Statement of Administration Policy: S. 2991 - Intelligence Authorization Act

(Senate)
(Boren (D) Oklahoma)

The Administration opposes S. 2991 because the bill would adversely affect the ability of U.S. intelligence agencies to cope effectively with an uncertain international environment. Specifically, the Administration opposes those provisions of S. 2991 that would:

—   terminate important technical and third-party collection programs and related capabilities;

—   authorize new research and development programs that the Administration did not request and continue other programs that are no longer needed;

—   require the Secretary of Defense to establish a new, unnecessary organization within the Department of Defense to administer the National Security Education Act; and

—   authorize the Defense Intelligence College to confer academic degrees without review of the program by the Department of Education under government-wide procedures.

In addition, the Administration opposes title VII of the bill, which would unwisely restrict the President's flexibility to organize the conduct of U.S. foreign intelligence activities and adapt to changing circumstances. Specifically, the Administration opposes the:

—   Requirement that the Director of Central Intelligence provide "objective national intelligence, independent of political considerations," which threatens to transform policy disagreements into arguments about whether the law has been broken.

—   Creation of a formal Tactical Intelligence Program and the establishment of the Office of Reconnaissance Support. In particular, the Tactical Intelligence Program could result in the various components becoming less responsive to the needs of the military forces that they support.

—   Appointment of a Deputy Chairman of the National Intelligence Council from the private sector.

—   Preemption of Executive branch authority and discretion concerning access to, and distribution of, intelligence data.

—   Increase in the number of Executive Level I positions.

The Administration will seek to address these issues during conference on S. 2991.

Scoring for the Purpose of PAYGO and Discretionary Caps

S. 2991 would affect Federal receipts and is, therefore, subject to the pay-as-you-go requirement of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1991 (OBRA). OMB's preliminary scoring estimates of this bill are presented in the table below. Final scoring of this legislation may deviate from these estimates. If S. 2991 were enacted, final OMB scoring estimates would be published within five days of enactment, as required by OBRA. The cumulative effects of all enacted legislation on direct spending will be issued in monthly reports transmitted to Congress.

Estimates For Pay-As-You-Go
($ in millions)