Whereas, on July 26, 1908, Attorney General Charles
Bonaparte ordered newly hired Federal investigators to report to the Office of
the Chief Examiner of the Department of Justice, which subsequently was renamed
the Federal Bureau of Investigation;
Whereas, on July 26, 1947, President Truman signed the
National Security Act of 1947 (50 U.S.C. 401 et seq.), creating the Department
of Defense, the National Security Council, the Central Intelligence Agency, and
the Joint Chiefs of Staff, thereby laying the foundation for today’s
intelligence community;
Whereas the National Security Act of 1947, which appears
in title 50 of the United States Code, governs the definition, composition,
responsibilities, authorities, and oversight of the intelligence community of
the United States;
Whereas the intelligence community is defined by section
3(4) of the National Security Act of 1947 (50 U.S.C. 401a(4)) to include the
Office of the Director of National Intelligence, the Central Intelligence
Agency, the National Security Agency, the Defense Intelligence Agency, the
National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, the National Reconnaissance Office,
other offices within the Department of Defense for the collection of
specialized national intelligence through reconnaissance programs, the
intelligence elements of the Army, the Navy, the Air Force, the Marine Corps,
the Coast Guard, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Drug Enforcement
Administration, and the Department of Energy, the Bureau of Intelligence and
Research of the Department of State, the Office of Intelligence and Analysis of
the Department of the Treasury, the elements of the Department of Homeland
Security concerned with the analysis of intelligence information, and other
elements as may be designated;
Whereas July 26, 2012, shall be the 65th anniversary of
the signing of the National Security Act of 1947 (50 U.S.C. 401 et
seq.);
Whereas the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention
Act of 2004 (Public Law 108–458; 118 Stat. 3638) created the position of the
Director of National Intelligence to serve as the head of the intelligence
community and to ensure that national intelligence be timely, objective,
independent of political considerations, and based upon all sources
available;
Whereas Congress has previously passed joint resolutions,
signed by the President, to designate Peace Officers Memorial Day on May 15,
Patriot Day on September 11, and other commemorative occasions, to honor the
sacrifices of law enforcement officers and of those who lost their lives on
September 11, 2001;
Whereas the United States has increasingly relied upon the
men and women of the intelligence community to protect and defend the security
of the United States in the decade since the attacks of September 11,
2001;
Whereas the men and women of the intelligence community,
both civilian and military, have been increasingly called upon to deploy to
theaters of war in Iraq, Afghanistan, and elsewhere since September 11,
2001;
Whereas numerous intelligence officers of the elements of
the intelligence community have been injured or killed in the line of
duty;
Whereas intelligence officers of the United States are
routinely called upon to accept personal hardship and sacrifice in the
furtherance of their mission to protect the United States, to undertake
dangerous assignments in the defense of the interests of the United States, to
collect reliable information within prescribed legal authorities upon which the
leaders of the United States rely in life-and-death situations, and to
speak truth to power,
by providing their best assessments to
decisionmakers, regardless of political and policy considerations;
Whereas the men and women of the intelligence community
have on numerous occasions succeeded in preventing attacks upon the United
States and allies of the United States, saving numerous innocent lives;
and
Whereas intelligence officers of the United States must of
necessity often remain unknown and unrecognized for their substantial
achievements and successes: Now, therefore, be it
1.Designation of July 26 as
United States Intelligence Professionals DayChapter 1 of title 36, United States Code,
is amended by adding at the end the following:
145.United States
Intelligence Professionals Day
(a)July
26 is United States Intelligence Professionals Day.
(b)The
President is authorized and requested to issue each year a proclamation calling
on—
(1)the people of the
United States to observe this day with appropriate ceremonies and activities;
and
(2)all departments,
agencies, and instrumentalities of the United States and interested
organizations and individuals to display the flag of the United States on
United States Intelligence Professionals Day in honor of the courage, fidelity,
sacrifice, and professionalism of the men and women of the intelligence
community of the United
States.
.
2.The table of
contents for chapter 1 of title 36, United States Code, is amended by adding at
the end the following new item:
145. United States Intelligence Professionals
Day.
.