[Congressional Record: September 15, 2010 (Extensions)]
[Page E1622-E1623]
FINDINGS OF THE CHAIRMAN OF THE PERMANENT SELECT COMMITTEE ON
INTELLIGENCE RELATING TO EFFICIENCY AND REFORM PURSUANT TO H. RES. 1493
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HON. SILVESTRE REYES
of texas
in the house of representatives
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Mr. REYES. Madam Speaker, pursuant to House Resolution 1493 and on
behalf of the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, I submit the
following findings that identify potential changes in law that help
achieve deficit reduction by reducing waste, fraud, abuse, and
mismanagement, promoting efficiency and reform of government, and
controlling spending within government programs authorized by the
Committee.
On February 26, 2010, the House of Representatives passed H.R 2701,
the Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2010. This
legislation includes a number of changes in law that would help achieve
deficit reduction by reducing waste, fraud, abuse, and mismanagement,
as well as promote efficiency and reform in government, and control
spending within intelligence programs.
Creation of an Inspector General for the Intelligence Community. The
bill would create a statutory and independent inspector general for the
Intelligence Community (IC/IG), whose office would have authority to
conduct audits and investigations within and across the elements of the
Intelligence Community. The
IC/IG would be a powerful tool for identifying waste, fraud, abuse, and
mismanagement in the Intelligence Community.
Granting access to the General Accounting Office. The bill would
require the General Accounting Office be given access to Intelligence
Community records and personnel for the purposes of conducting audits
and investigation as directed by the congressional intelligence
committees. These audits and investigations have proven critical to
Congress' ability to identify waste, fraud, abuse, and mismanagement
throughout the federal government; this provision will bring the same
level of congressional oversight to the Intelligence Community.
Review of covert action programs by Inspector General of the Central
Intelligence Agency. The bill would require that the CIA/JIG conduct
audits of each covert action program at least once every three years,
which would ensure that these critical and sometimes costly programs
receive an appropriate level of scrutiny.
Improvements to congressional oversight. The bill would enhance
congressional oversight over the Intelligence Community in a number of
ways, which would better enable Congress to help reduce the deficit by
promoting efficiency, controlling spending, and reducing waste, fraud,
abuse, and mismanagement. These include:
Reform to congressional reporting on covert actions. The bill would
make a number of improvements to the process through which the
Intelligence Community informs Congress regarding certain sensitive
covert actions, including a requirement that all notifications to the
Gang of 8 (the Speaker of the House, House Minority Leader, Senate
Majority and Minority Leader, and the Chair and Ranking Member of the
two Intelligence Committees) be provided in writing; and that all
members of the congressional intelligence committees be provided with
``general information'' regarding a notification to the Gang of 8. The
bill also defines the specific terms that would necessitate
congressional notification.
Certification of compliance with oversight requirements. The bill
would require the head of each element of the Intelligence Community to
certify semi-annually that the element has notified Congress of all
significant and significant anticipated intelligence activities, as
required by law.
Cybersecurity oversight. The bill would require notification to
Congress of all new and existing cybersecurity programs, giving
Congress better visibility into this evolving and resource-intensive
mission.
Security clearance reform. The bill would require extensive reporting
to Congress, including a comprehensive quadrennial audit, regarding the
processes used by the federal government to provide security
clearances. It would also create an ombudsman responsible for
addressing complaints regarding the security clearance system.
Committee hearings and other investigations have identified numerous
inefficiencies in the security clearance systems, which these reforms
will help to address.
Reform and oversight of personnel policies. The bill includes a
number of provisions intended to help control the growth of personnel
and other administrative costs within the Intelligence Community. These
include:
Caps on personnel levels at the Office of the Director of National
Intelligence. The bill would limit the number of personnel at the
Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), which has
increased substantially since the ODNI was created.
Annual personnel level assessments. The bill would require that the
Intelligence Community conduct a comprehensive review of all personnel,
both federal employees and contractors across all agencies, which would
assist the Intelligence Community and Congress in identifying
redundancies, excessive growth, and other inefficiencies.
Report on intelligence community contractors. The bill would require
a comprehensive report on the use of personal services contractors
within the Intelligence Community, the impact of these contractors on
personnel management systems, plans to convert positions from
contractor to federal employee, and accountability methods. The use of
contractors in the Intelligence Community has increased substantially
over the past ten years, at considerable cost to the taxpayer.
This report will enable Congress to identify contractor mismanagement
and to monitor the implementation of responsible and cost-effective
policies regarding contractors across the Intelligence Community.
Reports and plans. The bill includes provisions to require reports or
plans on various subjects, which will assist Congress and the
Intelligence Community in determining ways to achieve a variety of
missions more efficiently and effectively without waste, fraud, abuse,
or mismanagement. These include:
Report on intelligence resources dedicated to Iraq and Afghanistan.
The bill would require a report summarizing the intelligence resources
dedicated to Operation New Dawn (formerly Operation Iraqi Freedom) and
Operation Enduring Freedom, so that Congress can ensure that they are
used in the most efficient and cost-effective manner.
Report on transformation of the intelligence capabilities of the
Federal Bureau of Investigation. The Federal Bureau of Investigation
(FBI) has undertaken significant internal restructuring to better
enable it to collect intelligence on potential terrorists, among other
threats. The bill requires a comprehensive assessment of this effort,
which would allow Congress and the FBI determine whether further
changes are necessary and/or cost-effective.
Intelligence community financial improvement and audit readiness. The
bill requires that each element of the Intelligence Community produce a
plan for achieving full, unqualified audits by September 30, 2013,
which is an integral step toward implementation of sound financial
management practices at these agencies.
Inspector General report on over-classification. The bill requires
that the IC/IG conduct an analysis of the over-classification of
national security information and recommend ways to resolve the
problem. Over-classification can inhibit the sharing of intelligence,
which can lead to redundancy and waste.
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Report on information sharing practices of joint terrorism task
force. The bill requires a report on the information sharing practices
of the FBI-New York Police Department Joint Terrorism Task Force to
help identify ways in which combining federal, state, and local
resources can result in a more efficient use of those resources.
Plan to implement recommendations of the data center energy
efficiency reports. The bill requires that the Director of National
Intelligence prepare a plan to comply with a report regarding the use
of energy efficient data centers, which would help the Intelligence
Community reduce its energy costs.
Repeal of certain reporting requirements. The bill would reduce the
resources expended across the Intelligence Community on preparing
reports that are redundant or obsolete.
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