An unclassified 2013 Senate Intelligence Committee report contains some rather interesting legislative provisions, which give us rare insight into some of the problems within the U.S. intelligence community, including supply chain risk issues surrounding information technology, auditability concerns and allegations of improper payments made by various intelligence agencies…etc.
A listing of the (unclassified) provisions in the report are as follows:
1) New procurement authorities that enable intelligence agencies to protect against supply chain risk to information technologies.
2) A provision that provides burial allowances for intelligence employees killed in the line of duty, similar to those for members of the U.S. military.
3) A measure authorizing new accounts at the Department of Treasury to enable defense intelligence agencies to become financially auditable.
4) Provisions to strengthen congressional oversight of the transfer of detainees from Guantanamo Bay.
5) A requirement that the DNI (Director of National Intelligence) establish and maintain on the publicly accessible ODNI website information for contacting the Inspector General of the Intelligence Community (IC IG).
6) A section to improve the accuracy of IC (“Intelligence Community”) cost estimates; and
7) Provisions that provide the DNI with needed personnel management authorities.
CLASSIFIED ANNEX
The Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2013 authorized funding for fiscal year 2013 for intelligence and intelligence-related activities across the U.S. Government, and included “a classified schedule of authorizations and classified annex.”
The Act also contained a number of legislative provisions, relating to those classified authorizations that including:
1) A requirement for notification on a timely basis to the congressional intelligence committees with respect to certain authorized disclosures of national intelligence or intelligence related to national security, with a one-year sunset.
2) A section that repeals four recurring reporting requirements burdensome to IC agencies when the information in such reports is duplicative or is provided to Congress through other means.
3) A provision modifying personnel authorities to facilitate more “joint duty’ assignments within the IC that will create shared knowledge across different elements of the IC.
4) A measure requiring corrective action plans to address the issue of improper payments made by intelligence agencies.
We contacted the Office of the Director of National Intelligence for comment and clarification on these provisions as found in the Senate Intelligence Report ( 113-007 ) – and officials refused to respond to our emails and telephone calls regarding this matter.