House inaction dooms fiscal 2010 intelligence bill
An intelligence authorization bill has not been enacted since 2005.
The House will finish its special session Tuesday without taking up the fiscal 2010 intelligence authorization bill, all but assuring it will never see the light of day.
Key aides viewed Tuesday as the last realistic chance for lawmakers to pass the bill, which authorizes programs and spending for the nation's intelligence agencies. Negotiations over provisions are continuing but the focus will now likely shift to preparing the fiscal 2011 intelligence authorization bill, one aide said.
An intelligence authorization bill has not been enacted since 2005.
"As we are so close to the end of the fiscal year the prudent thing to do is move to fiscal 2011," the aide said. "But, yes, it means another year without a bill enacted."
House Speaker Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., refused to allow the fiscal 2010 bill to advance in her chamber because of language in the Senate version that would change the process under which lawmakers are informed about covert spy activities.
The language was negotiated by Senate Intelligence Committee Chairwoman Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., and the White House, with participation by House Intelligence Committee hairman Rep. Silvestre Reyes, D-Texas. The language was rolled into a revised fiscal 2010 bill, which the Senate approved last week. Aides hoped that Senate action would put political pressure on Pelosi to move the bill Tuesday.
But Pelosi does not believe the language is sufficient because it would not guarantee that every member of the House and Senate intelligence panels could be briefed about covert activities.
"The House will not take up the Senate bill today," a Democratic leadership aide said. "The speaker is still concerned about the lack of notification to all members of the intelligence committee."
The negotiated deal would keep intact the Gang of Eight process, under which only the top Democrat and Republican in the House and Senate and on the House and Senate intelligence panels are briefed about covert activities.
But under the agreement, all intelligence agency heads must make an affirmative certification on an annual basis that their agencies have fully complied with statutory notification requirements.
Additionally, covert action findings and notifications must be provided to the intelligence committees in writing, along with the rationale for why all members of intelligence committees cannot be briefed.
Key aides believe that many of the provisions in the fiscal 2010 bill can be carried over to the fiscal 2011 measure, as they are not wedded to enacting changes in a specific fiscal year. But the issue of expanding notification to all members of the intelligence committees could remain an obstacle to advancing an fiscal 2011 bill, one aide said. That aide noted there is a new director of national intelligence, retired Air Force Lt. Gen. James Clapper, since the fiscal 2010 bill was written. It remains to be seen if Clapper wants changes to the authorization provisions, the aide said.