United States Senate Select Committee on Intelligence

The United States Senate Select Committee on Intelligence (sometimes referred to as SSCI) is dedicated to overseeing the United States Intelligence Community—the agencies and bureaus of the Federal government of the United States who provide information and analysis for leaders of the executive and legislative branches. The Committee was established in 1976 by the 94th Congress. [cite book
url=https://www.cia.gov/library/center-for-the-study-of-intelligence/csi-publications/books-and-monographs/agency-and-the-hill/05-The%20Agency%20and%20the%20Hill_PartI-Chapter2.pdf
title=The Agency & The Hill: CIA's Relationship with Congress, 1946-2004, Chapter 2
last=Snider
first=L. Britt
publisher=CIA Center for the Study of Intelligence
date=2008
accessdate=2008-06-19] The Committee is "select" in that membership is temporary and rotated among members of the chamber. Two seats on the Committee - one from the majority party and one from the minority - are reserved for members of the standing committees on Appropriations, Armed Services, Foreign Relations, and Judiciary. [cite web
url=http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/intel/RL32525.pdf
title=Congressional Oversight of Intelligence: Current Structure and Alternatives
last=Kaiser
first=Frederick
publisher=Congressional Research Service
date=2008-04-01
accessdate=2008-04-23]

As part of its oversight responsibilities, the Committee performs an annual review of the intelligence budget submitted by the President and prepares legislation authorizing appropriations for the various civilian and military agencies and departments comprising the Intelligence Community. These entities include the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, Central Intelligence Agency, Defense Intelligence Agency, National Security Agency, National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, National Reconnaissance Office, as well as the intelligence-related components of Department of State, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Department of the Treasury, and Department of Energy. The Committee makes recommendations to the Senate Armed Services Committee on authorizations for the intelligence-related components of the U.S. Army, U.S. Navy, U.S. Air Force, and U.S. Marine Corps. The Committee also conducts periodic investigations, audits, and inspections of intelligence activities and programs.

In a March 6, 2008 letter to the Senate leadership, 14 of the 15 current members of the Committee proposed the creation of a new Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Intelligence to prepare the annual intelligence budget. [cite web
url=http://www.fas.org/irp/congress/2008_cr/ssci030608.pdf
title=Letter to Senators Harry Reid and Mitch McConnell
author=Senate Select Committee on Intelligence
date=2008-03-06
accessdate=2008-04-14] The proposed Subcommittee, on which members of the Intelligence Committee would be heavily represented, would increase the Committee’s influence and leverage over executive branch intelligence agencies, and require continuing disclosure of the annual budget for the National Intelligence Program. The proposal has been opposed by the leadership of the Senate Appropriations Committee, however. [cite web
url=http://www.fas.org/irp/congress/2008_cr/app040508.pdf
title=Letter to Senators Harry Reid and Mitch McConnell
author=Senate Appropriations Committee
date=2008-04-05
accessdate=2008-04-14]

History

The Select Committee on Intelligence was preceded by the Church Committee (1975). Senator Daniel K. Inouye (D-Hawaii) became the first chairman of the committee when it was established during the 94th Congress. He kept the chairmanship through the 96th Congress. [http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=I000025] Senators who have served as chair since Inouye have included Birch Bayh, Barry Goldwater, David L. Boren, Arlen Specter, Richard Shelby, Bob Graham, and Pat Roberts.

Former Director of Central Intelligence George Tenet was staff director of the committee when David Boren of Oklahoma was its chairman. The committee was the center of much controversy and contentiousness during the run-up to the war in Iraq in 2002 and 2003, when chairmanship of the committee changed hands following the November, 2002 election. Among the committee staff members at that time were:

Pete Dorn, Professional Staff Member;Jim Hensler, Deputy Staff Director;Vicki Divoll, General Counsel;Steven Abram Cash, Professional Staff Member & Counsel; andAlfred Cumming, Minority Staff Director.

On July 9, 2004 the committee issued "Report of the Select Committee on Intelligence on the U.S. Intelligence Community's Prewar Intelligence Assessments on Iraq", and on June 5, 2008, it issued a long-delayed portion of its "phase two" investigative report, which compared the prewar public statements made by top Bush administration officials to justify the invasion with the intelligence information that was available to them at that time. [cite news
url=http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/06/world/middleeast/06intel.html?pagewanted=print
title=Bush Overstated Iraq Evidence, Senators Report
authors=Mark Mazzetti and Scott Shane
accessdate=2008-06-17
date=2008-06-06
publisher=The New York Times]

=Members, 110th Congress=

Chairmen

* Daniel Inouye (D-HI), 1975-1979
* Birch Bayh (D-IN), 1979-1981
* Barry Goldwater (R-AZ), 1981-1985
* David Durenberger (R-MN), 1985-1987
* David Boren (D-OK), 1987-1995
* Arlen Specter (R-PA), 1995-1997
* Richard Shelby (R-AL), 1997-2001
* Bob Graham (D-FL), 2001
* Richard Shelby (R-AL), 2001
* Bob Graham (D-FL), 2001-2003
* Pat Roberts (R-KS), 2003-2007
* Jay Rockefeller (D-WV), since 2007

References

External links

* [http://intelligence.senate.gov/ U.S. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence Official Website]