Intelligence Authorization Act
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| Long title | To authorize appropriations for fiscal year 1991 for intelligence activities of the United States Government, the Intelligence Community Staff, and the Central Intelligence Agency Retirement and Disability System, and for other purposes. |
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| Enacted by | the 102nd United States Congress |
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The Intelligence Authorization Act is a yearly bill implemented in order to codify covert, clandestine operations and defines requirements for reporting such operations to the Congress.[1] The first act was passed along with the Intelligence Oversight Act of 1980, which allowed Congress and members of the agency to be included in important decisions and operations carried out by the Central Intelligence Agency.[2] The first Intelligence Authorization Act was also an attempt to limit the authority and secrecy within the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) regarding foreign and domestic affairs, though its applications extends to each of the intelligence agencies, not just to the CIA.
Provisions of the 1991 Act
The 1991 Act states that all secret operations carried out by the Agency must be approved by the President of the United States. In turn, all parties involved must be recorded and made public to Congress.[3] Therefore, the Intelligence Authorization Act also publicized the president's involvement in both foreign affairs and special actions within the CIA.[3] With the passing of the Intelligence Authorization Act, the agency is required to submit a report on budgetary spending within to the CIA to Congress.[4]
Intelligence Authorization Act of fiscal year 1993 called for a revision of the structure of the Agency. The
The Intelligence Authorization Act of fiscal year 1994, passed on December 3, 1993, forced the documentation of unclassified operations. These would be submitted by the head of central intelligence, the Director of Central Intelligence.[5] Reports on counter terrorist actions, as well as gaps within the agency must be submitted to Congress.[5]
The U.S. Constitution requires that "a regular Statement and Account of the Receipts and Expenditures of all public Money shall be published from time to time."[2] Due to this requirement, attempts have been made to revise the Act in order to make the agency's budget spending available to the American public.[6] Congress has rejected this revision since 1993. There are a number of reasons behind the rejection. Government officials have assumed that because the amount of money would be unexplainable without including a total report on CIA actions, the public would continue to ask for more information.[4] Congress has also suggested that patterns could be made with the analysis of yearly reports, which would allow anyone with access to discover details of secret operations within the agency.[4]
History
The Act is passed yearly, with the latest bills for
Following the scandal of Nixon, the U.S. Congress grew increasingly skeptical of the secret dealings of the President.[8] While expanding the power of Congress, the Act also supported the Hughes–Ryan Amendment which prevented the President from denying his involvement in secret operations, in this case, those of the Central Intelligence Agency.[9] This revision was most important during the Era of Skepticism in which Congress was most interested in the president's actions due to Nixon's Watergate scandal.[10]
The proceeding revisions have resulted in greater authority of the
Related legislation
- intelligence leaks made by Edward Snowden indicated that the budget could be approximately $50 billion.[15][16]
- Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2014 – a bill that would authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2014 for intelligence activities of the U.S. government.[17] The bill would authorize there to be funding for intelligence agencies such as the Central Intelligence Agency or the National Security Agency, but a separate appropriations bill would also have to pass in order for those agencies to receive any money.[18]
References
- ^ Intelligence Authorization Act, P.L. 102-88
- ^ a b Holt, p. 224
- ^ a b Daugherty, p.65
- ^ a b c d e f Holt, p.226
- ^ a b Holt, p.225
- ^ a b Holt, p. 226
- ^ Boren, David L. "The Winds of Change at the CIA," The Yale Law Journal 101:4 (1992) p. 856; Daugherty, William J. "Approval and Review of Covert Action Programs Since Reagan," International Journal of Intelligence and CounterIntelligence, 17:1 (2004)p.66
- ^ Johnson, Loch K. Legislative Reform of Intelligence Policy, polity 17:3 (Spring 1985) p. 552
- ^ Daugherty, p.63
- ^ Johnson, p.561
- ^ Lowenthal, Mark M. Intelligence: From Secrets to Policy (2nd Ed.) (Washington, D.C.: Congressional Quarterly Inc., 2003) p. 158
- ^ Lowenthal, p. 158; Johnson, p. 567
- ^ Marcos, Cristina (May 30, 2014). "House authorizes intel programs through 2015". The Hill. Retrieved June 3, 2014.
- ^ "H.R. 4681 – Summary". United States Congress. Retrieved June 3, 2014.
- ^ Wilhelm, Alex (May 30, 2014). "House Votes To Fund Intelligence Programs Through 2015". TechCrunch. Retrieved June 3, 2014.
- ^ Masnick, Mike (August 29, 2013). "Latest Snowden Leaks Detail The 'Black Budget' And How Much The Gov't Wastes On Useless Surveillance". TechDirt. Retrieved June 3, 2014.
- ^ "CBO – S. 1681". Congressional Budget Office. February 5, 2014. Retrieved June 12, 2014.
- ^ Cox, Ramsey (June 11, 2014). "Senate passes Intelligence authorization bill". The Hill. Retrieved June 12, 2014.