The House Commerce Subcommittee on Energy and Power voted Wednesday to add congressional backing to a number of new security initiatives Energy Secretary Bill Richardson has already instituted.
Richardson has created an Office of Independent Security Oversight at the Department of Energy, which will be responsible for inspecting security arrangements at all DOE facilities, and have special responsibility for protecting the agency from the emerging threat posed by computer hackers.
Subcommittee Chairman Joe Barton, R-Texas, introduced the bill (H.R. 3906) to make these changes permanent. He also offered an amendment making it clear that the director of the Office of Independent Security Oversight reports to the energy secretary and not directly to Congress.