Senate moves to meet White House funding request for intelligence director

Negotiations are under way on a possible Senate floor amendment to the $80.6 billion fiscal 2005 emergency spending bill to restore full funding for President Bush's $250 million request for the new national intelligence director's office.

Senate Intelligence Chairman Pat Roberts, R-Kan., and ranking member John (Jay) Rockefeller, D-W.Va., are talking with Appropriations Committee members and others to add as much as $161 million to the bill for the intelligence measure, after appropriators slashed the Bush request to $89 million.

An Intelligence panel spokesman said that a final decision to offer an amendment had not been made but that the funding was necessary and backed by the House and White House.

Leaders of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee released a statement Wednesday urging full funding of the president's request.

A Statement of Administration Policy issued Tuesday criticized the Senate cut, arguing the full funding request is necessary for a facility to house the new DNI office to satisfy requirements of the intelligence law that the DNI not share office space with any other intelligence agency as of Oct. 1, 2008.