PDD/NSC 61 Energy Department Counterintelligence
February 1998
https://irp.fas.org/offdocs/pdd-tscm.htm
PDD/NSC 61 Energy Department Counterintelligence
February 1998
In 1995 US officials became concerned that China might have acquired sensitive information from American nuclear weapons laboratories in the mid-1980s. The administration began working to tighten security at our weapons labs and prevent future breaches. DOE prepared a broad assessment of two decades of Chinese efforts to acquire nuclear weapons information from the United States and in July 1997 briefed senior administration officials on its conclusions. DOE's briefings focused attention on the need to address long-term security problems at the US nuclear labs, and within weeks, the administration created a special working group of the National Counterintelligence Policy Board to make recommendations for strengthening lab security.
The board's recommendations, forwarded in September 1997, became the basis for a Presidential Decision Directive (PDD-61), issued in February 1998. In the directive, President Clinton ordered the Department of Energy to establish a stronger counterintelligence program. Then-Secretary Federico Pena set up an independent Office of Counterintelligence, which began an intensive review of the counterintelligence program. Energy Department implementation of the requirements of PDD-61 has included:
hiring counterintelligence professionals to be based at the weapons labs
doubling the budget for counterintelligence
changing the screening and the approval process for foreign scientists seeking access to DOE labs
making the lab directors directly accountable for foreign visits.
instituting more extensive security reviews including the use of polygraphs for DOE scientists working in sensitive programs.
The text of PDD-61 has not been released, and there is no White House Factsheet summarizing its provisions. However, one component of this PDD, relating to Technical Surveillance Countermeasures (TSCM), is reproduced here.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 5, 1998
NEWS MEDIA CONTACT:
Chris Kielich, 202/586-5806
Richardson Names Director For
DOE's Office of Intelligence
https://irp.fas.org/news/1998/10/pr98137.htm
Secretary of Energy Bill Richardson has selected Lawrence H. Sanchez to be the Director of the Office of Intelligence at the U.S. Department of Energy. As director, Sanchez will be responsible for foreign intelligence analysis and work closely with DOE's nonproliferation, nuclear weapons, stockpile stewardship and counterintelligence programs. The Office of Intelligence prepares and publishes current intelligence on political, military, economic and technical aspects of foreign developments affecting the department's missions. Sanchez will serve the Energy Department on detail from the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) beginning at the end of October.
"Lawrence Sanchez's outstanding background in foreign intelligence will be a strong addition to the Department of Energy's extensive programs to safeguard the nation's nuclear security," said Secretary Richardson.
A CIA intelligence officer since 1984, Sanchez has served as the Executive Assistant to CIA's Executive Director and as an Assistant National Intelligence Officer for Strategic Programs. His career also has included four years in CIA's Nonproliferation Center, a one-year tour as a deputy team chief for Intermediate Nuclear Forces inspections in the Former Soviet Union, and three years as an imagery analyst