[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 124 (Wednesday, September 15, 2010)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1622-E1623]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




     FINDINGS OF THE CHAIRMAN OF THE PERMANENT SELECT COMMITTEE ON 
INTELLIGENCE RELATING TO EFFICIENCY AND REFORM PURSUANT TO H. RES. 1493

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. SILVESTRE REYES

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                     Wednesday, September 15, 2010

  Mr. REYES. Madam Speaker, pursuant to House Resolution 1493 and on 
behalf of the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, I submit the 
following findings that identify potential changes in law that help 
achieve deficit reduction by reducing waste, fraud, abuse, and 
mismanagement, promoting efficiency and reform of government, and 
controlling spending within government programs authorized by the 
Committee.
  On February 26, 2010, the House of Representatives passed H.R 2701, 
the Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2010. This 
legislation includes a number of changes in law that would help achieve 
deficit reduction by reducing waste, fraud, abuse, and mismanagement, 
as well as promote efficiency and reform in government, and control 
spending within intelligence programs.
  Creation of an Inspector General for the Intelligence Community. The 
bill would create a statutory and independent inspector general for the 
Intelligence Community (IC/IG), whose office would have authority to 
conduct audits and investigations within and across the elements of the 
Intelligence Community. The 
IC/IG would be a powerful tool for identifying waste, fraud, abuse, and 
mismanagement in the Intelligence Community.
  Granting access to the General Accounting Office. The bill would 
require the General Accounting Office be given access to Intelligence 
Community records and personnel for the purposes of conducting audits 
and investigation as directed by the congressional intelligence 
committees. These audits and investigations have proven critical to 
Congress' ability to identify waste, fraud, abuse, and mismanagement 
throughout the federal government; this provision will bring the same 
level of congressional oversight to the Intelligence Community.
  Review of covert action programs by Inspector General of the Central 
Intelligence Agency. The bill would require that the CIA/JIG conduct 
audits of each covert action program at least once every three years, 
which would ensure that these critical and sometimes costly programs 
receive an appropriate level of scrutiny.
  Improvements to congressional oversight. The bill would enhance 
congressional oversight over the Intelligence Community in a number of 
ways, which would better enable Congress to help reduce the deficit by 
promoting efficiency, controlling spending, and reducing waste, fraud, 
abuse, and mismanagement. These include:
  Reform to congressional reporting on covert actions. The bill would 
make a number of improvements to the process through which the 
Intelligence Community informs Congress regarding certain sensitive 
covert actions, including a requirement that all notifications to the 
Gang of 8 (the Speaker of the House, House Minority Leader, Senate 
Majority and Minority Leader, and the Chair and Ranking Member of the 
two Intelligence Committees) be provided in writing; and that all 
members of the congressional intelligence committees be provided with 
``general information'' regarding a notification to the Gang of 8. The 
bill also defines the specific terms that would necessitate 
congressional notification.
  Certification of compliance with oversight requirements. The bill 
would require the head of each element of the Intelligence Community to 
certify semi-annually that the element has notified Congress of all 
significant and significant anticipated intelligence activities, as 
required by law.
  Cybersecurity oversight. The bill would require notification to 
Congress of all new and existing cybersecurity programs, giving 
Congress better visibility into this evolving and resource-intensive 
mission.
  Security clearance reform. The bill would require extensive reporting 
to Congress, including a comprehensive quadrennial audit, regarding the 
processes used by the federal government to provide security 
clearances. It would also create an ombudsman responsible for 
addressing complaints regarding the security clearance system. 
Committee hearings and other investigations have identified numerous 
inefficiencies in the security clearance systems, which these reforms 
will help to address.
  Reform and oversight of personnel policies. The bill includes a 
number of provisions intended to help control the growth of personnel 
and other administrative costs within the Intelligence Community. These 
include:
  Caps on personnel levels at the Office of the Director of National 
Intelligence. The bill would limit the number of personnel at the 
Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), which has 
increased substantially since the ODNI was created.
  Annual personnel level assessments. The bill would require that the 
Intelligence Community conduct a comprehensive review of all personnel, 
both federal employees and contractors across all agencies, which would 
assist the Intelligence Community and Congress in identifying 
redundancies, excessive growth, and other inefficiencies.
  Report on intelligence community contractors. The bill would require 
a comprehensive report on the use of personal services contractors 
within the Intelligence Community, the impact of these contractors on 
personnel management systems, plans to convert positions from 
contractor to federal employee, and accountability methods. The use of 
contractors in the Intelligence Community has increased substantially 
over the past ten years, at considerable cost to the taxpayer.
  This report will enable Congress to identify contractor mismanagement 
and to monitor the implementation of responsible and cost-effective 
policies regarding contractors across the Intelligence Community.
  Reports and plans. The bill includes provisions to require reports or 
plans on various subjects, which will assist Congress and the 
Intelligence Community in determining ways to achieve a variety of 
missions more efficiently and effectively without waste, fraud, abuse, 
or mismanagement. These include:
  Report on intelligence resources dedicated to Iraq and Afghanistan. 
The bill would require a report summarizing the intelligence resources 
dedicated to Operation New Dawn (formerly Operation Iraqi Freedom) and 
Operation Enduring Freedom, so that Congress can ensure that they are 
used in the most efficient and cost-effective manner.
  Report on transformation of the intelligence capabilities of the 
Federal Bureau of Investigation. The Federal Bureau of Investigation 
(FBI) has undertaken significant internal restructuring to better 
enable it to collect intelligence on potential terrorists, among other 
threats. The bill requires a comprehensive assessment of this effort, 
which would allow Congress and the FBI determine whether further 
changes are necessary and/or cost-effective.
  Intelligence community financial improvement and audit readiness. The 
bill requires that each element of the Intelligence Community produce a 
plan for achieving full, unqualified audits by September 30, 2013, 
which is an integral step toward implementation of sound financial 
management practices at these agencies.
  Inspector General report on over-classification. The bill requires 
that the IC/IG conduct an analysis of the over-classification of 
national security information and recommend ways to resolve the 
problem. Over-classification can inhibit the sharing of intelligence, 
which can lead to redundancy and waste.

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  Report on information sharing practices of joint terrorism task 
force. The bill requires a report on the information sharing practices 
of the FBI-New York Police Department Joint Terrorism Task Force to 
help identify ways in which combining federal, state, and local 
resources can result in a more efficient use of those resources.
  Plan to implement recommendations of the data center energy 
efficiency reports. The bill requires that the Director of National 
Intelligence prepare a plan to comply with a report regarding the use 
of energy efficient data centers, which would help the Intelligence 
Community reduce its energy costs.
  Repeal of certain reporting requirements. The bill would reduce the 
resources expended across the Intelligence Community on preparing 
reports that are redundant or obsolete.

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