Congressional Record: July 25, 2007 (House)]
[Page H8496-H8546]
                   
 
 CONFERENCE REPORT ON H.R. 1, IMPLEMENTING RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE 9/11 
                         COMMISSION ACT OF 2007

  Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi submitted the following conference report 
and statement on the bill (H.R. 1) to provide for the implementation of 
the recommendations of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks 
Upon the United States:

                  Conference Report (H. Rept. 110-259)

[...]


           TITLE VI--CONGRESSIONAL OVERSIGHT OF INTELLIGENCE

     SEC. 601. AVAILABILITY TO PUBLIC OF CERTAIN INTELLIGENCE 
                   FUNDING INFORMATION.

       (a) Amounts Appropriated Each Fiscal Year.--Not later than 
     30 days after the end of each fiscal year beginning with 
     fiscal year 2007, the Director of National Intelligence shall 
     disclose to the public the aggregate amount of funds 
     appropriated by Congress for the National Intelligence 
     Program for such fiscal year.
       (b) Waiver.--Beginning with fiscal year 2009, the President 
     may waive or postpone the disclosure required by subsection 
     (a) for any fiscal year by, not later than 30 days after the 
     end of such fiscal year, submitting to the Select Committee 
     on Intelligence of the Senate and Permanent Select Committee 
     on Intelligence of the House of Representatives--
       (1) a statement, in unclassified form, that the disclosure 
     required in subsection (a) for that fiscal year would damage 
     national security; and
       (2) a statement detailing the reasons for the waiver or 
     postponement, which may be submitted in classified form.
       (c) Definition.--As used in this section, the term 
     ``National Intelligence Program'' has the meaning given the 
     term in section 3(6) of the National Security Act of 1947 (50 
     U.S.C. 401a(6)).

     SEC. 602. PUBLIC INTEREST DECLASSIFICATION BOARD.

       The Public Interest Declassification Act of 2000 (50 U.S.C. 
     435 note) is amended--
       (1) by striking ``Director of Central Intelligence'' each 
     place that term appears and inserting ``Director of National 
     Intelligence'';
       (2) in section 704(e)--
       (A) by striking ``If requested'' and inserting the 
     following:
       ``(1) In general.--If requested''; and
       (B) by adding at the end the following:
       ``(2) Authority of board.--Upon receiving a congressional 
     request described in section 703(b)(5), the Board may conduct 
     the review and make the recommendations described in that 
     section, regardless of whether such a review is requested by 
     the President.
       ``(3) Reporting.--Any recommendations submitted to the 
     President by the Board under section 703(b)(5), shall be 
     submitted to the chairman and ranking minority member of the 
     committee of Congress that made the request relating to such 
     recommendations.'';
       (3) in section 705(c), in the subsection heading, by 
     striking ``Director of Central Intelligence'' and inserting 
     ``Director of National Intelligence''; and
       (4) in section 710(b), by striking ``8 years after the 
     date'' and all that follows and inserting ``on December 31, 
     2012.''.

     SEC. 603. SENSE OF THE SENATE REGARDING A REPORT ON THE 9/11 
                   COMMISSION RECOMMENDATIONS WITH RESPECT TO 
                   INTELLIGENCE REFORM AND CONGRESSIONAL 
                   INTELLIGENCE OVERSIGHT REFORM.

       (a) Findings.--Congress makes the following findings:
       (1) The National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the 
     United States (referred to in this section as the ``9/11 
     Commission'') conducted a lengthy review of the facts and 
     circumstances relating to the terrorist attacks of September 
     11, 2001, including those relating to the intelligence 
     community, law enforcement agencies, and the role of 
     congressional oversight and resource allocation.
       (2) In its final report, the 9/11 Commission found that--
       (A) congressional oversight of the intelligence activities 
     of the United States is dysfunctional;
       (B) under the rules of the Senate and the House of 
     Representatives in effect at the time the report was 
     completed, the committees of Congress charged with oversight 
     of the intelligence activities lacked the power, influence, 
     and sustained capability to meet the daunting challenges 
     faced by the intelligence community of the United States;
       (C) as long as such oversight is governed by such rules of 
     the Senate and the House of Representatives, the people of 
     the United States will not get the security they want and 
     need;
       (D) a strong, stable, and capable congressional committee 
     structure is needed to give the intelligence community of the 
     United States appropriate oversight, support, and leadership; 
     and
       (E) the reforms recommended by the 9/11 Commission in its 
     final report will not succeed if congressional oversight of 
     the intelligence community in the United States is not 
     changed.
       (3) The 9/11 Commission recommended structural changes to 
     Congress to improve the oversight of intelligence activities.
       (4) Congress has enacted some of the recommendations made 
     by the 9/11 Commission and is considering implementing 
     additional recommendations of the 9/11 Commission.
       (5) The Senate adopted Senate Resolution 445 in the 108th 
     Congress to address some of the intelligence oversight 
     recommendations of the 9/11 Commission by abolishing term 
     limits for the members of the Select Committee on 
     Intelligence, clarifying jurisdiction for intelligence-
     related nominations, and streamlining procedures for the 
     referral of intelligence-related legislation, but other 
     aspects of the 9/11 Commission recommendations regarding 
     intelligence oversight have not been implemented.
       (b) Sense of the Senate.--It is the sense of the Senate 
     that the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental 
     Affairs and the Select Committee on Intelligence of the 
     Senate each, or jointly, should--
       (1) undertake a review of the recommendations made in the 
     final report of the 9/11 Commission with respect to 
     intelligence reform and congressional intelligence oversight 
     reform;
       (2) review and consider any other suggestions, options, or 
     recommendations for improving intelligence oversight; and
       (3) not later than December 21, 2007, submit to the Senate 
     a report that includes the recommendations of the committees, 
     if any, for carrying out such reforms.

     SEC. 604. AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS FOR THE PUBLIC INTEREST 
                   DECLASSIFICATION BOARD.

       Section 21067 of the Continuing Appropriations Resolution, 
     2007 (division B of Public Law 109-289; 120 Stat. 1311), as 
     amended by Public Law 109-369 (120 Stat. 2642), Public

[[Page H8516]]

     Law 109-383 (120 Stat. 2678), and Public Law 110-5, is 
     amended by adding at the end the following new subsection:
       ``(c) From the amount provided by this section, the 
     National Archives and Records Administration may obligate 
     monies necessary to carry out the activities of the Public 
     Interest Declassification Board.''.

     SEC. 605. AVAILABILITY OF THE EXECUTIVE SUMMARY OF THE REPORT 
                   ON CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY ACCOUNTABILITY 
                   REGARDING THE TERRORIST ATTACKS OF SEPTEMBER 
                   11, 2001.

       (a) Public Availability.--Not later than 30 days after the 
     date of the enactment of this Act, the Director of the 
     Central Intelligence Agency shall prepare and make available 
     to the public a version of the Executive Summary of the 
     report entitled the ``Office of Inspector General Report on 
     Central Intelligence Agency Accountability Regarding Findings 
     and Conclusions of the Joint Inquiry into Intelligence 
     Community Activities Before and After the Terrorist Attacks 
     of September 11, 2001'' issued in June 2005 that is 
     declassified to the maximum extent possible, consistent with 
     national security.
       (b) Report to Congress.--The Director of the Central 
     Intelligence Agency shall submit to Congress a classified 
     annex to the redacted Executive Summary made available under 
     subsection (a) that explains the reason that any redacted 
     material in the Executive Summary was withheld from the 
     public.

	 

	 
                  Conference Report (H. Rept. 110-259)	 
	 
	 [...]
	 

           TITLE VI--CONGRESSIONAL OVERSIGHT OF INTELLIGENCE

     Section 601. Availability to public of certain intelligence 
         funding information
       There is no comparable House provision.
       Section 1201 of the Senate bill requires the President to 
     disclose to the public the aggregate amount of funds 
     requested for the National Intelligence Program for each 
     fiscal year. It also would require Congress to disclose to 
     the public the aggregate amount authorized to be appropriated 
     and the aggregate amount appropriated for the National 
     Intelligence Program. The 9/11 Commission recommended in 2004 
     that the aggregate amount of funding for national 
     intelligence be declassified, and in 2004 the Senate-passed 
     version of the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention 
     Act included a similar provision.
       The Conference substitute adopts the Senate provision with 
     modifications. The Conference substitute requires the 
     Director of National Intelligence to disclose to the public 
     the aggregate amount of funds appropriated by Congress for 
     the National Intelligence Program, beginning with Fiscal Year 
     2007. Beginning with Fiscal Year 2009, it allows the 
     President to waive or postpone this disclosure by submitting 
     to the Select Committee on Intelligence of the Senate and 
     Permanent Select Committee of the House of Representatives an 
     unclassified statement that the disclosure would damage 
     national security, and a statement detailing the reasons for 
     the waiver or postponement, which may be submitted in 
     classified form.
     Section 602. Public Interest Declassification Board
       There is no comparable House provision.
       Section 1203 of the Senate bill authorizes the Public 
     Interest Declassification Board, upon receiving a 
     Congressional request, to conduct a review and make 
     recommendations regardless of whether the review is requested 
     by the President. It further provides that any 
     recommendations submitted by the Board to the President shall 
     also be submitted to the Chairman and Ranking Minority Member 
     of the requesting Committee and extends the authorization of 
     the Board for four years until the end of 2012.
       As described in its report on activities in the 109th 
     Congress (S. Rep. No. 110-57, at p. 26), in September 2006, 
     the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence released two 
     reports on prewar intelligence regarding Iraq. In the 
     introduction to one, the Committee expressed disagreement 
     with the Intelligence Community's decision to classify 
     portions of the report. Members of the Committee wrote to the 
     then recently constituted Public Interest Declassification 
     Board to request that it review the material and make 
     recommendations about its classification. The Board responded 
     that it might not be able to do so without White House 
     authorization. In December 2006, the Board wrote to Congress 
     to request that the statute establishing the Board be 
     clarified to enable it to begin, without White House 
     approval, a declassification review requested by Congress.
       The Conference substitute adopts the Senate provision with 
     minor technical and conforming changes to the Public Interest 
     Declassification Act of 2000 (50 U.S.C. 435 note) to 
     substitute the ``Director of National Intelligence'' for the 
     ``Director of Central Intelligence.''
     Section 603. Sense of the Senate regarding a report on the 9/
         11 Commission recommendations with respect to 
         intelligence reform and congressional intelligence 
         oversight reform
       There is no comparable House provision.
       Section 1204 of the Senate bill makes findings related to 
     the 9/11 Commission's recommendation on Congressional 
     oversight of intelligence. It expresses the Sense of the 
     Senate that the Committee on Homeland Security and 
     Governmental Affairs and the Select Committee on Intelligence 
     of the Senate should undertake a review of the 
     recommendations made in the final report of the 9/11 
     Commission with respect to intelligence reform and 
     Congressional intelligence oversight reform, review and 
     consider other suggestions, options, or recommendations for 
     improving intelligence oversight, and not later than December 
     21, 2007, submit to the Senate a joint report or individual 
     reports that include the recommendations of the Committees, 
     if any, for carrying out such reforms.
       The Conference substitute adopts the Senate provision.
     Section 604. Availability of funds for the Public Interest 
         Declassification Board
       There is no comparable House provision.
       Section 1205 of the Senate bill allows the National 
     Archives and Records Administration to obligate monies to 
     carry out the activities of the Public Interest 
     Declassification Board from the Continuing Appropriations 
     Resolution of 2007, as amended.
       The Conference substitute adopts the Senate provision.
     Section 605. Availability of the executive summary of the 
         Report on Central Intelligence Agency Accountability 
         Regarding the Terrorist Attacks of September 11, 2001
       There is no comparable House provision.
       Section 1206 of the Senate bill provides that not later 
     than 30 days after the enactment of this Act, the CIA 
     Director shall prepare and make available to the public a 
     version of the Executive Summary of a report by the CIA 
     Inspector General that is declassified to the maximum extent 
     possible consistent with national security.
       The underlying document is the Office of Inspector General 
     Report on Central Intelligence Agency Accountability 
     Regarding Findings and Conclusions of the Joint Inquiry Into 
     Intelligence Community Activities Before and After September 
     11, 2001.
       The CIA Director is to submit to Congress a classified 
     annex that explains why any redacted material in the 
     Executive Summary was withheld from the public. The Senate 
     Select Committee on Intelligence includes a similar provision 
     in its Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008. 
     The Committee's efforts to obtain this measure of

[[Page H8580]]

     public accountability are detailed in its report on the 
     Committee's activities in the 109th Congress, S. Rep. No. 
     110-57, at pp. 24-26 (2007).
       The Conference substitute adopts the Senate provision.

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