[United States Senate Manual, 104th Congress]
[S. Doc. 104-1]
[Non-statutory Standing Orders and Regulations Affecting the Business of the Senate]
[Pages 128-140]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]


     79.13                SELECT COMMITTEE ON INTELLIGENCE

                Resolved, That it is the purpose of this resolution to 
            establish a new select committee of the Senate, to be known 
            as the Select Committee on Intelligence, to oversee and make 
            continuing studies of the intelligence activities and 
            programs of the United States Government, and to submit to 
            the Senate appropriate proposals for legislation and report 
            to the Senate concerning such intelligence activities and 
            programs. In carrying out this purpose, the Select Committee 
            on Intelligence shall make every effort to assure that the 
            appropriate departments and agencies of the United States 
            provide informed and timely intelligence necessary for the 
            executive and legislative branches to make

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            sound decisions affecting the security and vital interests 
            of the Nation. It is further the purpose of this resolution 
            to provide vigilant legislative oversight over the 
            intelligence activities of the United States to assure that 
            such activities are in conformity with the Constitution and 
            laws of the United States.
                Sec. 2. (a) (1) There is hereby established a select 
            committee to be known as the Select Committee on 
            Intelligence (hereinafter in this resolution referred to as 
            the ``select committee''). The select committee shall be 
            composed of fifteen\1\ members appointed as follows:
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                \1\See paragraph 3(b) of rule XXV of the Standing Rules, 
            Senate Manual section 25.3b.
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                        (A) two members from the Committee on 
                    Appropriations;
                        (B) two members from the Committee on Armed 
                    Services;
                        (C) two members from the Committee on Foreign 
                    Relations;
                        (D) two members from the Committee on the 
                    Judiciary; and
                        (E) seven members to be appointed from the 
                    Senate at large.
                (2) Members appointed from each committee named in 
            clauses (A) through (D) of paragraph (1) shall be evenly 
            divided between the two major political parties and shall be 
            appointed by the President pro tempore of the Senate upon 
            the recommendations of the majority and minority leaders of 
            the Senate. Four of the members appointed under clause (E) 
            of paragraph (1) shall be appointed by the President pro 
            tempore of the Senate upon the recommendation of the 
            majority leader of the Senate and three shall be appointed 
            by the President pro tempore of the Senate upon the 
            recommendation of the minority leader of the Senate.
                (3) The majority leader of the Senate and the minority 
            leader of the Senate shall be ex officio members of the 
            select committee but shall have no vote in the committee and 
            shall not be counted for purposes of determining a quorum.
                (b) No Senator may serve on the select committee for 
            more than eight years of continuous service, exclusive of 
            service by any Senator on such committee during the Ninety-
            fourth Congress. To the greatest extent practicable, one-

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            third of the Members of the Senate appointed to the select 
            committee at the beginning of the Ninety-seventh Congress 
            and each Congress thereafter shall be Members of the Senate 
            who did not serve on such committee during the preceding 
            Congress.
                (c) At the beginning of each Congress, the Members of 
            the Senate who are members of the majority party of the 
            Senate shall elect a chairman for the select committee, and 
            the Members of the Senate who are from the minority party of 
            the Senate shall elect a vice chairman for such committee. 
            The vice chairman shall act in the place and stead of the 
            chairman in the absence of the chairman. Neither the 
            chairman nor the vice chairman of the select committee shall 
            at the same time serve as chairman or ranking minority 
            member of any other committee referred to in paragraph 
            4(e)(1)\1\ of rule XXV of the Standing Rules of the Senate.
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                \1\Changed from ``paragraph 6(e)(1)'' as a result of the 
            adoption of S. Res. 274, 96-1, Nov. 14, 1979.
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                Sec. 3. (a) There shall be referred to the select 
            committee all proposed legislation, messages, petitions, 
            memorials, and other matters relating to the following:
                        (1) The Central Intelligence Agency and the 
                    Director of Central Intelligence.
                        (2) Intelligence activities of all other 
                    departments and agencies of the Government, 
                    including, but not limited to, the intelligence 
                    activities of the Defense Intelligence Agency, the 
                    National Security Agency, and other agencies of the 
                    Department of Defense; the Department of State; the 
                    Department of Justice; and the Department of the 
                    Treasury.
                        (3) The organization or reorganization of any 
                    department or agency of the Government to the extent 
                    that the organization or reorganization relates to a 
                    function or activity involving intelligence 
                    activities.
                        (4) Authorizations for appropriations, both 
                    direct and indirect, for the following:
                                (A) The Central Intelligence Agency and 
                            Director of Central Intelligence.
                                (B) The Defense Intelligence Agency.
                                (C) The National Security Agency.
                                (D) The intelligence activities of other 
                            agencies and subdivisions of the Department 
                            of Defense.

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                                (E) The intelligence activities of the 
                            Department of State.
                                (F) The intelligence activities of the 
                            Federal Bureau of Investigation, including 
                            all activities of the Intelligence Division.
                                (G) Any department, agency, or 
                            subdivision which is the successor to any 
                            agency named in clause (A), (B), or (C); and 
                            the activities of any department, agency, or 
                            subdivision which is the successor to any 
                            department, agency, bureau, or subdivision 
                            named in clause (D), (E), or (F) to the 
                            extent that the activities of such successor 
                            department, agency, or subdivision are 
                            activities described in clause (D), (E), or 
                            (F).
                (b) Any proposed legislation reported by the select 
            committee, except any legislation involving matters 
            specified in clause (1) or (4)(A) of subsection (a), 
            containing any matter otherwise within the jurisdiction of 
            any standing committee shall, at the request of the chairman 
            of such standing committee, be referred to such standing 
            committee for its consideration of such matter and be 
            reported to the Senate by such standing committee within 
            thirty days after the day on which such proposed legislation 
            is referred to such standing committee; and any proposed 
            legislation reported by any committee, other than the select 
            committee, which contains any matter within the jurisdiction 
            of the select committee shall, at the request of the 
            chairman of the select committee, be referred to the select 
            committee for its consideration of such matter and be 
            reported to the Senate by the select committee within thirty 
            days after the day on which such proposed legislation is 
            referred to such committee. In any case in which a committee 
            fails to report any proposed legislation referred to it 
            within the time limit prescribed herein, such committee 
            shall be automatically discharged from further consideration 
            of such proposed legislation on the thirtieth day following 
            the day on which such proposed legislation is referred to 
            such committee unless the Senate provides otherwise. In 
            computing any thirty-day period under this paragraph there 
            shall be excluded from such computation any days on which 
            the Senate is not in session.
                (c) Nothing in this resolution shall be construed as 
            prohibiting or otherwise restricting the authority of any 
            other committee to study and review any intelligence 
            activity to

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            the extent that such activity directly affects a matter 
            otherwise within the jurisdiction of such committee.
                (d) Nothing in this resolution shall be construed as 
            amending, limiting, or otherwise changing the authority of 
            any standing committee of the Senate to obtain full and 
            prompt access to the product of the intelligence activities 
            of any department or agency of the Government relevant to a 
            matter otherwise within the jurisidiction of such committee.
                Sec. 4. (a) The select committee, for the purposes of 
            accountability to the Senate, shall make regular and 
            periodic reports to the Senate on the nature and extent of 
            the intelligence activities of the various departments and 
            agencies of the United States. Such committee shall promptly 
            call to the attention of the Senate or to any other 
            appropriate committee or committees of the Senate any 
            matters requiring the attention of the Senate or such other 
            committee or committees. In making such report, the select 
            committee shall proceed in a manner consistent with section 
            8(c)(2) to protect national security.
                (b) The select committee shall obtain an annual report 
            from the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency, the 
            Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of State, and the 
            Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Such 
            reports shall review the intelligence activities of the 
            agency or department concerned and the intelligence 
            activities of foreign countries directed at the United 
            States or its interest. An unclassified version of each 
            report may be made available to the public at the discretion 
            of the select committee. Nothing herein shall be construed 
            as requiring the public disclosure in such reports of the 
            names of individuals engaged in intelligence activities for 
            the United States or the divulging of intelligence methods 
            employed or the sources of information on which such reports 
            are based or the amount of funds authorized to be 
            appropriated for intelligence activities.

                (c) On or before March 15 of each year, the select 
            committee shall submit to the Committee on the Budget of the 
            Senate the views and estimates described in section 301(c) 
            of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 regarding matters 
            within the jurisdiction of the select committee.

                Sec. 5. (a) For the purposes of this resolution, the 
            select committee is authorized in its discretion (1) to make 
            investigations into any matter within its jurisdiction, (2) 
            to

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            make expenditures from the contingent fund of the Senate, 
            (3) to employ personnel, (4) to hold hearings, (5) to sit 
            and act at any time or place during the sessions, recesses, 
            and adjourned periods of the Senate, (6) to require, by 
            subpena or otherwise, the attendance of witnesses and the 
            production of correspondence, books, papers, and documents, 
            (7) to take depositions and other testimony, (8) to procure 
            the service of individual consultants or organizations 
            thereof, in accordance with the provisions of section 202(i) 
            of the Legislative Reorganization Act of 1946, and (9) with 
            the prior consent of the Government department or agency 
            concerned and the Committee on Rules and Administration, to 
            use on a reimbursable basis the services of personnel of any 
            such department or agency.

                (b) The chairman of the select committee or any member 
            thereof may administer oaths to witnesses.

                (c) Subpenas authorized by the select committee may be 
            issued over the signature of the chairman, the vice chairman 
            or any member of the select committee designated by the 
            chairman, and may be served by any person designated by the 
            chairman or any member signing the subpenas.
                Sec. 6. No employee of the select committee or any 
            person engaged by contract or otherwise to perform services 
            for or at the request of such committee shall be given 
            access to any classified information by such committee 
            unless such employee or person has (1) agreed in writing and 
            under oath to be bound by the rules of the Senate (including 
            the jurisdiction of the Select Committee on Standards and 
            Conduct\1\ and of such committee as to the security of such 
            information during and after the period of his employment or 
            contractual agreement with such committee; and (2) received 
            an appropriate security clearance as determined by such 
            committee in consultation with the Director of Central 
            Intelligence. The type of security clearance to be required 
            in the case of any such employee or person shall, within the 
            determination of such committee in consultation with the 
            Director of Central Intelligence, be commensurate with the 
            sensitivity of the classified information to which such 
            employee or person will be given access by such committee.
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                \1\Name changed to the Select Committee on Ethics by S. 
            Res. 4, 95-1, Feb. 4, 1977.

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                Sec. 7. The select committee shall formulate and carry 
            out such rules and procedures as it deems necessary to 
            prevent the disclosure, without the consent of the person or 
            persons concerned, of information in the possession of such 
            committee which unduly infringes upon the privacy or which 
            violates the constitutional rights of such person or 
            persons. Nothing herein shall be construed to prevent such 
            committee from publicly disclosing any such information in 
            any case in which such committee determines the national 
            interest in the disclosure of such information clearly 
            outweighs any infringement on the privacy of any person or 
            persons.
                Sec. 8. (a) The select committee may, subject to the 
            provisions of this section, disclose publicly any 
            information in the possession of such committee after a 
            determination by such committee that the public interest 
            would be served by such disclosure. Whenever committee 
            action is required to disclose any information under this 
            section, the committee shall meet to vote on the matter 
            within five days after any member of the committee requests 
            such a vote. No member of the select committee shall 
            disclose any information, the disclosure of which requires a 
            committee vote, prior to a vote by the committee on the 
            question of the disclosure of such information or after such 
            vote except in accordance with this section.
                (b)(1) In any case in which the select committee votes 
            to disclose publicly any information which has been 
            classified under established security procedures, which has 
            been submitted to it by the executive branch, and which the 
            executive branch requests be kept secret, such committee 
            shall notify the President of such vote.
                (2) The select committee may disclose publicly such 
            information after the expiration of a five-day period 
            following the day on which notice of such vote is 
            transmitted to the President, unless, prior to the 
            expiration of such five-day period, the President, 
            personally in writing, notifies the committee that he 
            objects to the disclosure of such information, provides his 
            reasons therefor, and certifies that the threat to the 
            national interest of the United States posed by such 
            disclosure is of such gravity that it outweighs any public 
            interest in the disclosure.
                (3) If the President, personally in writing, notifies 
            the select committee of his objections to the disclosure of 
            such information as provided in paragraph (2), such 
            committee

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            may, by majority vote, refer the question of the disclosure 
            of such information to the Senate for consideration. The 
            committee shall not publicly disclose such information 
            without leave of the Senate.
                (4) Whenever the select committee votes to refer the 
            question of disclosure of any information to the Senate 
            under paragraph (3), the chairman shall not later than the 
            first day on which the Senate is in session following the 
            day on which the vote occurs, report the matter to the 
            Senate for its consideration.
                (5) One hour after the Senate convenes on the fourth day 
            on which the Senate is in session following the day on which 
            any such matter is reported to the Senate, or at such 
            earlier time as the majority leader and the minority leader 
            of the Senate jointly agree upon in accordance with 
            paragraph 5 of rule XVII of the Standing Rules of the 
            Senate,\1\ the Senate shall go into closed session and the 
            matter shall be the pending business. In considering the 
            matter in closed session the Senate may--
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                \1\Changed from ``section 133(f) of the Legislative 
            Reorganization Act of 1946'' as a result of the adoption of 
            S. Res. 274, 96-1, Nov. 14, 1979; further changed from 
            ``paragraph 5 of rule XXVII'' as a result of the adoption of 
            S. Res. 389, 96-2, Mar. 25, 1980.
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                        (A) approve the public disclosure of all or any 
                    portion of the information in question, in which 
                    case the committee shall publicly disclose the 
                    information ordered to be disclosed,
                        (B) disapprove the public disclosure of all or 
                    any portion of the information in question, in which 
                    case the committee shall not publicly disclose the 
                    information ordered not to be disclosed, or
                        (C) refer all or any portion of the matter back 
                    to the committee, in which case the committee shall 
                    make the final determination with respect to the 
                    public disclosure of the information in question.
            Upon conclusion of the consideration of such matter in 
            closed session, which may not extend beyond the close of the 
            ninth day on which the Senate is in session following the 
            day on which such matter was reported to the Senate, or the 
            close of the fifth day following the day agreed upon jointly 
            by the majority and minority leaders in accordance with 
            paragraph 5 of rule XVII of the Standing Rules of the 
            Senate\2\ (whichever the case may be), the Senate shall 
            immediately vote on the disposition of

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            such matter in open session, without debate, and without 
            divulging the information with respect to which the vote is 
            being taken. The Senate shall vote to dispose of such matter 
            by one or more of the means specified in clauses (A), (B), 
            and (C) of the second sentence of this paragraph. Any vote 
            of the Senate to disclose any information pursuant to this 
            paragraph shall be subject to the right of a Member of the 
            Senate to move for reconsideration of the vote within the 
            time and pursuant to the procedures specified in rule XIII 
            of the Standing Rules of the Senate, and the disclosure of 
            such information shall be made consistent with that right.
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                \2\Ibid.
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                (c)(1) No information in the possession of the select 
            committee relating to the lawful intelligence activities of 
            any department or agency of the United States which has been 
            classified under established security procedures and which 
            the select committee, pursuant to subsection (a) or (b) of 
            this section, has determined should not be disclosed shall 
            be made available to any person by a Member, officer, or 
            employee of the Senate except in a closed session of the 
            Senate or as provided in paragraph (2).
                (2) The select committee may, under such regulations as 
            the committee shall prescribe to protect the confidentiality 
            of such information, make any information described in 
            paragraph (1) available to any other committee or any other 
            Member of the Senate. Whenever the select committee makes 
            such information available, the committee shall keep a 
            written record showing, in the case of any particular 
            information, which committee or which Members of the Senate 
            received such information. No Member of the Senate who, and 
            no committee which, receives any information under this 
            subsection, shall disclose such information except in a 
            closed session of the Senate.
                (d) It shall be the duty of the Select Committee on 
            Standards and Conduct\1\ to investigate any unauthorized 
            disclosure of intelligence information by a Member, officer 
            or employee of the Senate in violation of subsection (c) and 
            to report to the Senate concerning any allegation which it 
            finds to be substantiated.
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                \1\Name changed to the Select Committee on Ethics by S. 
            Res. 4, 95-1, Feb. 4, 1977.
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                (e) Upon the request of any person who is subject to any 
            such investigation, the Select Committee on Standards and 
            Conduct\1\ shall release to such individual at the 
            conclusion

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            of its investigation a summary of its investigation together 
            with its findings. If, at the conclusion of its 
            investigation, the Select Committee on Standards and 
            Conduct\1\ determines that there has been a significant 
            breach of confidentiality or unauthorized disclosure by a 
            Member, officer, or employee of the Senate, it shall report 
            its findings to the Senate and recommend appropriate action 
            such as censure, removal from committee membership, or 
            expulsion from the Senate, in the case of a Member, or 
            removal from office or employment or punishment for 
            contempt, in the case of an officer or employee.
                Sec. 9. The select committee is authorized to permit any 
            personal representative of the President, designated by the 
            President to serve as a liaison to such committee, to attend 
            any closed meeting of such committee.
                Sec. 10. Upon expiration of the Select Committee on 
            Governmental Operations With Respect to Intelligence 
            Activities, established by Senate Resolution 21, Ninety-
            fourth Congress, all records, files, documents, and other 
            materials in the possession, custody, or control of such 
            committee, under appropriate conditions established by it, 
            shall be transferred to the select committee.
                Sec. 11. (a) It is the sense of the Senate that the head 
            of each department and agency of the United States should 
            keep the select committee fully and currently informed with 
            respect to intelligence activities, including any 
            significant anticipated activities, which are the 
            responsibility of or engaged in by such department or 
            agency: Provided, That this does not constitute a condition 
            precedent to the implementation of any such anticipated 
            intelligence activity.
                (b) It is the sense of the Senate that the head of any 
            department or agency of the United States involved in any 
            intelligence activities should furnish any information or 
            document in the possession, custody, or control of the 
            department or agency, or person paid by such department or 
            agency, whenever requested by the select committee with 
            respect to any matter within such committee's jurisdiction.
                (c) It is the sense of the Senate that each department 
            and agency of the United States should report immediately 
            upon discovery to the select committee any and all 
            intelligence activities which constitute violations of the 
            constitutional rights of any person, violations of law, or 
            viola-

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            tions of Executive orders, presidential directives, or 
            departmental or agency rules or regulations; each department 
            and agency should further report to such committee what 
            actions have been taken or are expected to be taken by the 
            departments or agencies with respect to such violations.
                Sec. 12. Subject to the Standing Rules of the Senate, no 
            funds shall be appropriated for any fiscal year beginning 
            after September 30, 1976, with the exception of a continuing 
            bill or resolution, or amendment thereto, or conference 
            report thereon, to, or for use of, any department or agency 
            of the United States to carry out any of the following 
            activities, unless such funds shall have been previously 
            authorized by a bill or joint resolution passed by the 
            Senate during the same or preceding fiscal year to carry out 
            such activity for such fiscal year:
                        (1) The activities of the Central Intelligence 
                    Agency and the Director of Central Intelligence.
                        (2) The activities of the Defense Intelligence 
                    Agency.
                        (3) The activities of the National Security 
                    Agency.
                        (4) The intelligence activities of other 
                    agencies and subdivisions of the Department of 
                    Defense.
                        (5) The intelligence activities of the 
                    Department of State.
                        (6) The intelligence activities of the Federal 
                    Bureau of Investigation, including all activities of 
                    the Intelligence Division.
                Sec. 13. (a) The select committee shall make a study 
            with respect to the following matters, taking into 
            consideration with respect to each such matter, all relevant 
            aspects of the effectiveness of planning, gathering, use, 
            security, and dissemination of intelligence:
                        (1) the quality of the analytical capabilities 
                    of United States foreign intelligence agencies and 
                    means for integrating more closely analytical 
                    intelligence and policy formulation;
                        (2) the extent and nature of the authority of 
                    the departments and agencies of the executive branch 
                    to engage in intelligence activities and the 
                    desirability of developing charters for each 
                    intelligence agency or department;
                        (3) the organization of intelligence activities 
                    in the executive branch to maximize the 
                    effectiveness of the conduct, oversight, and 
                    accountability of intelligence

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                    activities; to reduce duplication or overlap; and to 
                    improve the morale of the personnel of the foreign 
                    intelligence agencies;
                        (4) the conduct of covert and clandestine 
                    activities and the procedures by which Congress is 
                    informed of such activities;
                        (5) the desirability of changing any law, Senate 
                    rule or procedure, or any Executive order, rule, or 
                    regulation to improve the protection of intelligence 
                    secrets and provide from disclosure of information 
                    for which there is no compelling reason for secrecy;
                        (6) the desirability of establishing a standing 
                    committee of the Senate on intelligence activities;
                        (7) the desirability of establishing a joint 
                    committee of the Senate and the House of 
                    Representatives on intelligence activities in lieu 
                    of having separate committees in each House of 
                    Congress, or of establishing procedures under which 
                    separate committees on intelligence activities of 
                    the two Houses of Congress would receive joint 
                    briefings from the intelligence agencies and 
                    coordinate their policies with respect to the 
                    safeguarding of sensitive intelligence information;
                        (8) the authorization of funds for the 
                    intelligence activities of the Government and 
                    whether disclosure of any of the amounts of such 
                    funds is in the public interest; and
                        (9) the development of a uniform set of 
                    definitions for terms to be used in policies or 
                    guidelines which may be adopted by the executive or 
                    legislative branches to govern, clarify, and 
                    strengthen the operation of intelligence activities.
                (b) The select committee may, in its discretion, omit 
            from the special study required by this section any matter 
            it determines has been adequately studied by the Select 
            Committee To Study Governmental Operations With Respect to 
            Intelligence Activities, established by Senate Resolution 
            21, Ninety-fourth Congress.
                (c) The select committee shall report the results of the 
            study provided for by this section to the Senate, together 
            with any recommendations for legislative or other actions it 
            deems appropriate, no later than July 1, 1977, and from time 
            to time thereafter as it deems appropriate.
                Sec. 14. (a) As used in this resolution, the term 
            ``intelligence activities'' includes (1) the collection, 
            analysis, production, dissemination, or use of information 
            which relates

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            to any foreign country, or any government, political group, 
            party, military force, movement, or other association in 
            such foreign country, and which relates to the defense, 
            foreign policy, national security, or related policies of 
            the United States, and other activity which is in support of 
            such activities; (2) activities taken to counter similar 
            activities directed against the United States; (3) covert or 
            clandestine activities affecting the relations of the United 
            States with any foreign government, political group, party, 
            military force, movement or other association; (4) the 
            collection, analysis, production, dissemination, or use of 
            information about activities of persons within the United 
            States, its territories and possessions, or nationals of the 
            United States abroad whose political and related activities 
            pose, or may be considered by any department, agency, 
            bureau, office, division, instrumentality, or employee of 
            the United States to pose, a threat to the internal security 
            of the United States, and covert or clandestine activities 
            directed against such persons. Such term does not include 
            tactical foreign military intelligence serving no national 
            policymaking function.
                (b) As used in this resolution, the term ``department or 
            agency'' includes any organization, committee, council, 
            establishment, or office within the Federal Government.
                (c) For purposes of this resolution, reference to any 
            department, agency, bureau, or subdivision shall include a 
            reference to any successor department, agency, bureau, or 
            subdivision to the extent that such successor engages in 
            intelligence activities now conducted by the department, 
            agency, bureau, or subdivision referred to in this 
            resolution.
                Sec. 15. (This section authorized funds for the select 
            committee for the period May 19, 1976, through Feb. 28, 
            1977.)
                Sec. 16. Nothing in this resolution shall be construed 
            as constituting acquiescence by the Senate in any practice, 
            or in the conduct of any activity, not otherwise authorized 
            by law.

            [S. Res. 400, 94-2, May 19, 1976; S. Res. 4, 95-1, Feb. 4, 
                1977.]