Washington,
Jul 22, 2005 -
Rep. Christopher Shays (CT-4), Chairman of the Subcommittee on National Security, Emerging Threats, and International Relations, today announced the Subcommittee will convene an oversight hearing July 26 to examine efforts to improve security safeguards at nuclear facilities operated by the Department of Energy’s Office of Energy, Science and Environment (ESE).
The hearing will focus on the findings of a new Government Accountability Office (GAO) report requested by the Subcommittee. GAO will discuss how well DOE ESE is positioned to meet updated security standards, called the Design Basis Threat (DBT). As part of the review, GAO conducted site surveys of protective force personnel to determine weaknesses at ESE sites that could adversely affect the ability of ESE protective forces to defend their sites against terrorist attacks.
“The answer can’t be business as usual,” Shays said. “Simply adding more gates, guns and guards will not keep a determined terrorist cell from reaching nuclear material. We need a far more strategic approach to meet a very dynamic threat.”
The hearing will convene Tuesday, July 26, at 10:00 a.m. in room 2154 of the Rayburn House Office Building, Washington, D.C.
WITNESS LIST
PANEL ONE
Mr. Eugene E Aloise, Director
Natural Resources and Environment
Government Accountability Office
accompanied by
Mr. James Noel, Assistant Director
Mr. Jonathan M. Gill, Senior Analyst
and
Mr. Gregory H. Friedman
Inspector General
Department of Energy
Mr. Glenn S. Podonsky, Director
Office of Security and Safety Performance Assurance,
Department of Energy
Dr. Lawrence Brede
Wackenhut DOE Operations
Mr. Glenn Adler, Security Policy
Service Employees International Union (SEIU)
Mr. Robert Walsh, Security Manager
Office of Energy, Science and Environment
Department of Energy
