Agencies to respond to report of Chinese spying

The White House announced Tuesday that agencies would take several steps, including beefing up security at nuclear research labs, in response to a report by a special congressional panel describing pervasive Chinese spying at U.S. facilities.

Among the key findings of the report of the nine-member Select Committee on U.S. National Security and Military/Commercial Concerns with the People's Republic of China, chaired by Rep. Christopher Cox, R-Calif., is that China stole design information from four U.S. national laboratories and industry on U.S. thermonuclear weapons-including seven warheads-that helped China develop its next generation of weapons.

The White House Tuesday released a detailed response to the report, largely agreeing with the committee's recommendations but rejecting in some cases the committee's call for new legislation.

The response reiterated White House contentions that the security breaches extend back to Republican administrations and that there is no connection between campaign contributions and Clinton administration national security policies.

The White House said the Energy Department is leading an interagency assessment, scheduled to be completed by June, of lab-to-lab programs with China and other sensitive countries. DOE, according to the White House, also has initiated an upgrade of all physical security at the labs, to be finished by the end of the year.

Energy Secretary Richardson also is implementing on an expedited basis Presidential Decision Directive 61, issued by Clinton in February 1998.

As a result, DOE has reconfigured into two separate offices the agency's counterintelligence and foreign intelligence programs. In addition, the agency will establish a new office responsible for the participation of foreign nationals at DOE labs, and has changed the approval process for foreign scientists. It also has instituted tougher security reviews for certain DOE employees.

The administration is implementing all of the Cox committee's recommendations concerning satellite launches, including the transfer of licensing for communications satellite exports to the State Department and the development of new, timely review procedures. And, as recommended, the Defense Department has established a new division to monitor space launch and satellite technology exports.