Barrasso, Marshall Introduce Legislation to Protect National Labs

U.S. Senator John Barrasso (R-WY), ranking member of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, and Senator Roger Marshall of Kansas recently introduced legislation that would require the Department of Energy to administer polygraph examinations to non-green card holding foreign nationals from countries of particular concern, including Russia and China, before working in DOE National Laboratories. The bill would also provide for subsequent polygraph testing for this same group under certain circumstances.

Barrasso said the groundbreaking research and technologies at America’s national labs must be safeguarded and that all too often these highly sensitive materials have been compromised and used to harm the United States, our allies or our interests. Barrasso added that the polygraph program will serve as a deterrent to foreign nationals with malevolent intentions.