Lamar Smith: “First of all, I want to thank the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Loudermilk), who is the chairman of the Oversight…”

“First of all, I want to thank the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Loudermilk), who is the chairman of the Oversight Subcommittee, for his significant oversight work on this issue and for introducing the result of that work, this bill, H.R. 5636. I am pleased to cosponsor the National Institute of Standards and Technology Campus Security Act to help improve the safety and security of NIST facilities and their surrounding areas. Last July, a senior officer with the NIST Police Services Group attempted illegal production of meth at one of the laboratories located at NIST's Gaithersburg, Maryland, campus. The officer, who was previously the acting chief of police at the Gaithersburg campus, amazingly caused an explosion that burned his face and arm and blew out the lab windows. It is shocking that a Federal agency didn't know that a meth lab was being run on its property right under its nose, and, without the explosion, it might never have been discovered. The meth lab explosion and subsequent investigation have raised serious concerns about the safety and security of the entire NIST operation. Further, information obtained during the Science, Space, and Technology Committee's investigation of the meth lab appears to show a pattern of waste, fraud, abuse and misconduct by the NIST Police Services Group.…”