DOE to Compete Los Alamos National Laboratory Contract

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In the wake of several years of controversy about the national weapons labs, DOE has said that for the first time, competitive bidding will be used when the contract with the University of California (UC) to manage and operate Los Alamos National Laboratory expires in 2005. In addition, the House has added a rider to an appropriations bill that requires competition for some other DOE labs as well.

A host of problems has resulted in intense scrutiny of the labs. Allegations of espionage; lost hard drives containing classified information; and, most recently, accusations of financial mismanagement have hit Los Alamos. Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, also managed by UC, has faced controversy over alleged security lapses and cost overruns during construction of the National Ignition Facility.

In an attempt to shore up the security of classified weapons programs, Congress in 2000 created the National Nuclear Security Administration, a …