For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
September 8, 2004
Reforming and Strengthening Intelligence Services
Fact Sheet: Leading the Way on Reforming and Strengthening Our Intelligence Services
September 8, 2004
Presidential Action
In a meeting with a bipartisan group of senior Congressional
leaders and committee chairs, President Bush conveyed a detailed
proposal for legislative action to create a National Intelligence
Director (NID) with the authority needed to get the job done. The
President intends to give the NID full budget authority over the
National Foreign Intelligence Program appropriation and the
management tools necessary to successfully oversee the Intelligence
Community, including ensuring the full integration of foreign and
domestic intelligence.
The President seeks intelligence reform legislation that is
consistent with the recommendations of the 9/11 Commission. On
August 2, the President endorsed many of the 9/11 Commission's
recommendations -- including the Commission's recommendation of the
creation of a National Intelligence Director (NID) and National
Counterterrorism Center (NCTC).
The Bush Administration was already implementing many of the
actions suggested by the Commission well before the report was
issued. The Administration is already implementing or otherwise
addressing 36 of the Commission's 41 recommendations.
Of the remaining five recommendations, two call for changes
to Congressional oversight of intelligence and homeland security.
The Administration endorses these recommendations. The
Administration is studying the remaining three recommendations.
The President also announced that the NID should be assisted by a
cabinet-level Joint Intelligence Community Council (JICC). The
JICC
will help ensure the implementation of a joint, unified national
intelligence effort to protect national and homeland security. The
JICC will advise the National Intelligence Director on setting
requirements, financial management, establishing uniform
intelligence
policies, and monitoring and evaluating performance of the
Intelligence Community.
Background on Presidential Action
President Bush seeks legislation designed to:
Improve the integration of foreign and domestic intelligence;
Improve indication and timely warning of impending threats to national security;
Improve analysis of threats;
Improve our ability to use intelligence to counter threats to our national security;
Improve our ability to set goals and prioritize intelligence requirements, both collection/acquisition and analysis; and
Improve the sharing of information in the fullest and most prompt manner.
The President's reform plan is designed to establish an effective
National Intelligence Director and reorganize the Intelligence
Community. The President's plan outlines powers and
responsibilities for the NID that are consistent with the 9/11 Commission report.
Structure of the National Intelligence Director -- The NID will:
Report to the President, be appointed by the President, be
confirmed by the Senate, serve at the pleasure of the President,
and testify before Congress;
Act as the principal advisor to the President, the National
Security Council, and the Homeland Security Council for
intelligence matters relating to the national security; and
While part of the Executive Branch, will not be located in
the Executive Office of the President or serve as a member of the
President's Cabinet.
General Powers of the National Intelligence Director -- The NID
will:
Serve as the head of the United States Intelligence Community;
Develop objectives and guidance for the Intelligence
Community to ensure timely and effective collection, processing,
analysis, and dissemination, including access by users to
collected data and analytic products generated by or within the
Intelligence Community, of national intelligence;
Determine and establish requirements and priorities for, and
manage and direct the tasking of, the collection of intelligence
by the Intelligence Community;
Resolve conflicts in collection requirements and the tasking
of national collection assets of the Intelligence Community; and
Determine and establish intelligence analysis and production
priorities for the Intelligence Community.
Budget Authority of the National Intelligence Director -- The NID will:
As recommended by the 9/11 Commission, receive the funds for
the National Foreign Intelligence Program (NFIP) and allocate, as
apportioned by the Office of Management and Budget, those funds to
the Intelligence Community;
With respect to the NFIP budget, approve annual budgets for
the Intelligence Community and determine, develop, and present --
with the advice of the heads of departments -- the intelligence
budget request for the approval of the President; and
Have the authority to transfer or reprogram funds within the
NFIP and to review, and approve or disapprove, consistent with the
existing authorities of the Director of the Office of Management
and Budget, any proposal to transfer or reprogram funds.
Intelligence Community Management Responsibilities of the NID -- The NID will:
Ensure the fullest and most prompt sharing of and access to
information practicable, with special emphasis on detecting,
preventing, preempting, and disrupting terrorist threats and
attacks against the United States, its people, property and
interests;
Establish standards, policies, and programs within the Intelligence Community;
Supervise the National Counterterrorism Center and oversee
all new national centers, including potentially a future National
Center to Counter Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) Proliferation;
Ensure that appropriate agencies and departments have access
to and receive all-source intelligence support needed to carry out
their own missions as well as to perform independent, alternative
analysis;
Establish within the Director's office a National
Intelligence Council to produce national intelligence estimates
and evaluate Intelligence Community-wide collection and production
of intelligence;
Provide guidance and issue tasking to the Intelligence
Community; and
Assume the functions of the current Director of Central
Intelligence (DCI) as head of the Intelligence Community, to
include the coordination of the activities of the Central
Intelligence Agency (CIA), Department of Defense (DoD)
intelligence agencies, the Federal Bureau of Investigation's (FBI)
intelligence and counterterrorism activities, and relevant parts
of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
Personnel Authorities of the National Intelligence Director -- The NID will:
Have a role in the appointment of any individual to a
position that heads an organization or element within the
Intelligence Community. If the appointment is made by an agency
head, the agency head must receive the concurrence of the National
Intelligence Director. If the appointment to such position is
made by the President, any recommendation to the President to
nominate or appoint an individual to that position shall be
accompanied by the recommendation of the National Intelligence
Director.
Under the President's plan, the Intelligence Community structure would:
Be led by the National Intelligence Director, who will have
authority over the budget and collection objectives and will
coordinate the foreign and domestic activities of the Intelligence
Community;
Keep the national intelligence agencies -- National Security
Agency (NSA), National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA), and
National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) -- under the Department of
Defense, thereby avoiding the disruption of the war effort that a
more far reaching restructuring could create; and
Ensure that departmental intelligence support is retained
and that direct command authority for operations occurs through
the appropriate chain of command for departmental intelligence
entities.
President Bush has led the way on intelligence reform and has already undertaken a number of major reforms to improve intelligence collection, analysis, and sharing to obtain the best information on the terrorist threat to the Nation -- including:
Implementing, by Executive Order, many of the 9/11
Commission's recommendations for intelligence reform. The
President, on August 27, signed executive orders giving the
Director of Central Intelligence many of the strengthened
management powers over the Intelligence Community that will
eventually belong to the NID. He also established a National
Counterterrorism Center (NCTC) to serve as a central knowledge
bank on known and suspected terrorists and international terror
groups, as well as their goals, strategies, capabilities, and
networks of contacts. The NCTC will also plan U.S.
government-wide counterterrorism activities. The President also
ordered that additional actions be taken to continue to improve
the sharing of terrorism information among agencies and to improve
our information technology architecture.
Reforming the FBI: The President is transforming the FBI
into an agency focused on preventing terrorist attacks through
intelligence collection and other key efforts, while improving its
ability to perform its traditional role as a world-class law
enforcement agency.
Creating the Department of Homeland Security (DHS): The
President has led the most extensive reorganization of the Federal
government in 50 years by creating DHS. DHS brought together 22
entities and over 180,000 employees with critical homeland
security missions and provided the Nation with a single Federal
department with the primary mission to protect the homeland
against terrorist threats. DHS launched the Homeland Security
Information Network (HSIN), a real-time collaboration system to
report incidents, crimes, and potential terrorist acts to federal,
state, and local officials and the DHS Homeland Security
Operations Center. The HSIN is now linked to all 50 states and
more than 50 major urban areas.
Establishing the Terrorist Threat Integration Center (TTIC), integrating and analyzing terrorism threat-related information
collected domestically and abroad, ensuring that intelligence and
law enforcement entities are working together. Elements of the
CIA, DoD, the Department of Justice, DHS, and the FBI work to
close the "seams" in our intelligence analysis. The TTIC will be
absorbed by the newly established National Counterterrorism
Center.
Creating the Terrorist Screening Center to consolidate
terrorist watchlists and provide 24/7 operational support for
Federal and other government law enforcement personnel across the
country and around the world. The Center ensures that government
investigators, screeners, and agents are working off the same
unified, comprehensive set of anti-terrorist information -- and
that they have access to information and expertise that will allow
them to act quickly when a suspected terrorist is screened or
stopped.
Creating U.S. Northern Command to provide for integrated
homeland defense and coordinated DoD support to Federal, state,
and local civilian governments.
Proposing and signing into law the USA PATRIOT Act, which
strengthens law enforcement's abilities to prevent, investigate,
and prosecute acts of terror, facilitating Federal government
efforts to thwart potential terrorist activity throughout the
United States. President Bush continues to call on Congress to
take action to ensure that these vital law enforcement tools do
not expire.
Creating a White House Homeland Security Council, led by a
Homeland Security Advisor who reports directly to the President, to coordinate homeland security policy across multiple departments
and agencies -- modeled on the National Security Council.