What Price Nuclear Security?

The Energy Department warned the White House last month that it lacked the money to protect U.S. nuclear weapons research facilities against potential terrorist attacks, according to an internal letter released Monday.

Rep. Ed Markey, a Massachusetts Democrat, called on the White House to promptly respond to the March 28 letter from Bruce Carnes, the Energy Department's chief financial officer, to Marcus Peacock, an associate director at the White House Office of Management and Budget.

"The Department of Energy is begging for the extra money," said Markey, a senior member of the House Energy Committee. "The money...should be released immediately."

White House officials replied such funds could be provided within months, after a security review of the department.

Markey released a copy of the letter, in which Carnes wrote "the department's remaining safeguards and security budgets are not sufficient to implement the security posture requirements that appropriately respond to the Sept. 11 attacks."

"We are disconcerted that OMB (last month) refused our security supplemental request," Carnes wrote.

The additional amount of money sought by the Energy Department has not been made public, but as Markey put it, "The department has made clear the amount they have is not enough."

Markey criticized the White House for failing to provide the money, saying that 10 Energy Department sites around the country may contain enough weapons-grade plutonium and uranium to build a crude atomic bomb.

"The White House refuses to deal with the consequences of September 11," he said. "That is very scary."

He cited reports that members of Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda network viewed U.S. nuclear sites as attractive targets. The United States accuses al Qaeda of masterminding the Sept. 11 attacks on the United States.

"The administration has requested almost $8 billion for missile defense, which won't do anything to prevent suicidal terrorists from attacking nuclear facilities and blowing up dirty bombs or homemade nuclear weapons," said Markey.

"But when DOE finally admits that security is not what it should be, OMB refuses to help," he said.

Office of Management and Budget spokeswoman Amy Call said Congress approved a $110 million supplement to the fiscal 2002 budget to boost security at the labs, and that President Bush was seeking an extra $650 million to protect the facilities in his 2003 budget.

Call said OMB was still reviewing the department's funding request and could provide the extra money once a review assessing vulnerability of U.S. sites is completed.

"Obviously security is important and this is an issue we're working on," Call said.

A frequent critic of security at federal and commercial nuclear facilities, Markey said the White House and DOE have not "put security at the top of their list. Clearly they've decided that even security has to be compromised."

Lisa Cutler, a spokeswoman for the DOE's National Nuclear Security Administration, said there is adequate money to meet security needs at weapons facilities and nuclear research labs.

While declining to speak to Carnes' letter specifically, she said "there are always discussions within the administration on the best way to meet the security challenges."

But Cutler said, "If we find that we have any funding shortfalls we will take steps. We will work with OMB or redirect funds from other programs to make sure security needs are met."