Congressional Record, Volume 148 Issue 102 (Wednesday, July 24, 2002)

[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 102 (Wednesday, July 24, 2002)]
[House]
[Pages H5441-H5450]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

INTELLIGENCE AUTHORIZATION ACT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2003

The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to House Resolution 497 and rule
XVIII, the Chair declares the House in the Committee of the Whole House
on the State of the Union for the further consideration of the bill,
H.R. 4628.

{time} 0201

In the Committee of the Whole

Accordingly, the House resolved itself into the Committee of the
Whole House on the State of the Union for the further consideration of
the bill (H.R. 4628) to authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2003
for intelligence and intelligence-related activities of the United
States Government, the Community Management Account, and the Central
Intelligence Agency Retirement and Disability System, and for other
purposes, with Mr. Whitfield (Chairman pro tempore) in the chair.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The CHAIRMAN. When the Committee of the Whole rose earlier today,
Amendment No. 9 printed in the Congressional Record offered by the
gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Roemer) had been disposed of.
Pursuant to the order of the House of today, no further amendment to
the committee amendment in the nature of a substitute may be offered
after the legislative day of July 24, 2002, except pro forma amendments
offered by the chairman or ranking minority member of the Permanent
Select Committee on Intelligence or their designees for the purpose of
debate.

Amendment No. 3 Offered by Mr. Chambliss

Mr. CHAMBLISS. Mr. Chairman, I offer an amendment.
The CHAIRMAN. The Clerk will designate the amendment.

[[Page H5442]]

The text of the amendment is as follows:

Amendment No. 3 offered by Mr. Chambliss:
At the end (page 30, after line 7), add the following new
title:

TITLE VI--INFORMATION SHARING

SEC. 601. SHORT TITLE.

This title may be cited as the ``Homeland Security
Information Sharing Act''.

SEC. 602. FINDINGS AND SENSE OF CONGRESS.

(a) Findings.--The Congress finds the following:
(1) The Federal Government is required by the Constitution
to provide for the common defense, which includes terrorist
attack.
(2) The Federal Government relies on State and local
personnel to protect against terrorist attack.
(3) The Federal Government collects, creates, manages, and
protects classified and sensitive but unclassified
information to enhance homeland
(4) Some homeland security information is needed by the
State and local personnel to prevent and prepare for
terrorist attack.
(5) The needs of State and local personnel to have access
to relevant homeland security information to combat terrorism
must be reconciled with the need to preserve the protected
status of such information and to protect the sources and
methods used to acquire such information.
(6) Granting security clearances to certain State and local
personnel is one way to facilitate the sharing of information
regarding specific terrorist threats among Federal, State,
and local levels of government.
(7) Methods exist to declassify, redact, or otherwise adapt
classified information so it may be shared with State and
local personnel without the need for granting additional
security clearances.
(8) State and local personnel have capabilities and
opportunities to gather information on suspicious activities
and terrorist threats not possessed by Federal agencies.
(9) The Federal Government and State and local governments
and agencies in other jurisdictions may benefit from such
information.
(10) Federal, State, and local governments and
intelligence, law enforcement, and other emergency
preparation and response agencies must act in partnership to
maximize the benefits of information gathering and analysis
to prevent and respond to terrorist attacks.
(11) Information systems, including the National Law
Enforcement Telecommunications System and the Terrorist
Threat Warning System, have been established for rapid
sharing of classified and sensitive but unclassified
information among Federal, State, and local entities.
(12) Increased efforts to share homeland security
information should avoid duplicating existing information
systems.
(b) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that
Federal, State, and local entities should share homeland
security information to the maximum extent practicable, with
special emphasis on hard-to-reach urban and rural
communities.

SEC. 603. FACILITATING HOMELAND SECURITY INFORMATION SHARING
PROCEDURES.

(a) Procedures for Determining Extent of Sharing of
Homeland Security Information.--
(1) The President shall prescribe and implement procedures
under which relevant Federal agencies determine--
(A) whether, how, and to what extent homeland security
information may be shared with appropriate State and local
personnel, and with which such personnel it may be shared;
(B) how to identify and safeguard homeland security
information that is sensitive but unclassified; and
(C) to the extent such information is in classified form,
whether, how, and to what extent to remove classified
information, as appropriate, and with which such personnel it
may be shared after such information is removed.
(2) The President shall ensure that such procedures apply
to all agencies of the Federal Government.
(3) Such procedures shall not change the substantive
requirements for the classification and safeguarding of
classified information.
(4) Such procedures shall not change the requirements and
authorities to protect sources and methods.
(b) Procedures for Sharing of Homeland Security
Information.--
(1) Under procedures prescribed by the President, all
appropriate agencies, including the intelligence community,
shall, through information sharing systems, share homeland
security information with appropriate State and local
personnel to the extent such information may be shared, as
determined in accordance with subsection (a), together with
assessments of the credibility of such information.
(2) Each information sharing system through which
information is shared under paragraph (1) shall--
(A) have the capability to transmit unclassified or
classified information, though the procedures and recipients
for each capability may differ;
(B) have the capability to restrict delivery of information
to specified subgroups by geographic location, type of
organization, position of a recipient within an organization,
or a recipient's need to know such information;
(C) be configured to allow the efficient and effective
sharing of information; and
(D) be accessible to appropriate State and local personnel.
(3) The procedures prescribed under paragraph (1) shall
establish conditions on the use of information shared under
paragraph (1)--
(A) to limit the redissemination of such information to
ensure that such information is not used for an unauthorized
purpose;
(B) to ensure the security and confidentiality of such
information;
(C) to protect the constitutional and statutory rights of
any individuals who are subjects of such information; and
(D) to provide data integrity through the timely removal
and destruction of obsolete or erroneous names and
information.
(4) The procedures prescribed under paragraph (1) shall
ensure, to the greatest extent practicable, that the
information sharing system through which information is
shared under such paragraph include existing information
sharing systems, including, but not limited to, the National
Law Enforcement Telecommunications System, the Regional
Information Sharing System, and the Terrorist Threat Warning
System of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
(5) Each appropriate Federal agency, as determined by the
President, shall have access to each information sharing
system through which information is shared under paragraph
(1), and shall therefore have access to all information, as
appropriate, shared under such paragraph.
(6) The procedures prescribed under paragraph (1) shall
ensure that appropriate State and local personnel are
authorized to use such information sharing systems--
(A) to access information shared with such personnel; and
(B) to share, with others who have access to such
information sharing systems, the homeland security
information of their own jurisdictions, which shall be marked
appropriately as pertaining to potential terrorist activity.
(7) Under procedures prescribed jointly by the Director of
Central Intelligence and the Attorney General, each
appropriate Federal agency, as determined by the President,
shall review and assess the information shared under
paragraph (6) and integrate such information with existing
intelligence.
(c) Sharing of Classified Information and Sensitive but
Unclassified Information With State and Local Personnel.--
(1) The President shall prescribe procedures under which
Federal agencies may, to the extent the President considers
necessary, share with appropriate State and local personnel
homeland security information that remains classified or
otherwise protected after the determinations prescribed under
the procedures set forth in subsection (a).
(2) It is the sense of Congress that such procedures may
include one or more of the following means:
(A) Carrying out security clearance investigations with
respect to appropriate State and local personnel.
(B) With respect to information that is sensitive but
unclassified, entering into nondisclosure agreements with
appropriate State and local personnel.
(C) Increased use of information-sharing partnerships that
include appropriate State and local personnel, such as the
Joint Terrorism Task Forces of the Federal Bureau of
Investigation, the Anti-Terrorism Task Forces of the
Department of Justice, and regional Terrorism Early Warning
Groups.
(d) Responsible Officials.--For each affected Federal
agency, the head of such agency shall designate an official
to administer this Act with respect to such agency.
(e) Federal Control of Information.--Under procedures
prescribed under this section, information obtained by a
State or local government from a Federal agency under this
section shall remain under the control of the Federal agency,
and a State or local law authorizing or requiring such a
government to disclose information shall not apply to such
information.
(f) Definitions.--As used in this section:
(1) The term ``homeland security information'' means any
information (other than information that includes
individually identifiable information collected solely for
statistical purposes) possessed by a Federal, State, or local
agency that--
(A) relates to the threat of terrorist activity;
(B) relates to the ability to prevent, interdict, or
disrupt terrorist activity;
(C) would improve the identification or investigation of a
suspected terrorist or terrorist organization; or
(D) would improve the response to a terrorist act.
(2) The term ``intelligence community'' has the meaning
given such term in section 3(4) of the National Security Act
of 1947 (50 U.S.C. 401a(4)).
(3) The term ``State and local personnel'' means any of the
following persons involved in prevention, preparation, or
response for terrorist attack:
(A) State Governors, mayors, and other locally elected
officials.
(B) State and local law enforcement personnel and
firefighters.
(C) Public health and medical professionals.
(D) Regional, State, and local emergency management agency
personnel, including State adjutant generals.

[[Page H5443]]

(E) Other appropriate emergency response agency personnel.
(F) Employees of private-sector entities that affect
critical infrastructure, cyber, economic, or public health
security, as designated by the Federal government in
procedures developed pursuant to this section.
(4) The term ``State'' includes the District of Columbia
and any commonwealth, territory, or possession of the United
States.

SEC. 604. REPORT.

(a) Report Required.--Not later than 12 months after the
date of the enactment of this Act, the President shall submit
to the congressional committees specified in subsection (b) a
report on the implementation of section 603. The report shall
include any recommendations for additional measures or
appropriation requests, beyond the requirements of section
603, to increase the effectiveness of sharing of information
between and among Federal, State, and local entities.
(b) Specified Congressional Committees.--The congressional
committees referred to in subsection (a) are the following
committees:
(1) The Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence and the
Committee on the Judiciary of the House of Representatives.
(2) The Select Committee on Intelligence and the Committee
on the Judiciary of the Senate.

SEC. 605. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

There are authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be
necessary to carry out section 603.

SEC. 606. AUTHORITY TO SHARE GRAND JURY INFORMATION.

Rule 6(e) of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure is
amended--
(1) in paragraph (2), by inserting ``, or of guidelines
jointly issued by the Attorney General and Director of
Central Intelligence pursuant to Rule 6,'' after ``Rule 6'';
and
(2) in paragraph (3)--
(A) in subparagraph (A)(ii), by inserting ``or of a foreign
government'' after ``(including personnel of a state or
subdivision of a state'';
(B) in subparagraph (C)(i)--
(i) in subclause (I), by inserting before the semicolon the
following: ``or, upon a request by an attorney for the
government, when sought by a foreign court or prosecutor for
use in an official criminal investigation'';
(ii) in subclause (IV)--

(I) by inserting ``or foreign'' after ``may disclose a
violation of State'';
(II) by inserting ``or of a foreign government'' after ``to
an appropriate official of a State or subdivision of a
State''; and
(III) by striking ``or'' at the end;

(iii) by striking the period at the end of subclause (V)
and inserting ``; or''; and
(iv) by adding at the end the following:
``(VI) when matters involve a threat of actual or potential
attack or other grave hostile acts of a foreign power or an
agent of a foreign power, domestic or international sabotage,
domestic or international terrorism, or clandestine
intelligence gathering activities by an intelligence service
or network of a foreign power or by an agent of a foreign
power, within the United States or elsewhere, to any
appropriate federal, state, local, or foreign government
official for the purpose of preventing or responding to such
a threat.''; and
(C) in subparagraph (C)(iii)--
(i) by striking ``Federal'';
(ii) by inserting ``or clause (i)(VI)'' after ``clause
(i)(V)''; and
(iii) by adding at the end the following: ``Any state,
local, or foreign official who receives information pursuant
to clause (i)(VI) shall use that information only consistent
with such guidelines as the Attorney General and Director of
Central Intelligence shall jointly issue.''.

SEC. 607. AUTHORITY TO SHARE ELECTRONIC, WIRE, AND ORAL
INTERCEPTION INFORMATION.

Section 2517 of title 18, United States Code, is amended by
adding at the end the following:
``(7) Any investigative or law enforcement officer, or
other Federal official in carrying out official duties, who
by any means authorized by this chapter, has obtained
knowledge of the contents of any wire, oral, or electronic
communication, or evidence derived therefrom, may disclose
such contents or derivative evidence to a foreign
investigative or law enforcement officer to the extent that
such disclosure is appropriate to the proper performance of
the official duties of the officer making or receiving the
disclosure, and foreign investigative or law enforcement
officers may use or disclose such contents or derivative
evidence to the extent such use or disclosure is appropriate
to the proper performance of their official duties.
``(8) Any investigative or law enforcement officer, or
other Federal official in carrying out official duties, who
by any means authorized by this chapter, has obtained
knowledge of the contents of any wire, oral, or electronic
communication, or evidence derived therefrom, may disclose
such contents or derivative evidence to any appropriate
Federal, State, local, or foreign government official to the
extent that such contents or derivative evidence reveals a
threat of actual or potential attack or other grave hostile
acts of a foreign power or an agent of a foreign power,
domestic or international sabotage, domestic or international
terrorism, or clandestine intelligence gathering activities
by an intelligence service or network of a foreign power or
by an agent of a foreign power, within the United States or
elsewhere, for the purpose of preventing or responding to
such a threat. Any official who receives information pursuant
to this provision may use that information only as necessary
in the conduct of that person's official duties subject to
any limitations on the unauthorized disclosure of such
information, and any State, local, or foreign official who
receives information pursuant to this provision may use that
information only consistent with such guidelines as the
Attorney General and Director of Central Intelligence shall
jointly issue.''.

SEC. 608. FOREIGN INTELLIGENCE INFORMATION.

(a) Dissemination Authorized.--Section 203(d)(1) of the
Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate
Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act (USA
PATRIOT ACT) of 2001 (Public Law 107-56; 50 U.S.C. 403-5d) is
amended by adding at the end the following: ``Consistent with
the responsibility of the Director of Central Intelligence to
protect intelligence sources and methods, and the
responsibility of the Attorney General to protect sensitive
law enforcement information, it shall be lawful for
information revealing a threat of actual or potential attack
or other grave hostile acts of a foreign power or an agent of
a foreign power, domestic or international sabotage, domestic
or international terrorism, or clandestine intelligence
gathering activities by an intelligence service or network of
a foreign power or by an agent of a foreign power, within the
United States or elsewhere, obtained as part of a criminal
investigation to be disclosed to any appropriate Federal,
State, local, or foreign government official for the purpose
of preventing or responding to such a threat. Any official
who receives information pursuant to this provision may use
that information only as necessary in the conduct of that
person's official duties subject to any limitations on the
unauthorized disclosure of such information, and any State,
local, or foreign official who receives information pursuant
to this provision may use that information only consistent
with such guidelines as the Attorney General and Director of
Central Intelligence shall jointly issue.''.
(b) Conforming Amendments.--Section 203(c) of that Act is
amended--
Mr. CHAMBLISS. Mr. Chairman, this amendment is a very simple
amendment. It is an amendment that was debated very thoroughly on the
House floor some 3 weeks ago. It is an information sharing bill
coauthored by the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Harman), myself and
the gentleman from Connecticut (Mr. Shays), who has now joined us in
offering this amendment.
Basically what this amendment does, it is in response to some
information that we discovered as the Subcommittee on Terrorism and
Homeland Security during our hearing process about the lack of
information sharing that exists between the intelligence gatherers at
the Federal level and State and local officials, who are the first
responders on the site of any terrorist attack that may be perpetrated
against the United States.
This bill basically requires the administration to develop an
information sharing plan such that they take the individual
intelligence gatherers, whether it is NSA, FBI, CIA or whoever, put it
into a common funnel, and that information be redacted and declassified
and disseminated out to State and local officials in real time so that
those first responders on the ground can have the information necessary
to be on the lookout to hopefully disrupt any terrorist activity that
may be forthcoming.
Ms. HARMAN. Mr. Chairman, I move to strike the last word.
Mr. Chairman, I am proud to be a coauthor of this amendment, which
passed the House by a vote of 422 to 2 several weeks ago. I believe
that every member of the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence was
an original cosponsor of the amendment. It has been a pleasure to work
on it with the gentleman from Georgia, the gentleman from Connecticut
and many others, and to see it become such an important legislative
action of this season. By attaching it to this bill, we ensure that it
becomes law sooner.
We are looking at every vehicle we can find to make certain that it
will pass the Senate and be agreed upon in conference, and we do know
that we have support from the administration.
I would just add that at 2 o'clock in the morning, Mr. Chairman,
somewhere in America there is a terrorist cell that intends to do us
harm. By having this mechanism that will share information with first
responders and help them know what to look for, we are protecting the
citizens of that part of America who are under threat. So I am very
pleased to stand here tonight in support of this amendment. I urge its
adoption quickly.

[[Page H5444]]

Mr. SHAYS. Mr. Chairman, will the gentlewoman yield?
Ms. HARMAN. I yield to the gentleman from Connecticut.
Mr. SHAYS. Mr. Chairman, I am delighted to join the authors of this
legislation, the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Chambliss) and the
gentlewoman from California (Ms. Harman). I am not an author, but I am
a cosponsor, because at the 30 hearings my Subcommittee on National
Security has had, this issue has shown up almost at every instance.
Protecting the safety and security of the Nation against terrorist
attacks requires unprecedented cooperation between Federal, State and
local agencies. Timely information sharing is an absolutely
indispensable element of the Nation's ability to detect and preempt,
disrupt or respond to any terrorist attack.
I absolutely am amazed at how stubborn the procedural process has
been, the cultural barriers that have blocked the information sharing
on the local level. These individuals on the local level need to have
the ability to gain security clearance. We need to encourage the
Federal and State to interact better.
I just commend the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Chambliss), and I
commend the chairman of the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence
and ranking member for their recognizing the need for this legislation
and their past support.
Mr. BISHOP. Mr. Chairman, I move to strike the requisite number of
words.
Mr. Chairman, as has been noted, this amendment is substantially the
same as the Homeland Security Information Sharing Act which was
overwhelmingly passed and endorsed by the House last month. I was
pleased to be a cosponsor of that bill.
I commend the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Harman), the gentleman
from Georgia (Mr. Chambliss), the gentleman from Michigan (Mr.
Conyers), the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Sensenbrenner), the
gentleman from Connecticut (Mr. Shays) and the gentleman from New York
(Mr. Weiner) again for their hard work on it.
Timely and effective information is one of the most important tools
in the fight against terrorism. Local communities need to be able to
count on receiving that kind of information.
This amendment will help in that effort, and I certainly urge its
adoption.
Mr. GOSS. Mr. Chairman, I move to strike the requisite number of
words.
Mr. Chairman, I want to thank those involved in this amendment. I
know that this has been a success story already on the floor, but I am
pleased it is added to the bill. I think it is important as it has been
explained. I congratulate the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Harman),
the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Chambliss) and the gentleman from
Connecticut (Mr. Shays). The committee accepts the amendment offered by
the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Chambliss).

{time} 0210

The CHAIRMAN pro tempore (Mr. Whitfield). The question is on the
amendment offered by the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Chambliss).
The amendment was agreed to.

Amendment No. 8 Offered by Ms. Pelosi

Ms. PELOSI. Mr. Chairman, I offer an amendment.
The CHAIRMAN pro tempore. The Clerk will designate the amendment.
The text of the amendment is as follows:

Amendment No. 8 offered by Ms. Pelosi:
Amend section 501 to read as follows:

SEC. 501. USE OF FUNDS FOR COUNTER-DRUG AND COUNTERTERRORISM
ACTIVITIES FOR COLOMBIA.

(a) Authority.--Funds designated for intelligence or
intelligence-related purposes for assistance to the
Government of Colombia for counter-drug activities for fiscal
years 2002 and 2003, and any unobligated funds available to
any element of the intelligence community for such activities
for a prior fiscal year, shall be available to support a
unified campaign against narcotics trafficking and against
activities by organizations designated as terrorist
organizations (such as the Revolutionary Armed Forces of
Colombia (FARC), the National Liberation Army (ELN), and the
United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC)), and to take
actions to protect human health and welfare in emergency
circumstances, including undertaking rescue operations.
(b) Requirement for Certification.--(1) The authorities
provided in subsection (a) shall not be exercised until the
Secretary of Defense certifies to the Congress that the
provisions of paragraph (2) have been complied with.
(2) In order to ensure effectiveness of United States
support for such a unified campaign, prior to the exercise of
the authority contained in subsection (a), the Secretary of
State shall report to the appropriate committees of Congress
that the newly elected President of Colombia has--
(A) committed, in writing, to establish comprehensive
policies to combat illicit drug cultivation, manufacturing,
and trafficking (particularly with respect to providing
economic opportunities that offer viable alternatives to
illicit crops) and to restore government authority and
respect for human rights in areas under the effective control
of paramilitary and guerrilla organizations;
(B) committed, in writing, to implement significant
budgetary and personnel reforms of the Colombian Armed
Forces; and
(C) committed, in writing, to support substantial
additional Colombian financial and other resources to
implement such policies and reforms, particularly to meet the
country's previous commitments under ``Plan Colombia''.
In this paragraph, the term ``appropriate committees of
Congress'' means the Permanent Select Committee on
Intelligence and the Committee on Appropriations of the House
of Representatives and the Select Committee on Intelligence
and the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate.
(c) Termination of Authority.--The authority provided in
subsection (a) shall cease to be effective if the Secretary
of Defense has credible evidence that the Colombian Armed
Forces are not conducting vigorous operations to restore
government authority and respect for human rights in areas
under the effective control of paramilitary and guerrilla
organizations.
(d) Application of Certain Provisions of Law.--Sections
556, 567, and 568 of Public Law 107-115, section 8093 of the
Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 2002, and the
numerical limitations on the number of United States military
personnel and United States individual civilian contractors
in section 3204(b)(1) of Public Law 106-246 shall be
applicable to funds made available pursuant to the authority
contained in subsection (a).
(e) Limitation on Participation of United States
Personnel.--No United States Armed Forces personnel or United
States civilian contractor employed by the United States will
participate in any combat operation in connection with
assistance made available under this section, except for the
purpose of acting in self defense or rescuing any United
States citizen to include United States Armed Forces
personnel, United States civilian employees, and civilian
contractors employed by the United States.
Ms. PELOSI. Mr. Chairman, just briefly, this amendment, which I am
offering with the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Goss), has a simple
purpose: to harmonize the intelligence authorization bill and the
emergency supplemental appropriations conference report passed
yesterday on an issue relating to Colombia. That issue is the use to
which funds designated for counterdrug activities for Colombia in
fiscal year 2003 and made available but not expended in previous fiscal
years can be put.
When this matter was considered by the Select Committee on
Intelligence, it was clear that we intended to mirror actions taken by
the Committee on Appropriations in the emergency supplemental. Section
501 of the bill, which is nearly identical to the provision in the
emergency supplemental as reported by the Committee on Appropriations,
reflects that intention.
In conference, the Colombia provisions in the emergency supplemental
were modified. These modifications condition the use of
counternarcotics money for counterterrorism purposes in Colombia on
certain certifications being made by the Secretaries of State and
Defense and limit participation of U.S. personnel in combat operations
in Colombia to instances of self-defense or the rescue of U.S.
citizens. The task which remains is to bring the intelligence bill in
line with the emergency supplemental on this matter. This amendment
acknowledges that purpose. I am pleased to have the chairman's support
for it, and I urge its adoption by the House.
Mr. GOSS. Mr. Chairman, I move to strike the last word.
Mr. Chairman, as stated in our report language, section 501 of the
Intelligence Authorization Act for fiscal year 2003 regarding the use
of funds for counterdrug and counterterrorism activities for Colombia
is intended to be consistent with similar language included in fiscal
year 2002 Defense Department appropriations bills. The gentlewoman from
California has properly, rightly and helpfully offered an amendment to
replace section 501 in order to conform with the language in H.R. 4775,

[[Page H5445]]

as voted out of conference and approved by the House on July 23, 2002.
Therefore, the Committee accepts the amendment and thanks the
gentlewoman for the gracious and harmonizing effort to make this all
work better.
The CHAIRMAN pro tempore. The question is on the amendment offered by
the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Pelosi).
The amendment was agreed to.

Amendment No. 5 Offered by Mr. Goss

Mr. GOSS. Mr. Chairman, I offer an amendment.
The CHAIRMAN pro tempore. The Clerk will designate the amendment.
The text of the amendment is as follows:

Amendment No. 5 offered by Mr. Goss:
At the end of title I (page 9, after line 4), insert the
following new section:

SEC. 106. LIMITATION ON USE OF CERTAIN APPROPRIATIONS FOR
INTELLIGENCE AND INTELLIGENCE-RELATED
ACTIVITIES.

(a) In General.--Subject to subsection (b), the amounts
requested for the Defense Emergency Response Fund that are
designated for the incremental costs of intelligence and
intelligence-related activities for the war on terrorism may
only be obligated or expended for the intelligence and
intelligence-related activities specified in the letter dated
July 19, 2002 of the Deputy Director for Central Intelligence
to the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence of the
House of Representatives.
(b) Limitations.--The amounts referred to in subsection
(a)--
(1) may only be obligated or expended for activities
directly related to identifying, responding to, or protecting
against acts or threatened acts of terrorism;
(2) may not be obligated or expended to correct
programmatic or fiscal deficiencies in major acquisition
programs which have not achieved initial operational
capabilities within two years of the date of the enactment of
this Act; and
(3) may not be obligated or expended until the end of the
10-day period that begins on the date notice is provided to
the Select Committee on Intelligence and the Committee on
Appropriations of the Senate and the Permanent Select
Committee on Intelligence and the Committee on Appropriations
of the House of Representatives.

Modification to Amendment No. 5 Offered by Mr. Goss

Mr. GOSS. Mr. Chairman, I ask unanimous consent that the amendment be
modified in the form at the desk, and that the modification be
considered as read and printed in the Record.
The CHAIRMAN pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Florida (Mr. Goss) to dispense with the reading?
There was no objection.
The CHAIRMAN pro tempore. The Clerk will designate the modification.
The text of the modification is as follows:

Modification to amendment No. 5 offered by Mr. Goss:
The amendment is modified as follows:
Strike the heading and subsection (a) of section 106, as
proposed to be added by the amendment, and insert the
following:

SEC. 106. LIMITATION ON INTELLIGENCE AND INTELLIGENCE-RELATED
ACTIVITIES.

(a) In General.--Subject to subsection (b), the amounts
requested in the letter dated July 03, 2002, of the President
to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, related to
the Defense Emergency Response Fund and that are designated
for the incremental costs of intelligence and intelligence-
related activities for the war on terrorism are authorized.
In subsection (b)(1) of such section, strike ``may only be
obligated or expended'' and insert ``are authorized only''.
In subsection (b)(2) of such section, strike ``may not be
obligated or expended'' and insert ``are not authorized''.
In subsection (b)(3) of such section--
(1) strike ``may not be obligated or expended'' and insert
``are not available''; and
(2) insert ``written'' before ``notice is provided''.
The CHAIRMAN pro tempore. Is there objection to the modification
offered by the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Goss)?
There was no objection.
The CHAIRMAN pro tempore. The amendment is modified.
Mr. GOSS. Mr. Chairman, I am pleased to have the ranking member as a
cosponsor of the amendment as modified. This language has been
coordinated with the gentleman from California (Mr. Lewis) on the
Committee on Appropriations, and I wish to express my gratitude for his
support as well.
The committee is concerned about a recent budgetary trend to use
supplemental funding to cover intelligence needs not met through the
regular budget process. The committee believes the practice of seeking
and receiving large supplemental appropriations has become part of the
expected yearly process and only grown worse with a new type of
``emergency fund'' created in the wake of the tragedy of September 11.
By continuing to rely on supplemental appropriations year after year,
the intelligence community risks fostering a budget process that is
ripe for abuse and long-term funding gaps. Moreover, the creation of
the Defense Emergency Response Fund, the DERF, has further complicated
matters. The Defense Emergency Response Fund was originally created to
pay for emergency items that arose due to the war on terrorism, but it
has now turned into just another vehicle to fund items that the
intelligence community did not receive funding for through the regular
budget and planning process.
It is bad budget practice and bad government to do it that way.
Congressional oversight is minimized, and finally, the committee
believes that the supplemental gravy train will not last.
In any sustained ``crisis'' action, there comes a point where short-
term stopgap practices must be phased out and long-term strategic plans
put into place. This amendment is meant to highlight this concern to
the administration.
Ms. PELOSI. Mr. Chairman, I move to strike the last word.
Mr. Chairman, I am pleased to join Chairman Goss on this amendment.
As he has explained, the amendment seeks to ensure that money
authorized for intelligence activities in the Defense Emergency
Response Fund is used for the war on terrorism. The amendment makes
clear that the DERF funds are not to be used to address shortfalls in
the intelligence programs not directly related to the terrorism
campaign, and requires Congress to be notified before these funds are
obligated or expended. I understand that the language in the amendment
as modified has been worked out with the Committee on Appropriations.
Congress needs to oversee carefully the operations of the DERF. This
amendment will contribute to effective oversight and I support it, and
I commend the gentleman for his amendment and am pleased to join in it.
The CHAIRMAN pro tempore. The question is on the amendment, as
modified, offered by the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Goss).
The amendment, as modified, was agreed to.

Amendment No. 4 Offered by Mr. Engel

Mr. ENGEL. Mr. Chairman, I offer an amendment.

The CHAIRMAN pro tempore. The Clerk will designate the
amendment.
The text of the amendment is as follows:

Amendment No. 4 offered by Mr. Engel:
At the end of title III (page 21, after line 11), insert
the following new section:

SEC. 311. LIMITATIONS ON ASSISTANCE TO THE PALESTINIAN
SECURITY SERVICES.

(a) In General.--Title I of the National Security Act of
1947 (50 U.S.C. 402 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end
the following new section:

``limitations on assistance to the palestinian security services

``Sec. 118. (a) Prohibition on Lethal Assistance.--
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no assistance in
the form of lethal military equipment may be provided, either
directly or indirectly, by any element of the intelligence
community to the security services of the Palestinian
Authority, or to any officials, employees or members thereof.
``(b) Requirements for Other Forms of Assistance.--With
respect to forms of assistance other than the provision of
lethal military equipment, provided by any element of the
intelligence community to the security services of the
Palestinian Authority, or to any officials, employees or
members thereof, such assistance may only be provided if the
assistance is designed to--
``(1) reduce the number of security services of the
Palestinian Authority to no more than two; and
``(2) reform such security services so that its officials,
employees, and members--
``(A) respect the rule of law and human rights;
``(B) no longer fall under the command of, or report to,
Yasir Arafat; and
``(C) are not compromised by, and will not support,
terrorism.
``(c) Quarterly Reports on Assistance Provided Since
1993.--(1) Not later than 3 months after the date of the
enactment of this section, the Director of Central
Intelligence shall submit to the appropriate committees of
Congress a report that describes all forms of assistance that
have been provided to the security services of the
Palestinian Authority since the date on which the Declaration
of Principles was signed, including the dates on which such
assistance was

[[Page H5446]]

provided and whether any member of the security services of
the Palestinian Authority who received any such assistance
has committed an act of terrorism.
``(2) After the submittal of the report under paragraph
(1), the Director of Central Intelligence shall submit to the
appropriate committees of Congress quarterly reports on the
forms of assistance under paragraph (1) provided during the
preceding calendar quarter and progress toward--
``(A) reducing the number of security services of the
Palestinian Authority to no more than two;
``(B) ensuring that officials, employees, and members of
such security services are not compromised by, and will not
support, terrorism;
``(C) reforming the security services of the Palestinian
Authority so that they respect the rule of law and human
rights; and
``(D) ensuring that the security services of the
Palestinian Authority are no longer under the control of
Yasir Arafat.
``(3) Reports shall be submitted in unclassified form, but
may include a classified annex.
``(d) Definitions.--In this section--
``(1) the term `lethal military equipment' has the meaning
given the term for purposes of the Foreign Assistance Act of
1961; and
``(2) the term ``appropriate committees of Congress'' means
the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence and the
Committee on International Relations of the House of
Representatives and the Select Committee on Intelligence and
the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate.''.
(b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of contents for the
National Security Act of 1947 is amended by inserting after
the item relating to section 117 the following new item:

``Sec. 118. Limitations on assistance to the security services of the
Palestinian Authority.''.
Mr. ENGEL. Mr. Chairman, at the conclusion of offering this
amendment, I will request to withdraw it by unanimous consent.
Mr. Chairman, 1 month ago today, President Bush, I guess 1 month ago
yesterday now, President Bush made a very important speech on the
Middle East. He said that the United States would support the
establishment of a Palestinian state, but only if Palestinian leaders
meet specific benchmarks, including reformed, noncorrupted political
processes, a new leadership not compromised by terror, and a unified
restructured security force.
I strongly supported the President's speech and his plan. The
Palestinians need new leaders. Yasar Arafat is too compromised by
terrorism, not only to fight Hamas and Islamic jihad, but to stand up
to elements of the PLO itself. Under Arafat's watch, his own PLO Fatah
faction, which includes the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, has established a
long track record of terror attacks against innocent Israeli civilians.
The Palestinians deserve leaders who will stand up for their interests,
not turn down peace plans like the one presented at Camp David 22
months ago.
I agree with the President that the Palestinian Authority's security
apparatus must be reformed so that it can effectively fight terrorism,
and I am glad that CIA Director Tenet will take personal hold of this
project. The amendment I offer, and will shortly withdraw, is in line
with U.S. policy and designed to support Tenet's effort to create a
functional, unified Palestinian security network by providing
guidelines for his efforts.
First, the amendment would prohibit lethal assistance to the
Palestinian security officials, employees or members. I have seen
report after report of PA security personnel participating in or
inciting acts of violence. There are some very unsavory characters
throughout the Palestinian Authority, and we should not arm its
security apparatus. Although I will withdraw my amendment, we must be
very careful that we do not try to create a security force of people
who have been behind the violence of the last 22 months or even those
who have known and looked the other way.
Secondly, my amendment states that other types of U.S. assistance
must be designed to promote reform in the PA security services. This is
precisely what President Bush called for in his June 24 speech, and in
my amendment American assistance should reduce the number of PA
security services to a unified command structure and, by all means, not
more than two separate units. As my colleagues are likely aware, the PA
has more than 10 security services which Arafat plays off against each
other for his own purposes. In fact, some have competed as to which can
more effectively fight and kill innocent Israelis.
American training and other help must further be designed to reform
the security service so that its members or employees respect the rule
of law on human rights, are no longer commanded by Yasar Arafat, and
are not compromised by terrorism. These guidelines for U.S. assistance
are in line with the policy laid out by President Bush and should be
the basis for CIA Director Tenet's program.
Finally, my amendment would direct the Central Intelligence Agency to
report about the assistance we give the Palestinian Authority security
services in the 1990s, and every 3 months thereafter, the progress we
are making in reforming the Palestinian Authority security services.
Even after I withdraw this amendment, consultation with Congress about
our program to reform the Palestinian security services should be
expanded.
Once again, I support the President's policy of reforming the
Palestinian Authority and security services. The Palestinians need
better leadership and a security force which will actually and
faithfully strive to halt terror. While I strongly support this effort,
it should not proceed without boundaries.

{time} 0220

I believe that my amendment would have passed today. However, in a
few days, CIA Director Tenet will send an assessment team to the region
to begin analysis of what reform might require. As this process is just
beginning, I have decided that now is not the time to legislate
limitations. Yet, if the process gets off track, I will be back here on
the floor trying to set the program straight. In the meantime, it is my
hope with this amendment, which I now ask unanimous consent to
withdraw, offers a set of practical guidelines which the administration
will take to heart as it works to reform the PA service.
Mr. GOSS. Mr. Chairman, will the gentleman yield?
Mr. ENGEL. I yield to the gentleman from New York.
Mr. GOSS. Mr. Chairman, may I congratulate the gentleman from New
York for his attention to this problem and the process. A very
constructive conversation I know has taken place. I have read his
amendment. I understand what he is trying to accomplish, and I
appreciate his understanding and his explanation tonight of the problem
we have doing it that way. I sympathize very much with what the
gentleman is trying to accomplish and I hope that the people who are
working on this problem will be able to get the results we both desire
and I appreciate his understanding.
The CHAIRMAN. The time of the gentleman from New York (Mr. Engel) has
expired.
(By unanimous consent, Mr. Engel was allowed to proceed for 2
additional minutes.)
Ms. PELOSI. Mr. Chairman, will the gentleman yield?
Mr. ENGEL. I yield to the gentlewoman from California.
Ms. PELOSI. Mr. Chairman, I want to join the distinguished chairman
in congratulating the gentleman from New York (Mr. Engel) for his
leadership, not only tonight but on an ongoing basis on this very
important issue, addressing violence in the Middle East and our desire
for peace there. I appreciate the constructive nature of his amendment
and the more constructive nature of his with drawing it at this time
and look forward to working with him to ensure an end to violence and
promotion of peace in the Middle East.
Mr. ENGEL. Mr. Chairman, I now ask unanimous consent to withdraw my
amendment.
The CHAIRMAN. Is there objection to the request of the gentleman from
New York?
There was no objection.

Amendment No. 1 Offered by Mr. Roemer

Mr. ROEMER. Mr. Chairman, I offer an amendment.
The CHAIRMAN. The Clerk will designate the amendment.
The text of the amendment is as follows:

Amendment No. 1 offered by Mr. Roemer:
At the end of title III (page 21, after line 11), insert
the following new section:

SEC. 311. REPORT ON ESTABLISHMENT OF A CIVILIAN LINGUIST
RESERVE CORPS.

(a) Report.--The Secretary of Defense, acting through the
Director of the National Security Education Program, shall
prepare a report on the feasibility of establishing a
Civilian Linguist Reserve Corps comprised of

[[Page H5447]]

individuals with advanced levels of proficiency in foreign
languages who are United States citizens who would be
available upon a call of the President to perform such
service or duties with respect to such foreign languages in
the Federal Government as the President may specify. In
preparing the report, the Secretary shall consult with such
organizations having expertise in training in foreign
languages as the Secretary determines appropriate.
(b) Matters considered.--
(1) In general.--In conducting the study, the Secretary
shall develop a proposal for the structure and operations of
the Civilian Linguist Reserve Corps. The proposal shall
establish requirements for performance of duties and levels
of proficiency in foreign languages of the members of the
Civilian Linguist Reserve Corps, including maintenance of
language skills and specific training required for
performance of duties as a linguist of the Federal
Government, and shall include recommendations on such other
matters as the Secretary determines appropriate.
(2) Consideration of use of defense language institute and
language registries.--In developing the proposal under
paragraph (1), the Secretary shall consider the
appropriateness of using--
(A) the Defense Language Institute to conduct testing for
language skills proficiency and performance, and to provide
language refresher courses; and
(B) foreign language skill registries of the Department of
Defense or of other agencies or departments of the United
States to identify individuals with sufficient proficiency in
foreign languages.
(3) Consideration of the model of the reserve components of
the armed forces.--In developing the proposal under paragraph
(1), the Secretary shall consider the provisions of title 10,
United States Code, establishing and governing service in the
Reserve Components of the Armed Forces, as a model for the
Civilian Linguist Reserve Corps.
(c) Completion of Report.--Not later than 6 months after
the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall
submit to Congress the report prepared under subsection (a).
(d) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized
to be appropriated to the Secretary of Defense $300,000 to
carry out this section.
(Mr. ROEMER asked and was given permission to revise and extend his
remarks.)
Mr. ROEMER. Mr. Chairman, this amendment I think is noncontroversial
and has been worked out previously with the distinguished chairman and
the ranking member who have supported this. It is to establish a
civilian linguist reserve corps. First of all, I am very greatful to
the co-sponsors of the amendments the gentleman from Nevada (Mr.
Gibbons) who is extremely knowledgeable on these linguist issues and
who has been very helpful in crafting this amendment; the gentleman
from California (Mr. Farr) who has worked very diligently on language
issues and has a distinguished institute in his State; the gentleman
from Texas (Mr. Reyes) and a member of our committee; and also Jim
Bamford, who has also come up with some ideas.
I am also very grateful to the staff on our committee. We have said
how many times how professional and dedicated and talented they are,
Chris Barton on the majority side and Chris Healey on our side have
been very helpful to us.
This amendment requires the Secretary of Defense acting through the
National Security Education Program to prepare a report on the
feasibility of establishing a civilian linguist reserve corps comprised
of individuals with advanced skill levels in foreign languages.
I am not going to take the time of House at this hour. I am going to
enter my statement into the record.
Mr. Chairman, I hope this is accepted as it was previously worked out
and thank again the committee members for their help.
This amendment requires the Secretary of Defense, acting through the
National Security Education Program, to prepare a report on the
feasibility of establishing a civilian linguist reserve corps comprised
of individuals with advanced skill levels in foreign languages.
The idea behind the amendment is to move forward on a promising
approach to this country's multi-faceted problem of finding qualified
linguists to serve in the Federal Government.
Often, the Federal Government finds it suddenly needs linguists with
skills in relatively obscure languages for a relatively short-term
crisis, but these linguists are not to be found among regular
government employees.
A reserve corps would help ensure that individuals with skills in a
wide variety of languages were trained and ready when needed to come to
the aid of the government.
We would like the Secretary of Defense to give us not just a report,
but an action plan that comprehensively addresses all of the issues
involved in establishing a civilian linguist reserve corps.
We expect the National Security Education Program to utilize
organizations with expertise in language issues to conduct this study,
such as the National Foreign Language Center at the University of
Maryland. This Center is a leading institution on language issues and
has already begun work on how a reserve corps could be made
operational.
The report should also take into account the assets that already
exist in the Federal Government that might facilitate the establishment
of the corps, such as the capability of the Defense Language Institute
to test for language proficiency and maintenance of skills. Foreign
language skill registries, such as the one proposed by the gentlemen
from California, Mr. Farr, could also be the basis for drawing up a
reserve corps.
I am grateful to James Bamford for his work on this issue and for
proposing the idea of a reserve corps. This amendment is co-sponsored
by Messrs. Gibbons, Farr and Reyes.
Mr. BISHOP. Mr. Chairman, I move to strike the last word.
Mr. Chairman, I want to begin by congratulating the gentleman from
Indiana (Mr. Roemer), the gentleman from Nevada (Mr. Gibbons), the
gentleman from Texas (Mr. Reyes), the gentleman from New York (Mr.
Boehlert), and the gentleman from California (Mr. Farr) for their work
on this amendment. They have been leaders on the language issue,
constantly seeking creative solutions to what is a very serious
problem.
Looking outside the ranks of current employees for highly skilled
linguists who are willing to bring their talents to bear in an
emergency situation is an idea that is well worth exploring. This
amendment would permit a thorough study of the idea, which would, in
turn, permit a reasoned judgment to be made on the potential.
I urge the adoption of the amendment and I congratulate those who
have offered it. It is very well taken.
Mr. GIBBONS. Mr. Chairman, I move to strike the requisite number of
words.
(Mr. GIBBONS asked and was given permission to revise and extend his
remarks.)
Mr. GIBBONS. Mr. Chairman, I also rise in strong support of this
amendment. I want to congratulate my colleague and friend from Indiana
(Mr. Roemer) for his leadership on this issue, as well as my other
colleagues who are in co-sponsor of this and who have worked hard to
provide a rather remarkable amendment that I think is going to do great
work to improve the bill and to improve our linguistic skills. I also
want to thank the chairman of the committee, the gentleman from Florida
(Mr. Goss) and the ranking member, the gentlewoman from California (Ms.
Pelosi) for their work and their help on getting this amendment
through.
I also want to thank one of the staff members who is not here this
evening who has not been mentioned, Mr. Brant Bassett, a staff director
for HUMINT committee, whose work and insight into this amendment has
been very helpful.
Mr. Chairman, I have served for 6 years on the Permanent Select
Committee on Intelligence, and throughout that time I have heard a
constant theme, that we lack linguistic skills across the board in
terms of needed languages that are going to help us identify areas that
we can gather intelligence from. And as a result, this amendment is
going to allow us to expand our horizons with the ability to pull
together a cadre of skilled people with languages skills that we need.
Terrorists today are speaking all kinds of languages, many of which
we do not have adequate levels of trained individuals in. Languages
like Pashtu, Urdu, Arabic. These language skills are available out
there if we pull these people together and train them in a cadre of
reserve organization that allow them in a time of crisis to be drawn
together, to be utilized to help this Nation do better with its
intelligence needs and language skills.
With that, Mr. Chairman, I would like to conclude my remarks once
again by thanking the gentleman for his leadership on this issue.
Mr. FARR of California. Mr. Chairman, I move to strike the requisite
number of words.
Mr. Chairman, I hope I do not have to consume 5 minutes. I just want
to thank everybody who helped co-sponsor this and the committee members

[[Page H5448]]

who have really focused on what I think is a very important issue. I
think while we are thanking them we also have to thank the desk staff
would have been here all day and they have to be back here early
tomorrow morning. This has been a long day, and the old adage that the
mind cannot comprehend what the seat cannot endure, I hope we can
continue to finish this work.
What this amendment is all about is recognizing, America has
linguists and we have language teachers and we have language
institutions but we have not brought them all together so we can make
them skilled linguists. And in order to do that, I come from a district
where we have a really relevant assets, relevant institutions to do
that, to teach the languages.
The largest foreign language school in the world is the the old Army
language school now called the Defense Language Institute in Monterey,
California, and next to it a private nonprofit called the Monterey
Institute of International Studies which offers the Nation's only
masters degree in translation and interpretation.
The committee has clearly identified one of the most acute problems
in our intelligence collection efforts and that is how do you keep
training and upgrading and learning how to train with the technology
that we have skilled linguists. So I applaud my colleagues on the
committee on their efforts to improve our Nation's assets by calling
for the Intelligence Community Language University. There can be no
doubt that the time is now to stand up this new foreign language
school. It does not necessarily have to be a new place at a new
university so to speak. It could be a university within a university
and that is what the report will inform us.

{time} 0230

The committee adopted another initiative at my suggestion to foster a
cooperative relationship between the National Security Education
program and the Defense Language Institute to enhance the development
of national security professionals and foreign area experts with high
levels of foreign language proficiency.
In the effort to help the Federal Government meet the challenge of
hiring linguists more quickly, I was successful in adding report
language to the DOD appropriations bill and the DOD authorization bill
this year to create the National Language Skills Registry. What happens
is that we train people as linguists, and as long as they are in the
Federal employment, we can keep track of them; but the minute they
leave the Federal employment, we have no knowledge of them.
So by creating this National Foreign Language Skills Registry, it is
a voluntary program where ones with these skills could be kept in a
file and an electronic file, and we would know exactly where our
language assets are around the United States rather than having, as we
saw last year after 9-11, the FBI director having to go out and
advertise for people, people that spoke Farsi and other languages.
The Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence report will look at
the national foreign language skills registry as a starting point and
consider the resources of the Defense Language Institute in making its
recommendation to create a civilian linguist reserve corps.
Taken together, I think my colleagues on the House Permanent Select
Committee on Intelligence are taking the first real substantial step to
close the gap in language capacity among our intelligence community.
I urge the adoption of this amendment, and I really want to thank our
colleagues. The hour is late. They have done a marvelous job, and I
appreciate their focus on this very important issue.
Mr. GOSS. Mr. Chairman I move to strike the requisite number of
words.
I thank the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Roemer), the gentleman from
Nevada (Mr. Gibbons) and the gentleman from California (Mr. Farr) and
several others I suspect have had a hand in this and they have actually
made a very valuable contribution in offering this amendment to
establish a civilian linguist reserve corps.
I think it is a good idea, and I think I read an article not too long
ago by Jeff Porter saying that we had capabilities that were not being
properly utilized in this area, and I think this is a very creative
response and I am very happy to accept it.
The events of September 11, 2001, and the ongoing war against
terrorism has shown us that America must have a linguistic quick
response capability, and there is no reason why we cannot.
On behalf of the committee, I am very pleased to congratulate those
involved in this and to accept the bipartisan amendment that we have.
The CHAIRMAN pro tempore (Mr. Whitfield). The question is on the
amendment offered by the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Roemer).
The amendment was agreed to.

Amendments No. 6 and No. 7 Offered by Mr. Hastings of Florida

Mr. HASTINGS of Florida. Mr. Chairman, I offer two amendments, No. 6
and No. 7, and I ask unanimous consent they be considered en bloc.
The CHAIRMAN pro tempore. The Clerk will designate the amendments.
The text of the amendments are as follows:

Amendments No. 6 and No. 7 offered by Mr. Hastings of
Florida:
At the end of the title III (page 21, after line 11),
insert the following new section:

SEC. 311. SENSE OF CONGRESS ON DIVERSITY IN THE WORKFORCE OF
INTELLIGENCE COMMUNITY AGENCIES.

(a) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
(1) The United States is engaged in a war against terrorism
that requires the active participation of the intelligence
community.
(2) Certain intelligence agencies, among them the Federal
Bureau of Investigation and the Central Intelligence Agency,
have announced that they will be hiring several hundred new
agents to help conduct the war on terrorism.
(3) Former Directors of the Federal Bureau of
Investigation, the Central Intelligence Agency, the National
Security Agency, and the Defense Intelligence Agency have
stated that a more diverse intelligence community would be
better equipped to gather and analyze information on diverse
communities.
(4) The Central Intelligence Agency and the National
Security Agency were authorized to establish an undergraduate
training program for the purpose of recruiting and training
minority operatives in 1987.
(5) The Defense Intelligence Agency was authorized to
establish an undergraduate training program for the purpose
of recruiting and training minority operatives in 1988.
(6) The National Imagery and Mapping Agency was authorized
to establish an undergraduate training program for the
purpose of recruiting and training minority operatives in
2000.
(b) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that--
(1) the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation
(with respect to the intelligence and intelligence-related
activities of the Bureau), the Director of Central
Intelligence, the Director of the National Security Agency,
and the Director of the Defense Intelligence Agency should
make the creation of a more diverse workforce a priority in
hiring decisions; and
(2) the Director of Central Intelligence, the Director of
National Security Agency, the Director of Defense
Intelligence Agency, and the Director of National Imagery and
Mapping Agency should increase their minority recruitment
efforts through the undergraduate training program provided
for under law.
Amendment No. 7. At the end of title III (page 21, after
line 11), insert the following new section:

SEC. 311. ANNUAL REPORT ON HIRING AND RETENTION OF MINORITY
EMPLOYEES IN THE INTELLIGENCE COMMUNITY.

Section 114 of the National Security Act of 1947 (50 U.S.C.
404i) is amended--
(1) by redesignating subsection (c) as subsection (d); and
(2) by inserting after subsection (b) the following new
subsection:
``(c) Annual Report on Hiring and Retention of Minority
Employees.--(1) The Director of Central Intelligence shall,
on an annual basis, submit to Congress a report on the
employment of covered persons within each element of the
intelligence community for the preceding fiscal year.
``(2) Each such report shall include disaggregated data by
category of covered person from each element of the
intelligence community on the following:
``(A) Of all individuals employed in the element during the
fiscal year involved, the aggregate percentage of such
individuals who are covered persons.
``(B) Of all individuals employed in the element during the
fiscal year involved at the levels referred to in clauses (i)
and (ii), the percentage of covered persons employed at such
levels:
``(i) Positions at levels 1 through 15 of the General
Schedule.
``(ii) Positions at levels above GS-15.
``(C) Of individuals hired by the head of the element
involved during the fiscal year involved, the percentage of
such individuals who are covered persons.
``(3) Each such report shall be submitted in unclassified
form, but may contain a classified annex.
``(4) Nothing in this subsection shall be construed as
providing for the substitution

[[Page H5449]]

of any similar report required under another provision of
law.
``(5) In this subsection, the term `covered persons'
means--
``(A) racial and ethnic minorities,
``(B) women, and
``(C) individuals with disabilities.''.
The CHAIRMAN pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Florida?
There was no objection.
(Mr. HASTINGS of Florida asked and was given permission to revise and
extend his remarks.)
Mr. HASTINGS of Florida. Mr. Chairman, let me join those that have
thanked everyone that has been involved in developing this very fine
legislative undertaking, and especially thank all of the staff that
have worked with all of us in developing this. Specifically I would
like to thank Wendy Parker for her efforts in working with my office,
as well as other members of the staff and also to thank the court
reporters and the desk staff from the Clerk's office and all of those
with the Speaker's office who have stayed with us throughout the night.
With the permission of the Chair, and with the ranking member
designee's permission and the Chair's permission, my understanding is
that neither of the amendments that I am offering are likely to be
controversial, and in the interest of time, I am placing my full
statement in the Record, and allow me, since they know that one of
these measures speaks to the subject of diversity and ethnicity and
helps to strengthen our ability to achieve that, as has been stated by
many in the agencies that they wish to accomplish.
The other amendment facilitates the reporting, seguing off of the one
that we just finished in an effort to fill some of the community's gaps
in language and analytical skills, and I am submitting the statement
for the Record.
Mr. Chairman, I rise to introduce the second of two amendments I am
offering to H.R. 4628. The first calls for increased minority
recruitment by the intelligence community, in an effort to fill some of
that community's gaps in language and analytical skills. The second
amendment facilitates Congressional oversight of that process.
Mr. Chairman, the amendment I am offering at the current moment
instructs the Director of Central Intelligence to issue an annual
report to Congress on the hiring and retention of minorities by the
intelligence community. Such a report will allow this body to monitor
the progress of the intelligence community's efforts to recruit and
retain minorities.
Like my previous amendment and the underlying bills, this amendment
is non-controversial. After all, intelligence agencies have been
providing reports on minority hiring and retention to the House
Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence since the early 1990's. My
amendment simply makes the unclassified versions of those reports
available to the larger Congress.
Likewise, this amendment does not in any way jeopardize our national
security by revealing the number of individuals working at our various
intelligence agencies. Figures published in the report would be
percentages, not absolute numbers. This provision is in keeping with
current guidelines for maintaining the integrity of classified
information.
Mr. Chairman, let me reiterate, minority recruitment is critical to
the maintenance of our national security. Congress has a role in the
maintenance of our intelligence infrastructure. That role is to provide
effective oversight. This amendment will allow myself and my colleagues
in this body to do just that.
I urge my colleagues to support my amendment.
Mr. Chairman, it was just 3 years ago that the Director of Central
Intelligence, George Tenet, stated, and I quote:

To combat the threats our country will be facing in the
decades ahead, we will need [intelligence] collectors from
diverse Ethnic backgrounds and with a wide range of expertise
who can think and communicate like our targets and pierce
their human and technical networks. We will also need
analysts whose deep knowledge of other societies, cultures
and languages can bring important perspectives to
intelligence assessments.

At the time that Mr. Tenet made this statement, only 11 percent of
the case officers at the CIA were racial or ethnic minorities.
Tragically, that number has barely changed in the intervening years.
Realize, Mr. Chairman, this country is attempting to gather
information on a world which is 50 percent non-white with an
intelligence apparatus that is barely 11 percent non-white.
How can we expect to understand them if we do not talk like them? How
can we expect to infiltrate them if we do not look like them?
And what has the intelligence community's failure to recruit and
retain minorities brought us? Today, Mr. Speaker, there are large areas
of this globe where the United States is unable to collect intelligence
for want of agents who possess the requisite cultural literacy and
language skills. At the FBI, CIA and NSA, untranslated tapes of
wiretapped conversations pile up, awaiting analysts with the proper
language skills to translate them.
Right now, as we sit here in this chamber, the intelligence operation
in Guantanamo Bay is bogged down by a lack of translators. This sorry
state of affairs must not be allowed to persist.
My amendment expresses the sense of Congress that the directors of
the CIA, DIA, NIMA and the NSA use every means at their disposal to
make minority recruitment and retention a priority in their hiring
decisions. The CIA, DIA, NSA, and NIMA all have Undergraduate Training
Programs; a minority scholarship program introduced by former Chairman
of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, Louis Stokes,
in 1987. My amendment urges the directors of these agencies to use this
existing program to increase minority recruitment.
Mr. Chairman, make no mistake, minority recruitment is critical to
the maintenance of our national security. The passing of this amendment
will send a strong message that the House of Representatives supports
the goal of increasing minority representation in the intelligence
community for the purpose of strengthening our intelligence
infrastructure.
I urge my colleagues to support this much needed amendment.
Mr. BISHOP. Mr. Chairman, I move to strike the requisite number of
words.
Mr. Chairman, in my view, few things could contribute more to
enhancing the mission success in the intelligence community than
increasing diversity in the workforce. When he was on the committee,
the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Hastings) was a leader working with the
gentleman from Texas (Mr. Reyes), me, along with several others, to
encourage efforts by the agencies to place a priority on hiring people
with diverse ethnic, religious and cultural backgrounds.
It is a tribute to his commitment that despite his absence from the
committee the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Hastings) continues to work
hard on this important issue.
With hiring being accelerated in the intelligence agencies, now is
the time to make significant progress on the diversity issues by making
full use of existing recruitment programs targeted on minorities, and
by developing creative new ones, I am confident that such progress can
be made.
The gentleman from Florida's (Mr. Hastings) amendments expressing the
sense of Congress on diversity and in the intelligence community and
requiring an annual report on hiring and retention of minority
employees will contribute to this end. I commend him for this work and
I urge that the amendments be adopted.
Mr. GOSS. Mr. Chairman, I move to strike the requisite number of
words.
It is true that my colleague from Florida has been a champion on the
Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence and elsewhere on behalf of
the thoughts that these two amendments contain and that is making sure
that we are getting adequate reporting back from the intelligence
community on their efforts on diversification and encouraging a broader
and richer, I think, capability in the community by utilizing
diversification, and we have had a couple of hearings that I think have
been helpful.
I know that the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Pelosi) has also
been a champion in this area, and I congratulate all involved and
particularly the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Hastings) this evening.
The fact is the intelligence community does need diversity in a very
bad way. This is a global world and that message needs to continue to
be reinforced. So I am very happy to accept the en bloc amendment
presented by the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Hastings).
The one caveat I would offer is a minor caution, and that is, we have
some reporting now and I want to make sure we are not creating a
duplication. I would rather take what we have and make sure it is what
we need and what we want rather than create another requirement. So if
the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Hastings) will help me with that, maybe
we can streamline that a little bit.
Mr. HASTINGS of Florida. Mr. Chairman, will the gentleman yield?

[[Page H5450]]

Mr. GOSS. I yield to the gentleman from Florida.
Mr. HASTINGS of Florida. Mr. Chairman, the gentleman has my assurance
that I will do everything I can to strengthen it in the way he has put
forward.
Mr. GOSS. The gentleman continues to make a contribution to the
committee, and we hope to see him again.
Ms. PELOSI. Mr. Chairman, I move to strike the requisite number of
words.
Mr. Chairman, the hour is late and I would like to say more, but I do
want to very enthusiastically commend the gentleman for this very
important amendment.
On the committee we have had a tradition of chairman Louis Stokes,
our former colleague, when he was the Chair of the committee, was a
champion for promoting diversity in the intelligence community. That
banner was later carried by our late colleague Congressman Julian Dixon
as ranking member of the committee, and now the gentleman from Florida
(Mr. Hastings) and others on the committee are advancing this.
All of us have worked very hard to impress upon the intelligence
community the value of diversity to mission success. We want the very
best people, and we want to draw upon the knowledge of other cultures,
the language, the possibility, the opportunities, the personalities
that are in our country and that understand the culture of other
countries.
Part of the success of intelligence is understanding plans and
intentions. It takes a great deal of access and imagination. Diversity
brings both of those in a way that I think we are missing and have a
deficit in our current intelligence resources.

{time} 0240

We have tremendous resources, however. We are blessed with courageous
and patriotic people who work every day to protect the American people.
That resource can be improved and enhanced by the work that the
gentleman from Florida (Mr. Hastings) is presenting here this evening.
We cannot say it enough. We need to expand the diversity of our
workforce, and we need to expand the language capabilities to another
issue that was addressed here this evening. We hope that the amendment
of the gentleman from Florida will build upon the work of Mr. Stokes
and our dear late colleague Mr. Dixon in a way that will be exponential
in light of the new hires that will have to happen in light of
September 11.
Again, I commend the gentleman and my distinguished chairman for
agreeing to the amendment.
The CHAIRMAN pro tempore (Mr. Whitfield). The question is on the
amendments offered by the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Hastings).
The amendments were agreed to.
The CHAIRMAN pro tempore. Are there other amendments?
If not, the question is on the committee amendment in the nature of a
substitute, as amended.
The committee amendment in the nature of a substitute, as amended,
was agreed to.
The CHAIRMAN pro tempore. Under the rule, the committee rises.
Accordingly, the Committee rose; and the Speaker pro tempore (Mr.
Portman) having assumed the chair, Mr. Whitfield, Chairman pro tempore
of the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union, reported
that that Committee, having had under consideration the bill (H.R.
4628) to authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2003 for intelligence
and intelligence-related activities of the United States Government,
the Community Management Account, and the Central Intelligence Agency
Retirement and Disability System, and for other purposes, pursuant to
House Resolution 497, he reported the bill back to the House with an
amendment adopted by the Committee of the Whole.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the rule, the previous question is
ordered.
Is a separate vote demanded on any amendment to the committee
amendment in the nature of a substitute adopted by the Committee of the
Whole? If not, the question is on the amendment.
The amendment was agreed to.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the engrossment and third
reading of the bill.
The bill was ordered to be engrossed and read a third time, and was
read the third time, and passed, and a motion to reconsider was laid on
the table.

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