Summary

Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the Department of Energy's (DOE) counterintelligence programs at its nuclear weapons laboratories and other high-risk facilities, focusing on the: (1) distribution of an additional $5 million among DOE facilities for counterintelligence programs; and (2) extent to which funding and staffing for counterintelligence programs at DOE facilities have increased.

GAO noted that: (1) DOE disbursed $3.74 million of the $5 million to eight facilities to expand their counterintelligence programs; (2) the remaining $1.26 million is to be used for counterintelligence analysis and assessment studies; (3) however, the overall funding increase for counterintelligence programs at the eight facilities was only about $1.6 million, significantly less than the $3.74 million DOE provided to these facilities, because five facilities reduced or eliminated the funding they previously provided to counterintelligence programs by a total of $0.7 million, and $1.4 million was allocated to fund facilitywide support costs; and (4) the $1.6 million resulted in increased staffing for counterintelligence programs at all but one of the eight facilities.