Energy Department Urged to Reform Security Efforts
Global Security NewswireU.S. lawmakers yesterday pressed the Energy Department to improve its effort to protect nuclear-weapon data from foreign intelligence services (see GSN, July 16).
Leaders of the U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee cited a Congressional Research Service report released Friday that documents the department’s long history of security lapses and its uncertain efforts to create an effective counterintelligence program.
“Many believe that sensitive nuclear weapons information has ‘certainly’ been lost [to] espionage,” the report says. “In countless other instances such information has been left vulnerable to theft and duplication. Although the damage to national security resulting from such lapses has been difficult to calculate, DOE has been warned on many occasions that its ‘lackadaisical oversight’ could lead to an increase in the nuclear threat to the United States.”
The 25-page report drew criticism from committee Chairman John Dingell (D-Mich.).
“I plan to work with my colleagues to conduct a thorough review of how the Department of Energy protects our nation’s secrets to ensure that the alleged ‘reforms’ promulgated by this administration have not made things worse,” he said in a press release.
“Given DOE’s record of treating secrets at the Los Alamos National Laboratory like leftover napkins, we could all use some reassurance that security problems haven’t infected the department’s counterintelligence programs, too,” added ranking panel Republican Joe Barton (Texas) (U.S. Energy and Commerce Committee release, July 28).
27 comments:
Great. A 25 page CRS report that "documents the department’s long history of security lapses" (i.e, has nothing new in it), and Dingell-berry wants to "conduct a thorough review." What a joke. How many hearings has his committee had on this in the past two years?? No wonder Congress has a lower approval rating than Bush. As per usual, Barton chimes in. Sigh...
Is everybody OK with the results of the just released Phase II TSM compensation plan? Based on the salary bounds for the various TSM levels, it appears that many TSMs at LANL won't be seeing any raises for a very long time.
Was the process fair? Did the market survey reflect your market worth as a TS-cleared researcher, or do you feel that LANS may have cherry-picked the survey companies so as to low-ball the pay scales (esp. for TSM research Levels I, II, and III)?
Another LA business, Los Alamos Inn, just bit the dust and is entering foreclosure. Looks like Mr. Dingell-berry (D-MI) can gloat over the fact that Los Alamos is beginning to look more and more like Flint, Michigan...
Bomb Town News Observer, (btno.blogspot.com):
---------------------------
* Foreclosure Sale *
Looks like another chunk of downtown Bomb Town property is up on the foreclosure auction block.
A legal ad in Sunday's Los Alamos Monitor "news" paper provided a Notice of Sale on Foreclosure to sell Tract 2, Los Alamos Inn Complex, Phase 2. The street address listed in the legal notice is 2175 Trinity Drive.
According to the legal advertisement, the sale will take place on August 26, 2008, at 10 a.m. It will be conducted "at the front steps of the Los Alamos County Courthouse, located at 2300 Trinity Dr."
“Congress could maintain the status quo or choose from several alternative
Organizational approaches, some of which continue to be discussed despite the most
recent organizational changes to the Department’s CI program. Such alternatives
range from maintaining the consolidated DOE/NNSA CI office but reversing DOE’s
decision to combine its formerly independent offices of foreign intelligence and
counterintelligence, to eliminating both consolidations.”
So, it’s just a matter of finding the correct organizational combination/permutation and all will be wonderful.
I’m sure experience is clouding my judgment but, having worked among the Feds in DC area a number of years it has always struck me how the “need-to-know” security rule seems to apply only to all but DOE/NNSA people. I’ve never understood why so many Feds need access to all Sigma Levels of data and of course SCI so they could perform their Oversight function.
There’s plenty of blame to go around for security breaches, but the most neglected area of concern I’ve seen regarding potential loss of critical classified information is among the DOE/NNSA Feds. A different organization configuration will do nothing to correct the security failures among the Feds.
Is Hazel O’Leary their idol? :)
The LA Inn has been a mess for years. Right now it's got the windows of the old restaurant torn out for the latest incarnation in the endless how-to-use-this-space experiment. Except for the brief shining moment during the first year of TBC's existence, the Inn really seemed to have had no clear mission or purpose since about 1998.
Who's the owner of the dump anyway?
The number one core competency of this Lab is denial. Denial...denial...denial. Everybody else is at fault. Nobody understands us. Everbody is out to get us. Nobody appreciates our brilliance. It's Tom's fault. It's Dingel's fault. It's Santa Fe's fault. But accept responsibility? Never!!!
"Based on the salary bounds for the various TSM levels, it appears that many TSMs at LANL won't be seeing any raises for a very long time."--7/29/08 9:59 PM
So what does that say about how much we're valued these days? We once did science, now we're a production site. Where physicists once ruled the roost, now its engineers, production planners and cost analysts.
Even when the LA Inn was operating it was on life support, so that's not a big surprise. What's with the demolition going on over there?
"The number one core competency of this Lab is denial. Denial...denial...denial. Everybody else is at fault. Nobody understands us. Everbody is out to get us. Nobody appreciates our brilliance. It's Tom's fault. It's Dingel's fault. It's Santa Fe's fault. But accept responsibility? Never!!!
7/30/08 7:41 AM"
Bullshit, have you been to DOE HQ,
security is a joke. Congress job rating is at an all time low.
You are the one in denial. You hate Los Alamos because you are just bitter about something. We can guess it is becuase you got RIFed,
or retired as you like to say in 1994.
Look at the real facts about security at Los Alamos compared to other organizations. Get your facts straight. You have been saying this crap for years and you never back it up with facts.
Isn't the LA Inn on a "major" waste site?
If you are at the 1,2,3 level for Scientist or R&D Engineer (~80% or so TSM target mapping), it does not seem unreasonable to operate under the assumption that you can replaced fairly easily.
7/29/08 9:26 PM tries to poo-poo the issue. Must be one of those arrogant butthead Bushleague cowboys again.
The make-up of the so-called LANS "market survey" for the TSM compensation plan is suspect. Bechtel should never have been included in this salary survey, as they are not a research organization.
Also, including LLNL into the salary survey may lead to some nasty feedback problems. For example, as LANL TSM research salaries move downward this feeds into the LLNL salary market survey, which feeds back into the LANL survey, which... you get the idea. It could cause TSM salaries at both NNSA labs to spiral downward over time.
It's also clear to me that LANS has not adequately covered the premium that is paid for obtaining and maintaining a Top Secret clearance. In general, they are low-balling most of the research staff with this new compensation plan.
I didn't see any obvious aspects of low-balling in the previous Phase I compensation exercise done for the support positions. In fact, some of the salaries of the Phase I plan look very attractive considering the education and experience required for these positions.
Whew, at least they left in a couple of "Executive Advisor" job titles for the hangers-on. Had me worried for a minute.
Seems impossible to stay on topic. Can't you just post more stuff on "Why I hate LANL"? ;)
The Phase-II compensation plan for TSMs actually did me quite well. I've been lowballed for so long by the system that it is finally time to make it right. Though I could have, no further need to follow Loyda's lead.
Not to pick at gnats but I don't know very many folks that have a TS clearance. Most of us do not need TS to do our jobs. A 'Q' lets you into the CRD and SRD worlds just fine.
I just received my reclassification briefing today and found out that I have been binned as an R&D Engineer 3. My pay band is from $83k to $142K with my current salary almost exactly on the average between them. It would take seven years at 3% raises to reach the maximum limit on my pay band assuming the band doesn't get adjusted for inflation (ever).
Just two little facts.
7:56 pm: "Not to pick at gnats but I don't know very many folks that have a TS clearance. Most of us do not need TS to do our jobs. A 'Q'lets you into the CRD and SRD worlds just fine."
Well, you must have flunked your annual security refresher (or just scrolled through it like everyone else) because *surprise* - your Q allows you access to TSNSI and TSRD (with need-to-know, of course). Not automatically Sigmas 14, 15, or 20, and not SCI.
BTW, you don't pick "gnats" you pick "nits" (baby lice).
Most of the TSM research staff that got put into Level 3 are probably OK in terms of the max salary caps. They'll be able to get raises this year and into the future years.
The problem is with those unlucky staff members who got put into Level 2 (and there are a lot of them). The maximum salary cap is considerable lower in Level 2, and many of these employees are either near the max cap or slightly over it. This means they'll so no raises for a very long time.
I've heard that the "red-line" rate (i.e., those whose current salary is over their designated max cap) in near the 25% point in some Divisions. You've also got a lot of people who are just at or only slightly under their max cap and so will only receive a partial raise.
The result of all this is that there are going to be a lot of unhappy research TSMs when annual raise time comes around. The salary max caps will also serve to lower the TCP1 pension payouts in future years.
11:22, that 80% sounds like it's right out of some Quality Management handbook. Pareto Rule -- 80-20 Rule -- The vital few and the trivial many -- The vital few and the useful many.
"The result of all this is that there are going to be a lot of unhappy research TSMs when annual raise time comes around."
and, therefore what?
Not to worry, soon we will have a foreclousure sale for LANL on the front steps of (what use to be the County Buiding) now a pile of rubble......and you are concerned about your next raise? Many of us should become very concerned about our jobs. We are are a target rich enviroment for the new Democratic Congress, even John Mcain has vowed to veto any "pork" that may be your's and mine slice of the loin chop.
So after all of the ruckus with the new salary schedule, I don't hear anyone leaving? Or is everyone to scared to leave until we are kicked out. It's not the salary it's the lab stupid!
Don't know about being too scared to leave. Just waiting for a RIF - voluntary or involuntary.
Any good rif rumors? LANS is totally silent.
The data is confusing. In Jan. we were $100M overrun and had to get rid of 750 fte. But now some are saying we're $300M underrun and have to spend quick.
And CFO just sent out an e-mail saying if you got an e-mail saying your program has "no budget" you should ignore it because it was sent by mistake. They didn't say if it was incorrect, just that you weren't supposed to receive it.
The LANS (Bechtel) accounting system is so screwed up nobody seems to know if we're broke or rich.
So when's the rif coming? I'm tired of this BS
'So when's the rif coming? I'm tired of this BS"
8/1/08 10:05 AM
The RIF will be announced on November the 21st ( a Friday) at 4 PM in the afternoon. You'll be one of those who will be receiving a pink slip and it will be hand delivered to you the week before Christmas by your Group Leader. You won't be expecting to see any of this happen and will be immediately escorted off the premises in total shock like a common criminal (see LLNL comments for a preview of how RIFs are executed by the lab LLCs).
You might think otherwise, but your work mates will hardly know that you are gone and won't miss you. They will have much bigger problems to worry about than your sudden absence from the work place. On the bright side, at least you won't have to be around to witness the morale busting effects of RIF-2, RIF-3, or the really nasty RIF-4 that are coming LANL's way.
"And CFO just sent out an e-mail saying if you got an e-mail saying your program has "no budget" you should ignore it because it was sent by mistake. They didn't say if it was incorrect, just that you weren't supposed to receive it.
The LANS (Bechtel) accounting system is so screwed up nobody seems to know if we're broke or rich.
So when's the rif coming? I'm tired of this BS
8/1/08 10:05 AM"
Something is going on, that is for sure and it is not good. I keep hearing that we are deep in the red. Who knows?
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