Publicly released on February 22, this new study by the General Accounting Office, an investigative arm of Congress, raises serious questions about two Energy Department (DOE) programs designed to employ poorly-paid scientists of the former Soviet Union on peaceful and commercially-viable projects. The report contends that some of these scientists have continued to assist not only weapons programs in Russia, but also those of other countries. Another major finding of the report is that one of the two programs has been more effective at subsidizing Energy Department labs in the US than at supporting the Russian scientists, spending 63% of its funding in this country. Based on an investigation of 15 defense institutes in Russia and 79 projects, this GAO report is the first independent review of the Energy Department's program, known as Initiatives for Proliferation Prevention. Users can download the full text of the report in .pdf format from the GAO site.
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