Republican legislators are struggling to free up the annual bill for the CIA and other espionage agencies amid disagreement on reorganizing the Energy Department following security lapses at U.S. nuclear weapons labs, the Associated Press reported.
Energy Secretary Bill Richardson has hinted he can accept the GOP- sponsored bill, but some Senate Democrats are still leery of redesigning the agency responsible for researching and developing nuclear weapons and protecting nuclear secrets from spies.
In May, Republicans were unable to break a Democratic filibuster on the issue when it was attached to Pentagon legislation.
The Senate put the matter off until Monday, tacking it onto a measure authorizing spending on various U.S. intelligence programs.
"There's reason to be encouraged we're going to be able to move this bill quickly," said Sen. Bob Kerrey, D-Neb., vice chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee. But so far, Kerrey and Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., are the only Democrats to sign onto the DOE reorganization legislation.
The bill, sponsored by Senate Budget Chairman Domenici, Sen. Jon Kyl, R-Ariz., and Energy and Natural Resources Chairman Murkowski, stems from a series of congressional and Clinton administration evaluations that concluded the DOE was bureaucratically top-heavy and incapable of managing nuclear research and security.
The legislation, offered as an amendment to the Intelligence authorization bill, would establish a semi-autonomous Agency for Nuclear Stewardship that would oversee all nuclear weapons- related activities, including research, development, security and counterintelligence.
An undersecretary at the head of the agency would report directly to the Energy secretary. No other Energy Department officials would have any power over the new organization. No similar measure has passed in the House, but Republicans there are crafting a stronger bill that would create a fully independent agency.
Richardson has at times openly opposed the legislation. More recently, however, he indicated the Clinton administration could sign on to the reorganization provided some details were worked out.