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| Wilson Finds Reasons for Concern and Optimism During Review of DOE Reorganization and Counterintelligence Programs |
February 16, 2000 |
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Wilson supports additional computer security funds
WASHINGTON, DC – During a rare open meeting of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, of which Congresswoman Heather Wilson is a member, the Committee reviewed the status of counterintelligence programs at the Department of Energy (DOE) and its national laboratories and the progress toward establishing the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA).
Last year, Congress passed both a reorganization of the Department of Energy, and measures to strengthen the DOE counterintelligence program. The legislation to reorganize the DOE created a semi-autonomous agency within DOE with responsibility for the nation’s nuclear weapons, non-proliferation, and naval reactors program called the National Nuclear Security Administration.
Citing a pattern of resistance from the President, the Secretary of Energy and the DOE as a whole, Congresswoman Wilson reached the following conclusion during today’s hearing:
“We are in a transitional period at the DOE. Some reforms will take place over the next 9 months, but the reorganization will be fully implemented by the next President.” Wilson said that she accepts this temporary anomaly but is not willing to approve of it and encouraged the Secretary of the DOE to meet the March 1, 2000 deadline to appoint an Administrator of the new agency.
In regards to the Department of Energy’s progress on counterintelligence, Congresswoman Wilson found some signs of encouragement. “In the past two years, the DOE has established an Office of Counterintelligence, hired a professional to run it, conducted a 90-day assessment with an action plan, promulgated a Counterintelligence Implementation Plan throughout DOE, conducted assessments of each of the laboratories, and increased counterintelligence staff within the nuclear weapons complex,” said Wilson. “Taken as a whole, these actions are good indicators that DOE is on the right track with respect to establishing a counter intelligence program. However, the road we are on is a long one and DOE has just begun.”
Congresswoman Wilson issued serious concerns about the DOE’s use of polygraphs at the DOE and their laboratories. “A polygraph is only one tool in a comprehensive counterintelligence program,” said Wilson. “They have some significant limitations and are often given more credibility in the popular press – and probably with supervisors and line managers -- than most counterintelligence professionals give them.
“The DOE has done a poor job implementing the polygraph program. The initial plan released by DOE last spring was sweeping and was probably designed more for political consumption in Washington than implementation in the field. While the DOE subsequently scaled back the program, employees remain skeptical. Unless there are protections built in for employees and training for managers and supervisors about the limitations of polygraphs, the skepticism is justified.
“Having created a bow wave of opposition with an ill-conceived plan to start with, I’m not sure how DOE can recover. The new NNSA administrator may have to take a fresh look at the polygraph issue to get this back on the right track,” concluded Wilson.
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