[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 92 (Thursday, June 20, 1996)]
[Senate]
[Page S6608]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                            MORNING BUSINESS

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                      NOMINATION OF KEITH R. HALL

  Mr. COHEN. Mr. President, I would like to take this opportunity to 
endorse the nomination of Mr. Keith R. Hall to be Assistant Secretary 
of the Air Force for Space. I have known Mr. Hall since 1983, when I 
was first appointed to serve on the Senate Intelligence Committee. I 
came to know Mr. Hall particularly well during the period from 1987 to 
1990, when I served as the vice chairman of the Intelligence Committee. 
During that period, the chairman and I relied heavily on Mr. Hall for 
assessments of the arcane programmatics surrounding the President's 
budget submissions for the Central Intelligence Agency, the Defense 
Intelligence Agency, the National Security Agency, and the National 
Reconnaissance Office. Throughout this period, Mr. Hall demonstrated 
exceptional knowledge and expertise, unflagging energy and integrity, 
and a truly nonpartisan spirit of cooperation with myself and other 
members of the minority party on the committee.
  In 1991, Mr. Hall left the Intelligence Committee to become the 
Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Intelligence and Security in 
the Office of the Secretary of Defense. By all accounts, he served very 
ably in that position, instituting new procedures to try and eliminate 
potentially wasteful duplication between national and tactical 
intelligence programs. From May 1995, until February of this year, Mr. 
Hall served as the Executive Director for Intelligence Community 
Affairs. In that position, Mr. Hall was directly responsible to the 
Director of Central Intelligence for developing the President's 
National Foreign Intelligence Program. I think it came as no surprise 
to anyone that Secretary Deutch brought Mr. Hall with him from the 
Defense Department when he became Director of Central Intelligence.
  As my colleagues are aware, the National Reconnaissance Office has 
been the target of substantial controversy in recent years as a result 
of the costs associated with its new headquarters as well as the 
accumulation of a vast excess of carry-forward funds that accumulated 
in various accounts in recent years. Inevitably, these controversies 
have damaged the morale of the organization, notwithstanding the 
numerous spectacular achievements of the NRO. There is no doubt in my 
mind that Mr. Hall will be forthright in all of his dealings with 
Congress; that he will ensure there is no repetition of such 
controversies; and that he will be able to maintain and effectively 
manage the careful cooperation between the Intelligence Community and 
Defense Department that is necessary for the effective operation of the 
National Reconnaissance Office.
  Mr. Hall has earned the confidence of officials at all levels of the 
administration and he certainly earned my confidence during his able 
service on the staff of the Senate Intelligence Committee. He is an 
outstanding individual and I urge my colleagues to support his 
nomination.
  I ask unanimous consent that a copy of Mr. Hall's complete resume be 
printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the resume was ordered to be printed in the 
Record, as follow:

     Keith R. Hall, Deputy Director, National Reconnaissance Office

       Keith R. Hall was appointed Deputy Director, National 
     Reconnaissance Office (NRO) and Acting Director, NRO on 27 
     February 1996. Prior to his appointment, Mr. Hall had served 
     as Executive Director for Intelligence Community Affairs, 
     assuming that position in May 1995. In this capacity he led a 
     community staff which reported directly to the Director of 
     Central Intelligence providing advice and assistance to the 
     Director in planning and executing his Community management 
     responsibilities. Mr. Hall was then principal architect and 
     co-chairman of the Intelligence Program Review Group process. 
     He was also co-chairman of the Security Policy Forum and with 
     the Vice Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff, directed the study 
     group which proposed the creation of the Imagery and Mapping 
     Agency.
       Mr. Hall has been involved in United States intelligence in 
     various capacities since 1970. He served nine years in Army 
     intelligence where he was assigned to various signals and 
     human intelligence positions, including two tours in which he 
     commanded overseas operational intelligence units. In 1979, 
     having been nominated and competitively selected as a 
     Presidential Management Intern, he resigned from the Army and 
     was appointed to the Office of Management and Budget where he 
     was the budget examiner for the Central Intelligence Agency 
     until 1983.
       From 1983 to 1991, Mr. Hall served in a variety of 
     professional staff positions with the Senate Select Committee 
     on Intelligence, eventually serving as Deputy Staff Director. 
     In that capacity, he had primary responsibility for 
     supporting Committee members in the annual budget 
     authorization process involving all United States 
     intelligence activities. As a member of the Committee's 
     senior staff, he also played a key role in other Committee 
     activities including oversight of intelligence programs, 
     interaction with other Congressional and Executive Branch 
     elements, and review of intelligence-related legislation.
       From 1991 until his appointment as Executive Director for 
     Intelligence Community Affairs, Mr. Hall served as the Deputy 
     Assistant Secretary of Defense for Intelligence and Security 
     in the Office of the Secretary of Defense. His 
     responsibilities included policy development, resource 
     management, and oversight for all Defense intelligence, 
     counterintelligence, and security activities. In this 
     capacity he served as Chairman of the National 
     Counterintelligence Policy Board and Co-Chairman of the 
     Intelligence Systems Board.
       He received his BA in History and Political Science from 
     Alfred University and a Masters in Public Administration from 
     Clark University. Mr. Hall has received several military 
     awards and decorations; the Director of the Office of 
     Management and Budget Award for Professional Achievement, the 
     Central Intelligence Agency Gold Seal Medallion, and the 
     Secretary of Defense Award for Distinguished Civilian 
     Service.

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