But Secretary Richardson disagreed with both the premise and the proposal.

Secretary Richardson said his order was necessary.

"I will continue to aggressively pursue this serious matter," Secretary Richardson said in a statement.

Secretary Richardson, who initially resisted the creation of this semiautonomous agency within the Energy Department, must give General Gordon his fullest cooperation.

"We confirmed our readiness with Secretary Richardson to work along these lines," Mr. Adamov said.

But by the hearing's end, Secretary Richardson had dug in his heels, resisting a semi-autonomous agency for nuclear weapons programs.

Secretary Richardson addressed a related issue last July, describing the problem of workers employed by private companies that had processed the beryllium for weapons use.

"The rise of heating oil and gas prices has provided the nation with a real challenge," Secretary Richardson said.

Her statement continued, "Discussions are ongoing, but Secretary Richardson under no circumstances will bow to pressure and release sensitive nuclear weapons information."

Secretary Richardson said today that the new agreement put the uranium-conversion deal, which was originally signed in 1993 but quickly ran into trouble, "on solid ground for years to come."