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BOND: WE CAN DO MORE TO KEEP NATION SAFE
Senator Urges Congress to Reform Itself, Adopt 9/11 Commission
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September 11, 2008
Recommendation to Improve Oversight, Save Taxpayer Dollars
WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senator Kit Bond, the Vice Chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, today urged Congress to honor the September 11th victims by adopting a key 9/11 Commission recommendation.
“As we reflect on the horrible tragedy of the September 11th attacks we should all ask ourselves whether we can do more to keep our nation safe by improving Congressional oversight of our intelligence,” said Bond. “Intelligence is our first line of defense against attacks and we must get it right.”
Bond, who spoke on the Senate floor, observed today’s seventh anniversary of the September 11th attacks which claimed more than 3,000 American lives. Bond pointed out that it is no accident that America has remained safe from another attack on our soil since al Qaeda terrorists first declared war on our nation. Instead, our safety here at home is a result of the hard work by our troops in the field, law enforcement, intelligence operators and sweeping reforms in the intelligence community. While our intelligence has been strengthened, Bond stressed that we can do more to keep our nation safe. Bond noted that Congress has failed to adopt the most important 9/11 Commission recommendation for reform – Congressional oversight of the intelligence community.
To correct what the 9/11 Commission called “dysfunctional” oversight of our intelligence and counterterrorism activities, Bond today introduced a Senate Resolution to create an Intelligence Appropriations Subcommittee. This new subcommittee would bring about what the 9/11 Commission called the most difficult and important reform – requiring Congress to reform itself by bringing intelligence spending under effective Congressional oversight.
Bond stressed that to ensure effective oversight of our intelligence community the members with the expertise and knowledge must also have the budget authority. This is critical to both our national security and to fiscal responsibility. Bond noted that all Americans should be concerned with wasteful spending in the many billions of dollars. Because the programs are classified, the public is unaware of the amount of their taxpayer dollars being wasted on programs that never even get off the ground.
Bond’s resolution would improve oversight of the intelligence community by creating a new subcommittee:
· The new subcommittee would be an additional subcommittee that would require no reorganization of the Appropriations Committee;
· The new subcommittee would appropriate all funds for the National Intelligence Program (NIP) – currently appropriations for the NIP are fragmented among several subcommittees;
· The annual appropriations bill for the NIP reported by the Subcommittee on Intelligence would pass to the full Appropriations Committee without review by any other subcommittee;
· The Chairman and Ranking member of the Appropriations Committee and Appropriations Committee members who are members of the Select Committee on Intelligence would have automatic membership on the new subcommittee;
· The Chairman and Ranking member of the new subcommittee would be selected from among those members who serve on both the Intelligence and Appropriations Committees;
· Assignment to the new committee would not count against other subcommittee roles and assignments of any member of the Appropriations Committee;
· Finally, if either, or both, the Chairman and Vice Chairman of the Select Committee on Intelligence were not appropriations cross-over members, then either, or both, would serve as ex officio members of the new subcommittee.
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