The
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Central Intelligence AgencyThe Central Intelligence Agency is a civilian intelligence agency of the United States government.It is an independent agency responsible for providing national security intelligence to senior United States policymakers....
’s Intelligence Authorization Act was implemented in order to enforce an article of the Constitution which has not been followed since Washington’s presidency. The American Constitution states, in Article 1, Section 9, that “a regular Statement and Account of the Receipts and Expenditures of all public Money shall be published from time to time.” The act was passed along with the
Intelligence Oversight ActThe Intelligence Oversight Act of 1980 is a United States federal law that amended the Hughes-Ryan Act and requires United States government agencies to report covert actions to the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence and the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence . The previous...
of 1980, which allowed
CongressThe United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States of America, consisting of two houses, the Senate and the House of Representatives. Both senators and representatives are chosen through direct election....
and members of the agency to be included in important decisions and operations carried out by the Central Intelligence Agency.
The
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Central Intelligence AgencyThe Central Intelligence Agency is a civilian intelligence agency of the United States government.It is an independent agency responsible for providing national security intelligence to senior United States policymakers....
’s Intelligence Authorization Act was implemented in order to enforce an article of the Constitution which has not been followed since Washington’s presidency. The American Constitution states, in Article 1, Section 9, that “a regular Statement and Account of the Receipts and Expenditures of all public Money shall be published from time to time.” The act was passed along with the
Intelligence Oversight ActThe Intelligence Oversight Act of 1980 is a United States federal law that amended the Hughes-Ryan Act and requires United States government agencies to report covert actions to the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence and the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence . The previous...
of 1980, which allowed
CongressThe United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States of America, consisting of two houses, the Senate and the House of Representatives. Both senators and representatives are chosen through direct election....
and members of the agency to be included in important decisions and operations carried out by the Central Intelligence Agency. The
Intelligence Authorization Act was also an attempt to limit the authority and secrecy within the Central Intelligence Agency regarding foreign and domestic affairs.
Provisions of the 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. Therefore, the Intelligence Authorization Act also publicized the president’s involvement in both foreign affairs and special actions within the CIA. 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.
Intelligence Authorization Act of fiscal year 1993 called for a revision of the structure of the Agency. The
National Intelligence CouncilThe National Intelligence Council is the center for midterm and long-term strategic thinking within the United States Intelligence Community . It was formed in 1979...
was developed so that the DCI could have overall authority on what was suggested in the reports given to Congress. The seats in Council were filled with members of the community who held senior positions with budgetary analysis backgrounds. The 1993 revision also cemented the DCI’s position regarding international affairs within the community as well as the United States’ foreign policies. The
United States Secretary of DefenseThe United States Secretary of Defense is the head of the U.S. Department of Defense , concerned with the armed services and military matters. This position roughly corresponds to Minister of defense in other countries...
must consult the DCI before hiring new members of intelligence agencies.
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 IntelligenceThe Office of United States Director of Central Intelligence was established by U.S. President Harry Truman on January 23 1946 with Admiral Sidney Souers occupying the position...
. Reports on counter terrorist actions, as well as gaps within the agency must be submitted to Congress.
Attempts have been made to revise the Act in order to make the agency’s budget spending available to the American public.
CongressThe United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States of America, consisting of two houses, the Senate and the House of Representatives. Both senators and representatives are chosen through direct election....
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. 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. The simplest explanation is that after reviewing the budget reports, citizens would realize how much money is going into the agency and would protest in order to lower budgetary allowances.
History
The Act, first passed in 1991, it has been suggested, was an indirect result of the scandals that were present during the Nixon Administration as well as abuses during the
Reagan AdministrationThe United States Presidency of Ronald Reagan, also known as the Reagan Administration, was a Republican administration headed by Ronald Reagan from January 20, 1981 to January 20, 1989. Reagan was the first U.S. president since Dwight D...
. Following
Richard NixonRichard Milhous Nixon was the 37th President of the United States and is the only president to resign the office. He was also the 36th Vice President of the United States ....
’s impeachment, Congress reacted by passing a number of bills to strengthen their authority regarding domestic and foreign operations within the CIA.
Following the impeachment of Nixon, the American Congress grew increasingly skeptical of the secret dealings of the President. 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. 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.
The proceeding revisions have resulted in greater authority of the
Director of Central IntelligenceThe Office of United States Director of Central Intelligence was established by U.S. President Harry Truman on January 23 1946 with Admiral Sidney Souers occupying the position...
(DCI). Ultimate authority lies in the hands of Congress and can be displayed using two main actions. Much of the funding provided by Congress must be spent and publicized by the end of the fiscal year. This prevents the CIA from becoming involved in overly expensive operations. Congress is also the main decision maker regarding covert actions and can reject the funding of operations supported by the CIA, such as their attempt to overthrow the
NicaraguanNicaraguans are people inhabiting in, originating or having significant heritage from Nicaragua. Most Nicaraguans live in Nicaragua, although there is also a significant Nicaraguan diaspora, particularly in Costa Rica and the United States with smaller communities in other countries around the world...
government in 1982.