Peter Visclosky: “I rise in opposition to the Ryun amendment, which would restrict the ability of the Department of Energy to maintain the…”

“I rise in opposition to the Ryun amendment, which would restrict the ability of the Department of Energy to maintain the country's nuclear stockpile. The amendment would prohibit the Department from dual-hatting certain senior physicists and nuclear weapon designers and would mandate certain job functions encompassed in the requirement of the Defense authorization bill to split the Department of Energy into two independent organizations. The practical problem inherent in the gentleman's amendment is that it is not enforceable. Less than 20 Federal employees are currently dual-hatted in the Department of Energy. These officials are the core of the nuclear weapons program, and these scientists and military officers are not attempting to politicize the Department; they are men and women who won the Cold War. What the amendment is attempting to do is to set a date certain by which these people must be replaced. Hiring permanent replacements for these officials is not a frivolous issue. Replacing nuclear weapon experts takes time and very careful consideration. Earlier this month, the Senate confirmed the new chief of the National Nuclear Security Administration, General Gordon. General Gordon has a Ph.D. in nuclear physics and is a former deputy director of the Central Intelligence Agency. General Gordon should not be forced to hire 18 new senior government executives in literally the next 30 to 60 days.”