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Issue Brief

May 15, 2001

Department of Energy Report Claims No Racial Profiling

by Samir Singh
AAAS Center for Science, Technology, and Congress

The Department of Energy (DOE) Inspector General Gregory H. Friedman issued a report last month stating that a recent departmental investigation "did not support concerns regarding unfair treatment based on national origin in the security processes examined." The investigation was ordered last November by then-Secretary Bill Richardson and sought to address claims of biased treatment of DOE employees and contractors. Although the report's conclusion seems to refute such claims, there is concern that the scope of the investigation was insufficient to represent the actual environment within the Department.

Richardson's decision to order the investigation came in the wake of last year's Wen Ho Lee case. Lee, a nuclear weapons scientist at Los Alamos National Laboratory, was investigated and then jailed for over nine months after being accused of espionage. Ultimately, the Department failed to produce any evidence to support their claim against the Taiwanese-born scientist, and Lee pled guilty to one count of improperly downloading sensitive material to a non-secure computer.

The Inspector General's investigation addressed concerns voiced by Asian-American DOE scientists regarding the unwarranted singling-out of specific ethnic groups during security evaluations. The investigation examined racial profiling claims within numerous DOE facilities, including Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Los Alamos National Laboratory, and Sandia National Laboratories. Testimony from representatives of DOE offices such as the Office of the National Ombudsman and the Office of Economic Impact and Diversity was also included.

According to the report, a total of four cases were identified involving possible unfair treatment during security processes. Each case was systematically evaluated and the Inspector General determined that none supported claims of unfair treatment based on race. Moreover, the report found that the Department's security program does not systematically record, track or maintain information concerning an individuals' national origin for inclusion within centralized databases.

Testimony given by Dr. Jeremy Wu, the Energy Department's Ombudsman, during the course of the Inspector General's investigation raises questions about the accuracy of the investigation's conclusion. The Office of the Ombudsman was created in January of 2000 in order to provide an opportunity for employees to confer with a neutral office regarding concerns, recommendations and complaints that affect morale or productivity within the Department. The Inspector General's report quoted Dr. Wu as saying that there are "…strong and continuing allegations about bias and profiling," within the Department. Dr. Wu also said that "allegations of 'profiling' emerged frequently and among many groups" within the Department. However, he declined to identify the individuals who had expressed such concerns in the interest of maintaining the confidentiality and integrity of his office. As a result, the investigation was unable include any of the individuals who spoke to him regarding racial profiling at DOE. In an April 14th article, Steven Aftergood, Director of the project on government secrecy at the Federation of American Scientists, told the New York Times that these exclusions "…are severe limitations on the scope of this investigation, which I would say undercut its conclusions."1

The Inspector General's report also mentioned recent investigations undertaken by the General Accounting Office (GAO) on the subject of racial profiling. One GAO report from last year found that "security clearances of certain racial or ethnic groups at the reviewed [DOE] offices were suspended more often than would be statistically expected."2 As a result, GAO suggested that DOE investigate the reasons for the disparities, and that they require that data on the racial and ethnic background of contractor employees whose clearances are suspended at all locations be compiled, monitored, and reviewed. DOE responded by disputing the methodology employed by GAO in its statistical analysis. However, the department indicated that listings of individuals whose clearings had been revoked since Fiscal Year 1996 would be examined for any improper activity.

Also contradicting the message of the inspector general's report was a department-wide memo issued on April 14th by Spencer Abraham, the newly appointed Energy Secretary. Abraham's memo focused on racial profiling and, according to Energy Department spokesman Joseph Davis, stated clearly that "any practice of racial profiling shall be eliminated and prevented from occurring in the department."3 According to Davis, the memo said that "sound management must be practiced…to create and maintain a respectful and productive work environment free of profiling, discrimination and fear."4 Davis also mentioned that the memo was issued because Abraham is concerned about "continuing potentially racial profiling incidents in the department."

Ultimately, the presence of racial profiling within the DOE seems difficult to determine, even to those most intimately involved. The Inspector General's report admitted that the scope of its investigation was limited and that further examination of the matter is advisable.

Questions

• How have profiling claims affected DOE recruitment and retention rates, especially of Asian-American scientists.
  
  
• What will DOE do to integrate information from the Office of the Ombudsman into future investigations?
  
  
• If profiling is found by subsequent investigations not to exist, what will the department do to address the existing concerns?
  
  
• Should further investigations be conducted by autonomous bodies outside the DOE management structure? If so, by whom?

References

1. Glanz, James. "Investigation Finds No Bias Against Asians in U.S. Labs." New York Times, April 14th, 2001.
2. Friedman, Gregory H. "Department of Energy Memorandum for the Secretary: Special Review of Profiling Concerns at the Department of Energy." Special Review of Profiling Concerns at the Department of Energy, April 3rd, 2001.
3. Greenberg, Brigitte. "Energy Department Pens Profiling Memo." Associated Press, April 14th, 2001.
4. Ibid.

The Inspector General's Report is available here.