§6225 Notice to Congressional Committees of Certain Security and Counterintelligence Failures Within Atomic Energy Defense Programs

Summary

The Secretary of Energy must tell the Senate and House Armed Services Committees when there is a significant atomic energy defense intelligence loss, after consulting with the Director of National Intelligence and the FBI as needed. “Significant atomic energy defense intelligence loss” means a major security or counterintelligence failure or leak of classified information at a Department of Energy site or contractor that the Secretary believes is likely to cause serious harm to U.S. national security. The notice must be sent no later than 30 days after the Department decides the loss occurred. The Secretary and those two committees must each make procedures to protect classified material, intelligence sources and methods, and sensitive law enforcement information they receive. No part of this lets officials refuse to give information to the Armed Services Committees by claiming it would be an unauthorized disclosure of classified or sensitive intelligence or law enforcement material. This does not change other rules about reporting intelligence activities to Congress, including section 501 of the National Security Act of 1947 (50 U.S.C. 3091).