Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2000
Excerpts on Classification and Declassification
Congressional Record: November 5, 1999 (House) Page H11630-H11643 CONFERENCE REPORT ON H.R. 1555 Mr. GOSS submitted the following conference report and statement on the bill (H.R. 1555), to authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2000 for intelligence and intelligence-related activities of the United States Government, the Community Management Account, and the Central Intelligence Agency Retirement and Disability System, and for other purposes: Conference Report (H. Rept. 106-457) The committee of conference on the disagreeing votes of the two Houses on the amendment of the Senate to the bill (H.R. 1555), to authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2000 for intelligence and intelligence-related activities of the United States Government, the Community Management Account, and the Central Intelligence Agency Retirement and Disability System, and for other purposes, having met, after full and free conference, have agreed to recommend and do recommend to their respective Houses as follows: That the House recede from its disagreement to the amendment of the Senate and agree to the same with an amendment as follows: In lieu of the matter proposed to be inserted by the Senate amendment, insert the following: [...] SEC. 304. PROTECTION OF IDENTITY OF RETIRED COVERT AGENTS. (a) In General.--Section 606(4)(A) of the National Security Act of 1947 (50 U.S.C. 426(4)(A)) is amended-- (1) by striking "an officer or employee" and inserting "a present or retired officer or employee"; and (2) by striking "a member" and inserting "a present or retired member". (b) Prison Sentences for Violations.-- (1) Imposition of consecutive sentences.--Section 601 of the National Security Act of 1947 (50 U.S.C. 421) is amended by adding at the end the following new subsection: "(d) A term of imprisonment imposed under this section shall be consecutive to any other sentence of imprisonment.". (2) Technical amendments.--Such section 601 is further amended-- (A) in subsection (a), by striking "shall be fined not more than $50,000" and inserting "shall be fined under title 18, United States Code,"; (B) in subsection (b), by striking "shall be fined not more than $25,000" and inserting "shall be fined under title 18, United States Code,"; and (C) in subsection (c), by striking "shall be fined not more than $15,000" and inserting "shall be fined under title 18, United States Code,". [...] SEC. 308. DECLASSIFICATION REVIEW OF INTELLIGENCE ESTIMATE ON VIETNAM-ERA PRISONERS OF WAR AND MISSING IN ACTION PERSONNEL AND CRITICAL ASSESSMENT OF ESTIMATE. (a) Declassification Review.--Subject to subsection (b), the Director of Central Intelligence shall review for declassification the following: (1) National Intelligence Estimate 98-03 dated April 1998 and entitled "Vietnamese Intentions, Capabilities, and Performance Concerning the POW/MIA Issue". (2) The assessment dated November 1998 and entitled "A Critical Assessment of National Intelligence Estimate 98-03 prepared by the United States Chairman of the Vietnam War Working Group of the United States-Russia Joint Commission on POWs and MIAs". (b) Limitations.--The Director shall not declassify any text contained in the estimate or assessment referred to in subsection (a) which would-- (1) reveal intelligence sources and methods; or (2) disclose by name the identity of a living foreign individual who has cooperated with United States efforts to account for missing personnel from the Vietnam era. (c) Deadline.--The Director shall complete the declassification review of the estimate and assessment under subsection (a) not later than 30 days after the date of the enactment of this Act. SEC. 309. REPORT ON LEGAL STANDARDS APPLIED FOR ELECTRONIC SURVEILLANCE. (a) Report.--Not later than 60 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Director of Central Intelligence, the Director of the National Security Agency, and the Attorney General shall jointly prepare, and the Director of the National Security Agency shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees, a report in classified and unclassified form providing a detailed analysis of the legal standards employed by elements of the intelligence community in conducting signals intelligence activities, including electronic surveillance. (b) Matters Specifically Addressed.--The report shall specifically include a statement of each of the following legal standards: (1) The legal standards for interception of communications when such interception may result in the acquisition of information from a communication to or from United States persons. (2) The legal standards for intentional targeting of the communications to or from United States persons. (3) The legal standards for receipt from non-United States sources of information pertaining to communications to or from United States persons. (4) The legal standards for dissemination of information acquired through the interception of the communications to or from United States persons. (c) Definitions.--As used in this section: (1) The term "intelligence community" has the meaning given that term under section 3(4) of the National Security Act of 1947 (50 U.S.C. 401a(4)). (2) The term "United States persons" has the meaning given that term under section 101(i) of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 (50 U.S.C. 1801(i)). (3) The term "appropriate congressional committees" means the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence and the Committee on the Judiciary of the House of Representatives and the Select Committee on Intelligence and the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate. [...] SEC. 311. REPORT ON ACTIVITIES OF THE CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY IN CHILE. (a) In General.--By not later than 270 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Director of Central Intelligence shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees a report describing all activities of officers, covert agents, and employees of all elements in the intelligence community with respect to the following events in the Republic of Chile: (1) The assassination of President Salvador Allende in September 1973. (2) The accession of General Augusto Pinochet to the Presidency of the Republic of Chile. (3) Violations of human rights committed by officers or agents of former President Pinochet. (b) Definition.--In this section, the term "appropriate congressional committees" means the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence and the Committee on Appropriations of the House of Representatives and the Select Committee on Intelligence and the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate. [...] SEC. 313. REAFFIRMATION OF LONGSTANDING PROHIBITION AGAINST DRUG TRAFFICKING BY EMPLOYEES OF THE INTELLIGENCE COMMUNITY. (a) Finding.--Congress finds that longstanding statutes, regulations, and policies of the United States prohibit employees, agents, and assets of the elements of the intelligence community, and of every other Federal department and agency, from engaging in the illegal manufacture, purchase, sale, transport, and distribution of drugs. (b) Obligation of Employees of Intelligence Community.--Any employee of the intelligence community having knowledge of a fact or circumstance that reasonably indicates that an employee, agent, or asset of an element of the intelligence community is involved in any activity that violates a statute, regulation, or policy described in subsection (a) shall report such knowledge to an appropriate official. (c) Intelligence Community Defined.--In this section, the term "intelligence community" has the meaning given that term in section 3(4) of the National Security Act of 1947 (50 U.S.C. 401a(4)). SEC. 314. SENSE OF CONGRESS ON CLASSIFICATION AND DECLASSIFICATION. It is the sense of Congress that the systematic declassification of records of permanent historical value is in the public interest and that the management of classification and declassification by Executive branch agencies requires comprehensive reform and the dedication by the Executive branch of additional resources. [...] SEC. 501. PROTECTION OF OPERATIONAL FILES OF THE NATIONAL IMAGERY AND MAPPING AGENCY. (a) In General.--(1) Title I of the National Security Act of 1947 (50 U.S.C. 401 et seq.) is amended by inserting after section 105A (50 U.S.C. 403-5a) the following new section: "protection of operational files of the national imagery and mapping agency "Sec. 105B. (a) Exemption of Certain Operational Files From Search, Review, Publication, or Disclosure.--(1) The Director of the National Imagery and Mapping Agency, with the coordination of the Director of Central Intelligence, may exempt operational files of the National Imagery and Mapping Agency from the provisions of section 552 of title 5, United States Code, which require publication, disclosure, search, or review in connection therewith. "(2)(A) Subject to subparagraph (B), for the purposes of this section, the term 'operational files' means files of the National Imagery and Mapping Agency (hereinafter in this section referred to as 'NIMA') concerning the activities of NIMA that before the establishment of NIMA were performed by the National Photographic Interpretation Center of the Central Intelligence Agency (NPIC), that document the means by which foreign intelligence or counterintelligence is collected through scientific and technical systems. "(B) Files which are the sole repository of disseminated intelligence are not operational files. "(3) Notwithstanding paragraph (1), exempted operational files shall continue to be subject to search and review for information concerning-- "(A) United States citizens or aliens lawfully admitted for permanent residence who have requested information on themselves pursuant to the provisions of section 552 or 552a of title 5, United States Code; "(B) any special activity the existence of which is not exempt from disclosure under the provisions of section 552 of title 5, United States Code; or "(C) the specific subject matter of an investigation by any of the following for any impropriety, or violation of law, Executive order, or Presidential directive, in the conduct of an intelligence activity: "(i) The Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence of the House of Representatives. "(ii) The Select Committee on Intelligence of the Senate. "(iii) The Intelligence Oversight Board. "(iv) The Department of Justice. "(v) The Office of General Counsel of NIMA. "(vi) The Office of the Director of NIMA. "(4)(A) Files that are not exempted under paragraph (1) which contain information derived or disseminated from exempted operational files shall be subject to search and review. "(B) The inclusion of information from exempted operational files in files that are not exempted under paragraph (1) shall not affect the exemption under paragraph (1) of the originating operational files from search, review, publication, or disclosure. "(C) Records from exempted operational files which have been disseminated to and referenced in files that are not exempted under paragraph (1) and which have been returned to exempted operational files for sole retention shall be subject to search and review. "(5) The provisions of paragraph (1) may not be superseded except by a provision of law which is enacted after the date of the enactment of this section, and which specifically cites and repeals or modifies its provisions. "(6)(A) Except as provided in subparagraph (B), whenever any person who has requested agency records under section 552 of title 5, United States Code, alleges that NIMA has withheld records improperly because of failure to comply with any provision of this section, judicial review shall be available under the terms set forth in section 552(a)(4)(B) of title 5, United States Code. "(B) Judicial review shall not be available in the manner provided for under subparagraph (A) as follows: "(i) In any case in which information specifically authorized under criteria established by an Executive Order to be kept secret in the interests of national defense or foreign relations is filed with, or produced for, the court by NIMA, such information shall be examined ex parte, in camera by the court. "(ii) The court shall, to the fullest extent practicable, determine the issues of fact based on sworn written submissions of the parties. "(iii) When a complainant alleges that requested records are improperly withheld because of improper placement solely in exempted operational files, the complainant shall support such allegation with a sworn written submission based upon personal knowledge or otherwise admissible evidence. "(iv)(I) When a complainant alleges that requested records were improperly withheld because of improper exemption of operational files, NIMA shall meet its burden under section 552(a)(4)(B) of title 5, United States Code, by demonstrating to the court by sworn written submission that exempted operational files likely to contain responsible records currently perform the functions set forth in paragraph (2). "(II) The court may not order NIMA to review the content of any exempted operational file or [[Page H11634]] files in order to make the demonstration required under subclause (I), unless the complainant disputes NIMA's showing with a sworn written submission based on personal knowledge or otherwise admissible evidence. "(v) In proceedings under clauses (iii) and (iv), the parties may not obtain discovery pursuant to rules 26 through 36 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, except that requests for admissions may be made pursuant to rules 26 and 36. "(vi) If the court finds under this paragraph that NIMA has improperly withheld requested records because of failure to comply with any provision of this subsection, the court shall order NIMA to search and review the appropriate exempted operational file or files for the requested records and make such records, or portions thereof, available in accordance with the provisions of section 552 of title 5, United States Code, and such order shall be the exclusive remedy for failure to comply with this subsection. "(vii) If at any time following the filing of a complaint pursuant to this paragraph NIMA agrees to search the appropriate exempted operational file or files for the requested records, the court shall dismiss the claim based upon such complaint. "(viii) Any information filed with, or produced for the court pursuant to clauses (i) and (iv) shall be coordinated with the Director of Central Intelligence prior to submission to the court. "(b) Decennial Review of Exempted Operational Files.--(1) Not less than once every ten years, the Director of the National Imagery and Mapping Agency and the Director of Central Intelligence shall review the exemptions in force under subsection (a)(1) to determine whether such exemptions may be removed from the category of exempted files or any portion thereof. The Director of Central Intelligence must approve any determination to remove such exemptions. "(2) The review required by paragraph (1) shall include consideration of the historical value or other public interest in the subject matter of the particular category of files or portions thereof and the potential for declassifying a significant part of the information contained therein. "(3) A complainant that alleges that NIMA has improperly withheld records because of failure to comply with this subsection may seek judicial review in the district court of the United States of the district in which any of the parties reside, or in the District of Columbia. In such a proceeding, the court's review shall be limited to determining the following: "(A) Whether NIMA has conducted the review required by paragraph (1) before the expiration of the ten-year period beginning on the date of the enactment of this section or before the expiration of the 10-year period beginning on the date of the most recent review. "(B) Whether NIMA, in fact, considered the criteria set forth in paragraph (2) in conducting the required review.". (2) The table of contents contained in the first section of such Act is amended by inserting after the item relating to section 105A the following new item: "Sec. 105B. Protection of operational files of the National Imagery and Mapping Agency.". (b) Treatment of Certain Transferred Records.--Any record transferred to the National Imagery and Mapping Agency from exempted operational files of the Central Intelligence Agency covered by section 701(a) of the National Security Act of 1947 (50 U.S.C. 431(a)) shall be placed in the operational files of the National Imagery and Mapping Agency that are established pursuant to section 105B of the National Security Act of 1947, as added by subsection (a). [...]JOINT EXPLANATORY STATEMENT OF THE COMMITTEE OF CONFERENCE The managers on the part of the Senate and the House at the conference on the disagreeing votes of the two Houses on the amendment of the Senate to the bill (H.R. 1555) to authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2000 for intelligence and the intelligence-related activities of the United States Government, the Community Management Account, and the Central Intelligence Agency Retirement and Disability System, and for other purposes, submit the following joint statement to the Senate and [[Page H11639]] the House in explanation of the effect of the action agreed upon by the managers and recommended in the accompanying conference report: [...] sec. 104. intelligence community management account Section 104 of the conference report authorizes appropriations for the Community Management Account for the Director of Central Intelligence and sets the personnel end- strength for the Intelligence Community Management Staff for fiscal year 2000. Subsection (a) authorizes appropriations of $170,672,000 for fiscal year 2000 for the activities of the Community Management Account (CMA) of the Director of Central Intelligence. The House bill and the Senate amendment were nearly identical. The Senate amendment, however, contained a provision earmarking funds from the CMA for the Information Security Oversight Office (ISOO). The House bill did not include a similar provision. The House recedes to the Senate position with a modification. The managers have agreed to delete the provision earmarking Community Management funds for the ISOO. The managers agree that authorizing funds from the CMA for the ISOO is an inappropriate allocation of intelligence community funds. [...] sec. 304. protection of identity of retired covert agents The House bill contained a similar provision. The Senate amendment did not. The Senate recedes to the House with a modification replacing the mandatory minimum sentencing provision in the House bill with a provision specifying that terms of imprisonment imposed under the section shall be served consecutively to any other sentence of imprisonment. [...] Sec. 308. declassification review of intelligence estimate on vietnam- era prisoners of war and missing in action personnel and critical assessment of estimate The Senate amendment contained a similar provision. the House bill did not. the House recedes to the Senate position. sec. 309. report on legal standards applied for electronic surveillance The House bill and Senate amendment contained similar provisions. The Senate recedes to the House provision with a modification. [...] sec. 311. report on activities of the central intelligence agency in chile Section 311 requires the Director of Central Intelligence to submit a report to the appropriate committees of Congress no later than nine months after this Act is enacted describing all activities of officers, covert agents, and employees of all elements in the intelligence community with respect to the assassination of President Salvador Allende in September 1973; the accession of General Augusto Pinochet to the Presidency of the Republic of Chile; and, violations of human rights committed by officers or agents of former President Pinochet. The conferees note that the National Security Council on February 1, 1999, directed the Departments of State, Justice, and Defense; the Central Intelligence Agency; and the National Archives to compile and review for public release all documents that shed light on human rights abuses, terrorism, and other acts of political violence during and prior to the Pinochet era in Chile. In addition, the conferees note that the Department of Justice is conducting a search for documents pertaining to the requests of the Spanish court investigating the abuses of the Pinochet regime. The managers expect the appropriate committees of Congress, as set forth in this section, to be given access to the documents responsive to these two searches, whether classified or publicly released. Section 311 is similar to Section 306(a) of the House bill but provides additional time for the submission of the report. [...] sec. 313. reaffirmation of longstanding prohibition against drug trafficking by employees of the intelligence community The House bill contained a similar provision. The Senate amendment did not. The Senate recedes to the House position with a modification upon the insistence of the Senate. sec. 314. sense of congress on classification and declassification The Senate amendment contained a similar provision. The House bill did not. The House recedes to the Senate position. [...] sec. 501. protection of operational files of the national imagery and mapping agency The House bill contained a similar provision. The Senate amendment did not. The Senate recedes to the House position, with a modification making this amendment to title 50, United States Code, rather than in title 10, United States Code. [...]