On Thursday, May 12, 2011, the House is scheduled to consider H.R. 754 under a rule.  The rule provides for one hour of debate equally divided and controlled by the chair and ranking minority member of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence.  Additionally, the rule makes in order amendments printed in the Rules Committee report accompanying H.Res. 264 and provides for one motion to recommit with or without instructions.  The nine amendments printed in the report are summarized below.  The bill was introduced by Rep. Mike Rogers (R-MI) on February 17, 2011, and referred to the Committee on Intelligence.

H.R. 754 would authorize the intelligence activities of the United States government for Fiscal Year 2011.  These activities are intended to enhance national security, support and assist the Armed Forces, and facilitate U.S. foreign policy. 

The bill would provide budget authority and personnel manning levels for the conduct of intelligence activities in the amounts specified in section 102, the Classified Schedule of Authorizations. 

The bill would authorize $660.7 million in FY2011 for the Director of National Intelligence’s Intelligence Community Management Account, as well as 787 full-time personnel for this account.  This is the principal source of funding for the Office of the Director of National Intelligence and provides resources for the coordination of programs, budget oversight, and management of the intelligence agencies.  The bill would also authorize appropriation of $292 million for the Central Intelligence Agency Retirements and Disability System for FY2011.

Restriction on conduct of intelligence activities: The bill would prohibit authorization of appropriations by the Act from constituting authority to conduct any activities not otherwise authorized by the Constitution of the United States.

Increase in employee benefits: The bill would provide that appropriations authorized for pay and benefits for Federal employees may be increased as necessary for increases in such compensation as authorized by law.

Non-reimbursable detail of personnel: The bill would allow for an officer of the United States or a member of the Armed Forces to be assigned to the staff of an element of the intelligence community on a non-reimbursable basis, for a period not to exceed two years, if jointly agreed to by the heads of the receiving and detailing elements within the United States Government.

National counterintelligence strategy: The bill would amend the Counterintelligence Enhancement Act of 2002 to require that the National Counterintelligence Strategy be revised or updated at least once every three years and that it aligns with the strategy and policies of the Director of National Intelligence.  This report is produced by the National Counterintelligence Executive, a component of the Office of the DNI.

Insider Threat Detection:  The bill would require the Director of National Intelligence to establish an effective automated insider threat detection program for the information resources in each element of the intelligence community in order to detect unauthorized access to, or use or transmission of, classified intelligence.  The bill would require that this program reach initial operating capability by the end of FY2012 and full operating capability by the end of FY2013.  This program is intended to prevent security breaches such as the “Wikileaks” incident that occurred last this year.

Defense Intelligence Agency:  The bill would amend the National Security Act of 1947 to add “counterintelligence” to the responsibilities of the Secretary of Defense pertaining to the National Intelligence Program.  The bill would also limit the Director of the DIA in expending funds for human intelligence and counterintelligence activities on objects of a confidential, extraordinary, or emergency nature.  The Director would be restricted in such activities to five percent of funds authorized in a given fiscal year unless congressional notification is provided.

Accounts and transfer authority for intelligence elements of the Department of Defense:  The bill would authorize the establishment of accounts and allow for the transfer of appropriations to and from such accounts by the Secretary of Defense or the DNI for the purposes of intelligence-related activities and communications of the defense intelligence elements.

The bill authorizes Fiscal Year 2011 programs and funding levels for the Intelligence Community, as well as foreign intelligence activities of the Department of Defense, Federal Bureau of Investigation, State Department, and Department of Homeland Security.  The United States Intelligence Community consists of 16 agencies including the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), the National Security Agency (NSA), and the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO). 

The primary vehicle for exercising credible congressional oversight over the intelligence agencies is the intelligence authorization bill.  Yet there has not been an intelligence authorization bill, including funding authorities, enacted into law in six years.  As a direct result, congressional oversight of our intelligence agencies—including spending—has been significantly diminished.

Congress has recently passed intelligence authorization bills, but a complete bill, including the classified annex, has not been enacted since 2004.  Actual funding for the Intelligence Community has recently been appropriated via “deeming” language within defense spending bills. 

Several portions of this bill are classified—the classified annex to the legislation contains specific funding and personnel levels for intelligence programs.  This annex is available to Members in Room H-304 of the Capitol.

Because the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) does not provide estimates for classified programs, their cost estimate for H.R. 754 addresses only the unclassified portions of the bill.  On that limited basis, CBO estimates that spending subject to appropriations under section 103 of the bill, providing funding for the Intelligence Community Management Account (ICMA), would total $654 million from funding authorized for fiscal year 2011.  That total would be $47 million lower than spending from the annualized amounts currently available for 2011. 

Additionally, CBO estimates that the bill would authorize the appropriation of $292 million in direct spending to the Central Intelligence Agency Retirement and Disability System (CIARDS).  The appropriation to CIARDS is considered mandatory and the authorization under this bill would be the same as the amount under the CBO baseline.  Thus, the CBO estimate does not ascribe any additional cost to that provision and pay-as-you-go procedures do not apply to the overall bill.

Amendment No. 1—Rep. Rogers (R-MI): Manager’s Amendment—This amendment would clarify that Section 411 of the bill, which provides certain authorities for Defense Intelligence Agency Expenditures, applies only to National Intelligence Program funds. Would also strikes Section 412 of the reported bill, providing for the establishment of certain transfer accounts for intelligence funds.

Amendment No. 2—Rep. Barrow (D-GA): This amendment would establish a grant program  to assist in creating and maintaining academic curricula that teach advanced critical foreign languages, and for study abroad programs at historically black colleges and universities.

Amendment No. 3—Rep. Dent (R-PA): The amendment would direct the Directors of National Intelligence and the Central Intelligence Agency to submit to the congressional intelligence committees all information possessed by the DNI and the CIA relating to the pursuit and targeting of Anwar al-Awlaki.

Amendment No. 4—Rep. Welch (D-VT): This amendment would direct the Director of National Intelligence to issue guidance on the proper use of contractors by the intelligence community to increase efficiency and streamline operations.

Amendment No. 5—Rep. Gibson (R-NY): This amendment would direct the Director of National Intelligence to submit a report to congress by December 31, 2011, with any appropriate recommendations on consolidating elements of the intelligence community.

Amendment No. 6—Rep. Waters (D-CA): The amendment would direct the Inspector General of the Intelligence Community to submit to Congress a report on the degree to which racial and ethnic minorities in the United States are employed in professional positions in the intelligence community as well as barriers to the recruitment and retention of additional racial and ethnic minorities in such positions.

Amendment No. 7—Rep. Hinchey (D-NY): This amendment would require the Director of National Intelligence to report to the House and Senate Intelligence panels on information it has regarding the human rights violations of the military government in Argentina that resulted in 30,000 disappearances between the mid-1970's and mid-1980's.

Amendment No. 8—Rep. Carney (D-DE): This amendment would express the sense of congress that railway transportation should be included in the transportation security plans of the intelligence community.

Amendment No. 9—Rep. Grimm (R-NY): This amendment would commend the intelligence community for their successful operation in bringing Osama bin Laden to justice and their continued efforts against al Qaeda.