Spending levels at 16 intelligence agencies are currently treated as classified information
WASHINGTON DC (February 12th, 2014)— Led by Rep. Peter Welch (D-VT) and Rep. Cynthia Lummis (R-WY), a bipartisan group of 62 House lawmakers sent a letter today to President Obama calling on him to disclose in his fiscal year 2015 budget the top line spending levels at the 16 federal agencies known to conduct intelligence activities. The President is expected to deliver his budget to Congress on March 4.
According to the lawmakers, “The current practice of providing no specificity whatsoever regarding the overall budget requests for each intelligence agency falls woefully short of basic accountability requirements… As you develop your fiscal year 2015 budget, we strongly urge you to take a simple step toward much needed transparency by including the total amount requested for each of the sixteen intelligence agencies. We believe the top line number for each agency should be made public, with no risk to national security, for comparative purposes across all federal government agencies.”
On August 19, 2013, The Washington Post reported on documents leaked by Edward Snowden that provide taxpayers a first ever look at intelligence spending levels. The documents revealed, among other things, that the NSA had received a 54 percent increase in its budget over the past 10 years.
The lawmakers’ letter embodies a recommendation made by the 9/11 Commission. Former Rep. Lee Hamilton, the Commission’s vice chairman and former chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, endorsed their effort. According to Hamilton, “America needs competent and effective intelligence gathering agencies. And Congress must exercise prudent and diligent oversight to assure the American taxpayer is getting what it’s paying for. The first step toward accountability and oversight is public disclosure of the top-line budget numbers of all our intelligence gathering agencies.”
Reps. Lummis and Welch have also introduced bipartisan legislation, The Intelligence Budget Transparency Act (H.R.3855), that would require the disclosure of top line intelligence agency budget numbers. The legislation has 60 cosponsors.
February 12th, 2014
The Honorable Barack Obama
President of the United States
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500
Dear Mr. President:
Ensuring America’s national security requires professional and competent intelligence agencies to perform this vital mission. But the urgency of the mission assigned to the sixteen agencies charged with this responsibility should not shield them from budget accountability and transparency. In fact, the urgency of their mission makes the need for transparency greater in order to assure Congress and the American people of the quality and effectiveness of their work.
As the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States (9/11 Commission Report) states, “when even aggregate categorical numbers remain hidden, it is hard to judge priorities and foster accountability.” The current practice of providing no specificity whatsoever regarding the overall budget requests for each intelligence agency falls woefully short of basic accountability requirements.
In August, the Washington Post reported for the first time on the spending levels of individual intelligence agencies. This report provided a small but important window into the previously secret intelligence budget. For example, it revealed that the Central Intelligence Agency received a 56 percent increase in its budget over the past 10 years while the National Security Agency received a 54 percent increase.
As you develop your fiscal year 2015 budget, we strongly urge you to take a simple step toward much needed transparency by including the total amount requested for each of the sixteen intelligence agencies. We believe the top line number for each agency should be made public, with no risk to national security, for comparative purposes across all federal government agencies. Congress and the American people will be better served by knowing this basic information.
Mr. President, we understand you will soon implement a series of reforms regarding intelligence gathering, reporting and judicial review. Providing basic information about the intelligence budget in your fiscal year 2015 budget request would be a further step in the right direction and is wholly consistent with the recommendations made by the 9/11 Commission Report.
Sincerely,
Peter Welch (D-VT)
Cynthia Lummis (R-WY)
Jim Sensenbrenner (R-WI)
David Price (D-NC)
Luis Gutiérrez (D-IL)
Jim Jordan (R-OH)
Chris Van Hollen (D-MD)
Adam Smith (D-WA)
John Conyers (D-MI)
Keith Ellison (D-MN)
Julia Brownley (D-CA)
Justin Amash (R-MI)
Louis Gohmert (R-TX)
Andy Harris (R-MD)
Tim Huelskamp (R-KS)
Thomas Massie (R-KY)
Mick Mulvaney (R-SC)
Todd Rokita (R-IN)
Ted Yoho (R-FL)
John Carney (D-DE)
Wm. Lacy Clay (D-MO)
Barbara Lee (D-CA)
Jim McGovern (D-MA)
Earl Blumenauer (D-OR)
Ted Poe (R-TX)
Michael Burgess (R-TX)
Scott DesJarlais (R-TN)
Paul Tonko (D-NY)
Anna Eshoo (D-CA)
Rick Nolan (D-MN)
Peter DeFazio (D-OR)
Rick Larsen (D-WA)
Colleen Hanabusa (D-HI)
Beto O’Rourke (D-TX)
Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC)
Rush Holt (D-NJ)
Walter Jones (R-NC)
Mike Honda (D-CA)
Alan Grayson (D-FL)
Reid Ribble (R-WI)
Zoe Lofgren (D-CA)
Kathy Castor (D-FL)
Bobby Rush (D-IL)
David Cicilline (D-RI)
John Yarmuth (D-KY)
Steve Cohen (D-TN)
Jared Huffman (D-CA)
Suzan DelBene (D-WA)
Bill Pascrell (D-NJ)
Trey Gowdy (R-SC)
Raúl Labrador (R-ID)
Lee Terry (R-NE)
Kevin Yoder (R-KS)
Don Young (R-AK)
John Garamendi (D-CA)
Sam Farr (D-CA)
Stephen Lynch (D-MA)
Ed Perlmutter (D-CO)
Richard Neal (D-MA)
Chris Gibson (R-NY)
Steve Daines (R-MT)
Kevin Cramer (R-ND)
The bill would apply to at least the following 16 agencies known to receive taxpayer funding for intelligence activities:
Air Force Intelligence
Army Intelligence
Central Intelligence Agency
Coast Guard Intelligence
Defense Intelligence Agency
Department of Energy
Department of Homeland Security
Department of State
Department of the Treasury
Drug Enforcement Administration
Federal Bureau of Investigation
Marine Corps Intelligence
National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency
National Reconnaissance Office
National Security Agency
Navy Intelligence
#####
Ryan Nickel
Communications Director, Rep. Peter Welch (VT-At Large)
(202) 225 4115
