The Congressional Record is a unique source of public documentation. It started in 1873, documenting nearly all the major and minor policies being discussed and debated.
“EXECUTIVE SESSION” mentioning the U.S. Dept of State was published in the Senate section on pages S5067-S5069 on June 14, 2000.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
EXECUTIVE SESSION
______
NOMINATION OF GENERAL JOHN A. GORDON, U.S. AIR FORCE, TO BE UNDER
SECRETARY FOR NUCLEAR SECURITY, DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, the Senate will now go into executive session and proceed to the nomination of Gen. John A. Gordon, which the clerk will report.
The legislative clerk read the nomination of Gen. John A. Gordon, United States Air Force, to be Under Secretary for Nuclear Security, Department of Energy.
The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Hutchinson). Who yields time?
If no one yields time, time will be charged equally to both sides.
The distinguished Senator from Virginia.
Mr. WARNER. I thank the Chair. Under that ruling, without objection on my part, time will be charged equally to both sides.
I suggest the absence of a quorum.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
The senior assistant bill clerk proceeded to call the roll.
Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, momentarily, we will vote on the nomination of a very distinguished citizen of our country. I want to elaborate in these few minutes about his distinguished career.
We know he has been nominated to be the first Under Secretary for Nuclear Security, as well as the first administrator of the National Nuclear Security Administration at the Department of Energy. We are all familiar with General Gordon's record. He took on many challenging assignments over these years in the Department of Defense and currently is Deputy Director for the Central Intelligence Agency.
I would like to go back and give a brief history of the establishment of the National Nuclear Security Administration and the position for which General Gordon has been nominated.
The Administration was established by title 32 of the National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 2000. That consolidated all of the national security functions of the Department of Energy under a single, semi-autonomous organizational unit. This reorganization represents the most significant reorganization of the Department of Energy in more than 20 years.
The Congress did not take this action lightly. We established this new entity in response to a multitude of reports and assessments which called for changes in the Department of Energy's ``dysfunctional'' organization structure. The reports include the 1997 ``120-day study'' issued by the Institute for Defense Analysis, the 1999 Chiles Commission report, and the 1999 Foster Panel report--just to mention a few. However, the most compelling report was issued by President Clinton's Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board in June 1999. That bipartisan report stated that:
. . . real and lasting security and counterintelligence reform at the weapons labs is simply unworkable within DOE's current structure and culture. To achieve the kind of protection that these sensitive labs must have, they and their functions must have their own autonomous operational structure free of all the other obligations imposed by DOE management.
The President's Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board went on to make the following recommendations to the President and Congress, (1) create a new semi-autonomous agency and (2) streamline the management of the DOE weapons labs management structure by abolishing ties between the weapons labs and all DOE regional, field and site offices, and all contractor intermediaries. The committee was very careful to fully implement the President's Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board's bipartisan recommendations, exactly as they were presented to President Clinton.
The overarching goal was to establish, for the first time in many years, a clear chain of command for the Department's national security programs. Some disagree with the final product, but I believe we accomplished that goal. It is now time for General Gordon to make this new entity work.
I have been trying for some weeks to get this nomination up. Just think: Last year, we passed structural reforms. It was signed into law by the President. And here we are almost a year later--just today--
about to confirm the President's nominee to head this new entity.
We have vested a considerable amount of authority in the Administrator of the National Nuclear Security Administration; that is, General Gordon. We trust that he will use it in the best of U.S. national security.
I have come to know this fine man very well over the months that I have worked with him in connection with this nomination. I can tell the Senate without any equivocation that I do not know of a more qualified person, a man whose background, whose achievements, whose every step in life better qualifies him, including a character I think that is beyond question, to take on this important responsibility.
With regard to some details about him, the general entered the Air Force through the Reserve Officer Training Corps Program in 1968.
His early assignments were in research and development and acquisition where he was involved in improving the Minuteman Intercontinental Ballistic Missile--ICBM--and in developing and acquiring the Peacekeeper ICBM. He served with the U.S. Department of State in the politico-military affairs. Later, he commanded the 90th Strategic Missile Wing, the only Peacekeeper ICBM unit. He served in the National Security Council in the areas of defense and arms control, including oversight and completion of START II negotiations. The general then became senior member of the staff of the Secretary of Defense, and later the Director of Operations, Air Force Space Command, responsible for overseeing and developing policy and guidance for the command's operational missions.
Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to have printed in the Record the biography of General Gordon.
There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in the Record, as follows:
Biography--General John A. Gordon
General John A. Gordon is deputy director of central intelligence, Central Intelligence Agency, Washington, D.C.
The general entered the Air Force through the Reserve Officer Training Corps program in 1968. His early assignments were in research, development and acquisition where he was involved in improving the Minuteman Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) and in developing and acquiring the Peacekeeper ICBM. He was a long-range planner at Strategic Air Command and served with the U.S. State Department in politico-military affairs. Later, he commanded the 90th Strategic Missile Wing, the only Peacekeeper ICBM unit. He has served with the National Security Council in the areas of defense and arms control, including the oversight and completion of the START II negotiations. The general then became a senior member of the secretary of defense's staff and later, the director of operations, Air Force Space Command, responsible for overseeing and developing policy and guidance for the command's operational missions. He also has served as special assistant to the Air Force chief of staff for long-range planning, where he was responsible for restarting and integrating a long-range planning process into the Air Force. Prior to assuming his current position, he was associate director of central intelligence for military support, Central Intelligence Agency.
education
1968 Bachelor of science degree with honors in physics, University of Missouri, Columbia.
1970 Master of science degree, Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, Calif.
1972 Master of arts degree in business administration, New Mexico Highlands University, Las Vegas.
1975 Squadron Officer School, by correspondence.
1978 Air Command and Staff College, by correspondence.
1986 Air War College, Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala.
assignments
1. July 1968-June 1970, graduate student, Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, Calif., and Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio.
2. June 1970-June 1974, physicist, Air Force Weapons Laboratory, Kirtland Air Force Base, N.M.
3. June 1974-April 1976, research associate at DOE, Sandia Laboratories, Albuquerque, N.M.
4. April 1976-February 1979, long-range planner, Headquarters Strategic Air Command, Offutt Air Force Base, Neb.
5. February 1979-August 1980, staff officer, research and development, Headquarters U.S. Air Force, Washington, D.C.
6. August 1980-May 1982, executive assistant to the undersecretary of the Air Force, Washington, D.C.
7. May 1982-January 1983, deputy director, Office of Policy Analysis, Department of State, Washington, D.C.
8. January 1983-July 1985, office director for strategic nuclear policy, and director for defense and arms control matters, Bureau of Politico-Military Affairs, Department of State, Washington, D.C.
9. July 1985-July 1986, student, Air War College, Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala.
10. July 1986-June 1987, assistant deputy commander for maintenance, 44th Strategic Missile Wing, Ellsworth Air Force Base, S.D.
11. June 1987-May 1989, vice commander, then commander, 90th Strategic Missile Wing, Francis E. Warren Air Force Base, Wyo.
12. May 1989-January 1993, special assistant to the president for national security affairs and senior director for defense policy and arms control, National Security Council, Washington, D.C.
13. January 1993-June 1994, deputy undersecretary of defense and chief of staff for policy, Department of Defense, Washington, D.C.
14. June 1994-September 1995, director of operations, Headquarters Air Force Space Command, Peterson Air Force Base, Colo.
15. September 1995-September 1996, special assistant to the chief of staff for long-range planning, Headquarters U.S. Air Force, Washington, D.C.
16. September 1996-October 1997, associate director of central intelligence for military support, Central Intelligence Agency, Washington, D.C.
17. October 1997-present, deputy director of central intelligence, Central Intelligence Agency, Washington, D.C.
major awards and decorations
Defense Distinguished Service Medal with oak leaf cluster.
Defense Superior Service Medal.
Legion of Merit.
Defense Meritorious Service Medal.
Meritorious Service Medal with oak leaf cluster.
Air Force Commendation Medal.
effective dates of promotion
Second Lieutenant Jun 4, 1968.
First Lieutenant Dec 4, 1969.
Captain Jun 4, 1971.
Major Sep 1, 1979.
Lieutenant Colonel Nov 1, 1981.
Colonel Dec 1, 1985.
Brigadier General Jun 1, 1992.
Major General May 25, 1995.
Lieutenant General Sep 20, 1996.
General Oct 31, 1997.
(Current as of September 1998).
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Michigan.
Mr. LEVIN. Mr. President, I thank the Chair.
Mr. President, I join with Senator Warner in supporting the President's nomination of Gen. John Gordon to be the Under Secretary for Nuclear Security in the Department of Energy, and the first administrator of the new National Nuclear Security Agency in the Department of Energy.
General Gordon is an excellent choice to fill this very demanding position. General Gordon has served his country for more than 30 years, most recently as the Deputy Director of the Central Intelligence Agency. He was recommended for this position by a panel of highly qualified experts headed by former Deputy Secretary of Energy Charles Curtis.
It is hard to imagine an individual with more experience than General Gordon with all aspects of the nuclear forces of the United States. During his long and distinguished career in the United States Air Force, General Gordon worked in the research and development of nuclear weapons programs as a physicist and technician; he is familiar with the operational requirements of our nuclear forces from his tours of duty with U.S. strategic missile forces, including service as vice commander and commander of a Strategic Missile Wing; and he worked at the highest policy levels of the Executive Branch during his four years on the National Security Council as special assistant to the President for national security affairs and senior director for defense policy and arms control.
Upon confirmation, General Gordon will take on one of the most challenging assignments in the federal government. The Administrator of the new National Nuclear Security Administration is responsible for maintaining the safety and reliability of our nation's nuclear warheads; for addressing security problems that continue to undermine public confidence in the Department of Energy; for managing the Department of Energy laboratories; and for cleaning up some of the worst environmental problems in the country.
Moreover, the Administrator will face these assignments as the head of an agency so plagued with ``convoluted, confusing and contradictory'' reporting channels that the President's Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board last year characterized the entire Department of Energy as a ``dysfunctional'' organization. Although I believe that some of the legislation Congress has passed and is currently considering will make General Gordon's job harder and not easier, I pledge to work with General Gordon, Secretary Richardson and my colleagues in the Congress to do everything I can to give General Gordon the support he will need to be successful in this demanding job.
I think all of us appreciate General Gordon's willingness to serve his country on this continuing basis and to take on a very difficult assignment.
I yield the floor.
Mr. ALLARD. Mr. President, I rise today to show my support for General John Gordon to be the Director of the National Nuclear Security Administration or the NNSA. But before I do that, I need to mention a related item, the lack of security protections at the Los Alamos lab.
On Monday, June 12, the New York Times reported that computer hard drives containing valuable nuclear weapons data and other highly sensitive information were found missing from the Los Alamos National Laboratory on May 7th. These classified hard drives were stored in locked containers in a vault at the weapons X Division at the lab. The containers were found but the hard drives are gone. According to reports, the material missing is American nuclear weapons data that the Nuclear Emergency Search Team needs to disarm nuclear devices during emergencies. Also missing is the intelligence information on the Russian nuclear weapons program. To make matters worse, the Lab did not begin an intensive search until May 24. I realize that a fire was raging in the area and that people were focused on that, but to wait that long makes little sense. I understand that the law now requires that any such incident must be reported to the Department of Energy within 8 hours. Finally, DOE headquarters was informed of the missing data on June 1.
While it may seem premature to speculate foul play, I must say that neither DOE nor the Administration have a strong track record in the area of safeguards and security. Unfortunately, this is not the first incident of lax security during this Administration.
Here are just a few of the reported incidents.
March 1999--It was determined that the Chinese had penetrated Los Alamos Laboratory and stole our nuclear secrets.
Last December--A Russian diplomat is ordered to leave after a microphone transmitter is discovered on the 7th floor of the State Department, only a short walk from the office of Secretary Albright.
Then there is the case of the missing laptops at the State Department and the situation with the former CIA Director John Deutch, who since has lost all his clearances, of mishandling classified information.
While not all these cases are related to the newly created NNSA, they do show that a new attitude and new ethic must be incorporated into this Administration. We have had too many problems at too many places.
That is why I am glad that General Gordon is finally being voted on by this Senate. I am sorry that this vote took so long to take place. This vote was objected to by some who wanted to get a better deal on a few items in the Defense authorization bill relating to the NNSA. It was my belief there would be obstacles in this job, but I never believed it would happen before he got to the NNSA. However, now that the objection to General Gordon's nomination has been lifted, we can finally move this nomination. Gen. Gordon's position is far too valuable to be made a political pawn and the latest incident at Los Alamos proves that.
Also, I let him know that I don't expect miracles, I just expect our national security be treated as such. No longer should science and personnel matters out rank security. We must change this culture and I believe that General Gordon is the right person for this job. I want to thank General Gordon for his dedication and commitment to his country and for serving in this new position.
Lastly, Mr. President, I look forward to the hearings on the latest incident at the lab. For too long I have heard this administration crowing that they are taking care of the security problems, but this latest incident shows that their actions don't match their words. While this administration crowed they attempted to undermine what Congress had done last year to strengthen security in the Department of Energy through amendments in the Strategic Subcommittee of the Armed Services Committee. As chairman of that committee I was appalled at the action of Democrat members of the committee as well in their attempts to stop the nomination of General Gordon. We must and will get to the bottom of our nation's security problems.
Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
The senior assistant bill clerk proceeded to call the roll.
Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
All time having expired, the question is, Will the Senate advise and consent to the nomination of Gen. John A. Gordon, United States Air Force, to be Under Secretary for Nuclear Security, Department of Energy? On this question, the yeas and nays have been ordered, and the clerk will call the roll.
The legislative clerk called the roll.
Mr. REID. I announce that the Senator from New York (Mr. Moynihan), the Senator from Rhode Island (Mr. Reed), and the Senator from West Virginia (Mr. Rockefeller) are necessarily absent.
The result was announced--yeas 97, nays 0, as follows:
YEAS--97
AbrahamAkakaAllardAshcroftBaucusBayhBennettBidenBingamanBondBoxerBreauxBrownbackBryanBunningBurnsByrdCampbellChafee, L.ClelandCochranCollinsConradCoverdellCraigCrapoDaschleDeWineDoddDomeniciDorganDurbinEdwardsEnziFeingoldFeinsteinFitzgeraldFristGortonGrahamGrammGramsGrassleyGreggHagelHarkinHatchHelmsHollingsHutchinsonHutchisonInhofeInouyeJeffordsJohnsonKennedyKerreyKerryKohlKylLandrieuLautenbergLeahyLevinLiebermanLincolnLottLugarMackMcCainMcConnellMikulskiMurkowskiMurrayNicklesReidRobbRobertsRothSantorumSarbanesSchumerSessionsShelbySmith (NH)Smith (OR)SnoweSpecterStevensThomasThompsonThurmondTorricelliVoinovichWarnerWellstoneWyden
NOT VOTING--3
MoynihanReedRockefeller
The nomination was confirmed.
____________________
