[United States Senate Manual, 110th Congress]
[S. Doc. 110-1]
[Non-statutory Standing Orders and Regulations Affecting the Business of the Senate]
[Pages 137-151]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]
81 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
[[Page 138]]
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 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 not to exceed fifteen\1\ members appointed as
follows:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\See paragraph 3(b) of rule XXV of the Standing Rules,
Senate Manual section 25.3b.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
(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) not to exceed 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. Of any members appointed under paragraph (1)(E),
the majority leader shall appoint the majority members and
the minority leader shall appoint the minority members, with
the majority having a one vote margin.
(3)(A) 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
[[Page 139]]
and shall not be counted for purposes of determining a
quorum.
(B) The Chairman and Ranking Member of the Committee on
Armed Services (if not already a member of the select
Committee) 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) At the beginning of each Congress, the Majority
Leader of the Senate shall select a chairman of the select
Committee and the Minority Leader shall select a vice
chairman for the select 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)\2\ of rule XXV of the
Standing Rules of the Senate.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\2\Changed from ``paragraph 6(e)(1)'' as a result of the
adoption of S. Res. 274, 96-1, Nov. 14, 1979.]
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
(c) The select Committee may be organized into
subcommittees. Each subcommittee shall have a chairman and a
vice chairman who are selected by the Chairman and Vice
Chairman of the select Committee, respectively.
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.
[[Page 140]]
(C) The National Security Agency.
(D) The intelligence activities of other
agencies and subdivisions of the Department
of Defense.
(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)(1) 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 10 days after the
day on which such proposed legislation, in its entirety and
including annexes, 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 10 days after the day on which such
proposed legislation, in its entirety and including annexes,
is referred to such committee.
(2) In any case in which a committee fails to report any
proposed legislation referred to it within the time limit
prescribed in this subsection, such Committee shall be
automatically discharged from further consideration of such
proposed legislation on the 10th day following the day on
which such proposed legislation is referred to such
committee unless the Senate provides otherwise, or the
Majority Leader or Minority Leader request, prior to that
date,
[[Page 141]]
an additional 5 days on behalf of the Committee to which the
proposed legislation was sequentially referred. At the end
of that additional 5 day period, if the Committee fails to
report the proposed legislation within that 5 day period,
the Committee shall be automatically discharged from further
consideration of such proposed legislation unless the Senate
provides otherwise.
(3) In computing any 10 or 5 day period under this
subsection there shall be excluded from such computation any
days on which the Senate is not the session.
(4) The reporting and referral processes outlined in
this subsection shall be conducted in strict accordance with
the Standing Rules of the Senate. In accordance with such
rules, committees to which legislation is referred are not
permitted to make changes or alterations to the text of the
referred bill and its annexes, but may propose changes or
alterations to the same in the form of amendments.
(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 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, but not less than quarterly, 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
[[Page 142]]
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 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
[[Page 143]]
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)\3\ 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.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\3\Name changed to the Select Committee on Ethics by S.
Res. 4, 95-1, Feb. 4, 1977.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
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.
[[Page 144]]
(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--
(A) first, notify the Majority Leader and
Minority Leader of the Senate of such vote; and
(B) second, consult with the Majority Leader and
Minority Leader before notifying 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 Majority Leader and the Minority Leader
and 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 Majority Leader and Minority Leader of the Senate and
the select Committee of his objections to the disclosure of
such information as provided in paragraph (2), the Majority
Leader and Minority Leader jointly or the select Committee,
by majority vote, may refer the question of the disclosure
of such information to the Senate for consideration.
(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,\4\ the Senate shall go into closed session and the
matter
[[Page 145]]
shall be the pending business. In considering the matter in
closed session the Senate may--
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\4\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.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
(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\5\ (whichever the case may be), the Senate shall
immediately vote on the disposition of 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.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\5\Ibid.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
(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
[[Page 146]]
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\6\ 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.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\6\Name changed to the Select Committee on Ethics by S.
Res. 4, 95-1, Feb. 4, 1977.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
(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 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
[[Page 147]]
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
violations 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.
[[Page 148]]
(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 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 for 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 intel
[[Page 149]]
ligence 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 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
[[Page 150]]
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. (a) In addition to other committee staff
selected by the select Committee, the select Committee shall
hire or appoint one employee for each member of the select
Committee to serve as such Member's designated
representative on the select Committee. The select Committee
shall only hire or appoint an employee chosen by the
respective Member of the select Committee for whom the
employee will serve as the designated representative on the
select Committee.
(b) The select Committee shall be afforded a supplement
to its budget, to be determined by the Committee on Rules
and Administration, to allow for the hire of each employee
who fills the position of designated representative to the
select Committee. The designated representative shall have
office space and appropriate office equipment in the select
Committee spaces. Designated personal representatives shall
have the same access to Committee staff, information,
records, and databases as select Committee staff, as
determined by the Chairman and Vice Chairman.
(c) The designated employee shall meet all the
requirements of relevant statutes, Senate rules, and
committee security clearance requirements for employment by
the select Committee.
(d) Of the funds made available to the select Committee
for personnel--
(1) not more than 60 percent shall be under the
control of the Chairman; and
(2) not less than 40 percent shall be under the
control of the Vice Chairman.
[[Page 151]]
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.
Sec. 17. (a) The select Committee shall have
jurisdiction for reviewing, holding hearings, and reporting
the nominations of civilian persons nominated by the
President to fill all positions within the intelligence
community requiring the advice and consent of the Senate.
(b) Other committees with jurisdiction over the
nominees' executive branch department may hold hearings and
interviews with such persons, but only the select Committee
shall report such nominations.
[S. Res. 400, 94-2, May 19, 1976; S. Res. 4, 95-1, Feb. 4,
1977; S. Res. 445, 108-2, Oct. 9, 2004.]