-Caveat Lector-
Clinton Stymies GOP Nuclear Plan
Richardson Ordered to Head New Agency
By Walter Pincus
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, October 8, 1999; Page A27
In a surprise move, President Clinton has ordered
Energy Secretary Bill Richardson to take over the duties
of director of the newly authorized National Nuclear
Security Administration, thereby blocking a
Republican-drafted and congressionally approved plan
to reorganize the Department of Energy's nuclear
weapons complex.
The plan was the subject of extensive negotiations and
designed to tighten counterintelligence and security at the
nation's nuclear weapons laboratories in response to
allegations of Chinese espionage. An original plan for a
semi-autonomous agency was approved by the Clinton
administration and passed the Senate. But as modified in
a House-Senate conference to give more autonomy to the
new agency, the plan drew opposition from Richardson.
In signing the fiscal 2000 defense authorization bill
Tuesday that contained the reorganization plan, Clinton
announced in a statement that he would withhold
appointing a new undersecretary for nuclear security
within the Energy Department, as contemplated by
legislative language, until Congress changes what he
termed the plan's "deficiencies."
Drafters of the Republican plan had demanded that the
new agency be kept separate and not supervised by other
Energy officials, particularly those involved with
security, counterintelligence, health and safety
regulations.
Defying that plan, Clinton told Richardson to assign
existing Energy staff officers to similar offices within
the new weapons agency "to the extent permissible by law."
Instead of having two counterintelligence bosses, as
envisioned by the congressional plan, Clinton's order
had the effect of retaining much of the reorganization
Richardson already had introduced. The bottom line is
there will be just one head of counterintelligence instead
of two.
Although it was known that Richardson and the White
House were unhappy with the reorganization plan that
emerged from a House-Senate conference, Republicans
in Congress felt that Clinton would be forced to put it
into effect when he signed the bill Tuesday instead of
vetoing it.
Clinton's order to Richardson came as a shock to the
measure's chief authors. At a Senate Armed Services
Committee meeting yesterday that Richardson attended,
Sen. Pete V. Domenici (R-N.M.), who took a leading
role in the effort, called the president's action "an
absolute frontal attack." He criticized Richardson
personally, accusing him of "pious words" in saying he
would follow the law. Domenici added: "I don't want
any comments from you. . . . We've been at it too long
and I'm fed up."
"In my 21 years on this committee, I have rarely been
stunned by [such] an event," added Sen. John W. Warner
(R-Va.), chairman of the Armed Services Committee.
Richardson had told the panel, "The president has
instructed me to follow the law. And I will do that." He
said he hoped that Congress would remedy the "lack of
clarity and some constitutional problems" by using the
fiscal 2000 intelligence authorization bill, which is still
before Congress.
Rep. William M. "Mac" Thornberry (R-Tex.), who
chairs a newly formed House subcommittee with
responsibility to oversee the weapons program, said the
president's action would "backfire" if it "is meant to
leverage Congress to force changes" in the
reorganization plan. "We want to make sure the law is
followed in letter and intent," Thornberry said.
� Copyright 1999 The Washington Post Company
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