Intelligence Issues for Congress
Oversight Issues
The 9/11 Commission concluded that congressional oversight of
intelligence activities was
“dysfunctional.” A number of measures were undertaken to address
issues raised by the
Commission, including the establishment of oversight subcommittees
on both committees.
Proposals to establish one committee with both appropriations and
authorization responsibilities
proved unacceptable, but H.Res. 35, passed on January 9, 2007,
established a panel within the
appropriations committee with additional staff to review
intelligence activities. Senate rules
require that the Intelligence Committee include Members also serving
on the Appropriations
Committee thus providing for a measure of coordination; although
S.Res. 445 in the 108th
Congress envisioned an appropriations subcommittee on intelligence,
no such entity has been
established.
The involvement of the Intelligence Community in homeland security
efforts that involve
domestic law enforcement agencies has affected congressional
oversight. In the past the two
intelligence committees and the appropriations committees were
almost the only points of contact
between intelligence agencies and the Congress. In the 109th
Congress the House Homeland
Security Committee and the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental
Affairs Committee
also undertook oversight of some aspects of intelligence activities.
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