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The Department of Energy (DOE) has established various national security controls for foreign travel to guard against foreign intelligence interests' obtaining information that would be detrimental to U.S. security or business. In this report, GAO (1) describes the types of foreign-intelligence-gathering incidents that have occurred during foreign travel by contractor employees, (2) discusses DOE's controls that apply to foreign travel by contractor employees, and (3) identifies areas in which these controls can be strengthened. GAO found that during fiscal years 1995 through 1999, DOE counterintelligence officials and records identified over 75 incidents of attempted espionage by foreign nationals against travelers from the four laboratories it reviewed. In addition, DOE and its laboratories have instituted several national security controls over official foreign travel by laboratory employees. Also, GAO identified several areas where existing controls over foreign travel can be strengthened. For example, some travelers may not be receiving the necessary preparation to recognize and thwart espionage efforts.