Thank you Chairman Stupak and Ranking Member Whitfield for continuing the committee’s important oversight over Los Alamos. Chairman Stupak, I appreciate the bipartisan nature of this hearing and hope it is a sign of how you will handle hearings to come. You and your staff are to be commended for your preparation and willingness to share relevant information with Members across the aisle. Mr. Chairman, it is my sincere hope that we have your commitment to continue this collegial and bipartisan disposition throughout all hearings this Congress.

I would also like to take a minute and thank Ranking Member Whitfield for his investigation of Los Alamos throughout the years. Clearly, today’s hearing builds upon the hard work and determination you and your staff have displayed on this crucial matter of national security. I thank you for your leadership on this imperative issue.

Today, we have three panels before us that will hopefully be able to explain to us not only what exactly happened in October, but also what has been done to prevent another recurrence. I welcome you all here today, and hope that we can get to the bottom of this continuing problem at Los Alamos once and for all. I would like to especially welcome my fellow Texan, Deputy Secretary Clay Sell. Thank you for being with us today and sharing your valuable insight into the Department of Energy.

In the post 9-11 world that we live in today, our national security has become the most important issue facing our nation. We must do everything within our power to ensure that we do not become victims of terrorism again. As terrorist become more and more sophisticated, we must continue to implement and maintain comprehensive measures to secure our safety. While we often think of terrorists being from foreign lands, it is easily plausible that people living on American soil can compromise our country’s national security interest. The fact that someone can walk out of the institution that developed the atomic bomb with a disk full of classified information is deeply disturbing. This is completely unacceptable. Los Alamos has some of the smartest minds in the world, and the reoccurrence of so many security breaches is simply inexcusable.

I was taught that people should be held accountable for their actions. While there are many organizational changes that can be made to better ensure the security of our country’s classified information, one of the easiest and most effective remedy is to make the contractor in charge of security pay a deep penalty. As a steward of the taxpayer dollar, I fully support this idea. If the contractor is penalized millions upon millions of dollars, maybe then they will finally recognize how serious of a problem this is and that it must be stopped at all costs.

While there is clearly an institutional problem at Los Alamos, we must also remember that there are also thousands of hardworking employees at the lab who make a remarkable contribution to science and the country on a daily basis. In preparation for this hearing, I came across a posting on a well known blog of Los Alamos employees. The posting was addressed to Members of this committee and ended with this thought: Don't give up on us just yet. Please be careful with your words. Direct them at those who are truly at fault, and avoid belittling comments directed against the whole workforce and against the vital work that we can do to help this country. And one more thing. Yes, you do need Los Alamos—a well functioning Los Alamos. I completely agree with this employee, the country needs a well functioning Los Alamos, and that is why we are here today.

Mr. Chairman, again I thank you for this bipartisan hearing in which we can further address this troubling issue and what needs to be accomplished to break this horrible cycle of security breaches at Los Alamos.