Clinton's Energy Dept. still hasn't plugged leaks

WASHINGTON -- The Clinton administration has still not implemented regulations to stem the flow of nuclear secrets, the head of a presidential commission said.

Former Senator Warren Rudman, a New Hampshire Republican who headed the president's Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board, said the Energy Department has failed to implement steps to reducing the threat of espionage. Rudman said the department should cede control of the country's nuclear weapons program to a new agency.

"The attitude of people within that department, in that bureaucracy, is astounding," Rudman said on NBC's "Meet the Press" program. "These weapons are not safe. These secrets are not safe. We have a terribly long way to go. It's been an accident waiting to happen for 20 years."

Rudman's panel last week issued a highly critical report of U.S. nuclear leaks. The report recommended the creation of an agency within the department with responsibility for nuclear weapons programs, including the weapons labs. The agency would be largely independent.

The former senator said two major elements of a directive by President Bill Clinton to increase security at national laboratories have not been implemented. These are polygraph tests for scientists and improved security checks for foreign visitors.

Senator Richard Shelby, an Alabama Republican and chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee said a separate weapons agency was required. He said several Republican senators plan to introduce such legislation in the next few weeks.

On another television program, Energy Secretary Bill Richardson indicated that he would oppose Rudman's recommendation to establish such a largely independent agency. "What I don't want is a new agency that is autonomous, that does not report to me," he said on "Fox News Sunday."

Richardson said he planned to dismiss employees responsible for security lapses at U.S. nuclear labs.

On Monday, the Washington Post reported that the government has started administering polygraphs on the first of 5,000 nuclear weapons scientists and other sensitive employees at the Energy Department. The effort could last four years, officials said. They said they expect some employees to file lawsuits.