a nation. we cannot afford to lose our best asset. our human resources. This report also analyzed pay level. promotions. and management composition by race and gender at three DOE facilities: Lawrence Livermore. Los Alamos. and Sandia National Laboratories. While the GAO did not prove or disprove actual discrimination. it found statistical differences in the way that minorities and women were paid. promoted. or rewarded over a 5year period from 19952000. According to the report. salaries for minorities and women at these DOE facilities lagged behind the salaries for white males. There were also discrepancies in the promotion rate of some minority groups. Including a failure to promote any of the 300 AsianAmerican staff members at the Lawrence Livermore facility during a 2year period. In addition. white males were found to hold a greater percentage of managerial and professional jobs. 64 percent. than their representation in the work force. about 54 percent. The results of this report painted a disturbing picture of inconsistency in the way minorities and women are treated in certain personnel action In the national laboratories. I have long held the belief that Americas work forceat all levels and in all sectorsshould reflect the faces of this Nation. This report reveals that we have much work to do to encourage diversity and equality at our Nations weapons facilities. and I hope that. by. taking a closer look at how we are treating women and people of color In the workplace. we have taken a step in the right direction. I am encouraged that DOE has pledged to address the discrepancies raised by this report. and we In Congress will continue to monitor their actions and hold them accountable. That is why this amendment is so important. It is vital that mechanisms be put in place to hold laboratories accountable to their promises to the workplace environment for minorities. The reports provided by this amendment would aid the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs at the U.S. Department of Labor and strengthen its oversight of DOEs hiring and recruitment practices. Without these safeguards. our national labs could become hotbeds that foster an atmosphere of pervasive mistrust and fear. And this is in no ones best interest. Mr. WU. Mr. Chairman. I thank the gentleman from Louisiana for his cooperation. and I yield back the balance of my time.