Congressional Record: July 25, 2007 (House)] [Page H8496-H8546] CONFERENCE REPORT ON H.R. 1, IMPLEMENTING RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE 9/11 COMMISSION ACT OF 2007 Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi submitted the following conference report and statement on the bill (H.R. 1) to provide for the implementation of the recommendations of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States: Conference Report (H. Rept. 110-259) [...] TITLE VI--CONGRESSIONAL OVERSIGHT OF INTELLIGENCE SEC. 601. AVAILABILITY TO PUBLIC OF CERTAIN INTELLIGENCE FUNDING INFORMATION. (a) Amounts Appropriated Each Fiscal Year.--Not later than 30 days after the end of each fiscal year beginning with fiscal year 2007, the Director of National Intelligence shall disclose to the public the aggregate amount of funds appropriated by Congress for the National Intelligence Program for such fiscal year. (b) Waiver.--Beginning with fiscal year 2009, the President may waive or postpone the disclosure required by subsection (a) for any fiscal year by, not later than 30 days after the end of such fiscal year, submitting to the Select Committee on Intelligence of the Senate and Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence of the House of Representatives-- (1) a statement, in unclassified form, that the disclosure required in subsection (a) for that fiscal year would damage national security; and (2) a statement detailing the reasons for the waiver or postponement, which may be submitted in classified form. (c) Definition.--As used in this section, the term ``National Intelligence Program'' has the meaning given the term in section 3(6) of the National Security Act of 1947 (50 U.S.C. 401a(6)). SEC. 602. PUBLIC INTEREST DECLASSIFICATION BOARD. The Public Interest Declassification Act of 2000 (50 U.S.C. 435 note) is amended-- (1) by striking ``Director of Central Intelligence'' each place that term appears and inserting ``Director of National Intelligence''; (2) in section 704(e)-- (A) by striking ``If requested'' and inserting the following: ``(1) In general.--If requested''; and (B) by adding at the end the following: ``(2) Authority of board.--Upon receiving a congressional request described in section 703(b)(5), the Board may conduct the review and make the recommendations described in that section, regardless of whether such a review is requested by the President. ``(3) Reporting.--Any recommendations submitted to the President by the Board under section 703(b)(5), shall be submitted to the chairman and ranking minority member of the committee of Congress that made the request relating to such recommendations.''; (3) in section 705(c), in the subsection heading, by striking ``Director of Central Intelligence'' and inserting ``Director of National Intelligence''; and (4) in section 710(b), by striking ``8 years after the date'' and all that follows and inserting ``on December 31, 2012.''. SEC. 603. SENSE OF THE SENATE REGARDING A REPORT ON THE 9/11 COMMISSION RECOMMENDATIONS WITH RESPECT TO INTELLIGENCE REFORM AND CONGRESSIONAL INTELLIGENCE OVERSIGHT REFORM. (a) Findings.--Congress makes the following findings: (1) The National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States (referred to in this section as the ``9/11 Commission'') conducted a lengthy review of the facts and circumstances relating to the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, including those relating to the intelligence community, law enforcement agencies, and the role of congressional oversight and resource allocation. (2) In its final report, the 9/11 Commission found that-- (A) congressional oversight of the intelligence activities of the United States is dysfunctional; (B) under the rules of the Senate and the House of Representatives in effect at the time the report was completed, the committees of Congress charged with oversight of the intelligence activities lacked the power, influence, and sustained capability to meet the daunting challenges faced by the intelligence community of the United States; (C) as long as such oversight is governed by such rules of the Senate and the House of Representatives, the people of the United States will not get the security they want and need; (D) a strong, stable, and capable congressional committee structure is needed to give the intelligence community of the United States appropriate oversight, support, and leadership; and (E) the reforms recommended by the 9/11 Commission in its final report will not succeed if congressional oversight of the intelligence community in the United States is not changed. (3) The 9/11 Commission recommended structural changes to Congress to improve the oversight of intelligence activities. (4) Congress has enacted some of the recommendations made by the 9/11 Commission and is considering implementing additional recommendations of the 9/11 Commission. (5) The Senate adopted Senate Resolution 445 in the 108th Congress to address some of the intelligence oversight recommendations of the 9/11 Commission by abolishing term limits for the members of the Select Committee on Intelligence, clarifying jurisdiction for intelligence- related nominations, and streamlining procedures for the referral of intelligence-related legislation, but other aspects of the 9/11 Commission recommendations regarding intelligence oversight have not been implemented. (b) Sense of the Senate.--It is the sense of the Senate that the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs and the Select Committee on Intelligence of the Senate each, or jointly, should-- (1) undertake a review of the recommendations made in the final report of the 9/11 Commission with respect to intelligence reform and congressional intelligence oversight reform; (2) review and consider any other suggestions, options, or recommendations for improving intelligence oversight; and (3) not later than December 21, 2007, submit to the Senate a report that includes the recommendations of the committees, if any, for carrying out such reforms. SEC. 604. AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS FOR THE PUBLIC INTEREST DECLASSIFICATION BOARD. Section 21067 of the Continuing Appropriations Resolution, 2007 (division B of Public Law 109-289; 120 Stat. 1311), as amended by Public Law 109-369 (120 Stat. 2642), Public [[Page H8516]] Law 109-383 (120 Stat. 2678), and Public Law 110-5, is amended by adding at the end the following new subsection: ``(c) From the amount provided by this section, the National Archives and Records Administration may obligate monies necessary to carry out the activities of the Public Interest Declassification Board.''. SEC. 605. AVAILABILITY OF THE EXECUTIVE SUMMARY OF THE REPORT ON CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY ACCOUNTABILITY REGARDING THE TERRORIST ATTACKS OF SEPTEMBER 11, 2001. (a) Public Availability.--Not later than 30 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency shall prepare and make available to the public a version of the Executive Summary of the report entitled the ``Office of Inspector General Report on Central Intelligence Agency Accountability Regarding Findings and Conclusions of the Joint Inquiry into Intelligence Community Activities Before and After the Terrorist Attacks of September 11, 2001'' issued in June 2005 that is declassified to the maximum extent possible, consistent with national security. (b) Report to Congress.--The Director of the Central Intelligence Agency shall submit to Congress a classified annex to the redacted Executive Summary made available under subsection (a) that explains the reason that any redacted material in the Executive Summary was withheld from the public.Conference Report (H. Rept. 110-259) [...] TITLE VI--CONGRESSIONAL OVERSIGHT OF INTELLIGENCE Section 601. Availability to public of certain intelligence funding information There is no comparable House provision. Section 1201 of the Senate bill requires the President to disclose to the public the aggregate amount of funds requested for the National Intelligence Program for each fiscal year. It also would require Congress to disclose to the public the aggregate amount authorized to be appropriated and the aggregate amount appropriated for the National Intelligence Program. The 9/11 Commission recommended in 2004 that the aggregate amount of funding for national intelligence be declassified, and in 2004 the Senate-passed version of the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act included a similar provision. The Conference substitute adopts the Senate provision with modifications. The Conference substitute requires the Director of National Intelligence to disclose to the public the aggregate amount of funds appropriated by Congress for the National Intelligence Program, beginning with Fiscal Year 2007. Beginning with Fiscal Year 2009, it allows the President to waive or postpone this disclosure by submitting to the Select Committee on Intelligence of the Senate and Permanent Select Committee of the House of Representatives an unclassified statement that the disclosure would damage national security, and a statement detailing the reasons for the waiver or postponement, which may be submitted in classified form. Section 602. Public Interest Declassification Board There is no comparable House provision. Section 1203 of the Senate bill authorizes the Public Interest Declassification Board, upon receiving a Congressional request, to conduct a review and make recommendations regardless of whether the review is requested by the President. It further provides that any recommendations submitted by the Board to the President shall also be submitted to the Chairman and Ranking Minority Member of the requesting Committee and extends the authorization of the Board for four years until the end of 2012. As described in its report on activities in the 109th Congress (S. Rep. No. 110-57, at p. 26), in September 2006, the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence released two reports on prewar intelligence regarding Iraq. In the introduction to one, the Committee expressed disagreement with the Intelligence Community's decision to classify portions of the report. Members of the Committee wrote to the then recently constituted Public Interest Declassification Board to request that it review the material and make recommendations about its classification. The Board responded that it might not be able to do so without White House authorization. In December 2006, the Board wrote to Congress to request that the statute establishing the Board be clarified to enable it to begin, without White House approval, a declassification review requested by Congress. The Conference substitute adopts the Senate provision with minor technical and conforming changes to the Public Interest Declassification Act of 2000 (50 U.S.C. 435 note) to substitute the ``Director of National Intelligence'' for the ``Director of Central Intelligence.'' Section 603. Sense of the Senate regarding a report on the 9/ 11 Commission recommendations with respect to intelligence reform and congressional intelligence oversight reform There is no comparable House provision. Section 1204 of the Senate bill makes findings related to the 9/11 Commission's recommendation on Congressional oversight of intelligence. It expresses the Sense of the Senate that the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs and the Select Committee on Intelligence of the Senate should undertake a review of the recommendations made in the final report of the 9/11 Commission with respect to intelligence reform and Congressional intelligence oversight reform, review and consider other suggestions, options, or recommendations for improving intelligence oversight, and not later than December 21, 2007, submit to the Senate a joint report or individual reports that include the recommendations of the Committees, if any, for carrying out such reforms. The Conference substitute adopts the Senate provision. Section 604. Availability of funds for the Public Interest Declassification Board There is no comparable House provision. Section 1205 of the Senate bill allows the National Archives and Records Administration to obligate monies to carry out the activities of the Public Interest Declassification Board from the Continuing Appropriations Resolution of 2007, as amended. The Conference substitute adopts the Senate provision. Section 605. Availability of the executive summary of the Report on Central Intelligence Agency Accountability Regarding the Terrorist Attacks of September 11, 2001 There is no comparable House provision. Section 1206 of the Senate bill provides that not later than 30 days after the enactment of this Act, the CIA Director shall prepare and make available to the public a version of the Executive Summary of a report by the CIA Inspector General that is declassified to the maximum extent possible consistent with national security. The underlying document is the Office of Inspector General Report on Central Intelligence Agency Accountability Regarding Findings and Conclusions of the Joint Inquiry Into Intelligence Community Activities Before and After September 11, 2001. The CIA Director is to submit to Congress a classified annex that explains why any redacted material in the Executive Summary was withheld from the public. The Senate Select Committee on Intelligence includes a similar provision in its Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008. The Committee's efforts to obtain this measure of [[Page H8580]] public accountability are detailed in its report on the Committee's activities in the 109th Congress, S. Rep. No. 110-57, at pp. 24-26 (2007). The Conference substitute adopts the Senate provision. [...]