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· Too complex and secret. Over the decades, the agencies and the rules sur-
rounding the intelligence community have accumulated to a depth
that practically defies public comprehension.There are now 15 agen-
cies or parts of agencies in the intelligence community.The commu-
nity and the DCI's authorities have become arcane matters,
understood only by initiates after long study. Even the most basic
information about how much money is actually allocated to or within
the intelligence community and most of its key components is
shrouded from public view.
The current DCI is responsible for community performance but lacks the three
authorities critical for any agency head or chief executive officer: (1) control
over purse strings, (2) the ability to hire or fire senior managers, and (3) the
ability to set standards for the information infrastructure and personnel.
8
The only budget power of the DCI over agencies other than the CIA lies
in coordinating the budget requests of the various intelligence agencies into a
single program for submission to Congress.The overall funding request of the
15 intelligence entities in this program is then presented to the president and
Congress in 15 separate volumes.
When Congress passes an appropriations bill to allocate money to intelli-
gence agencies, most of their funding is hidden in the Defense Department in
order to keep intelligence spending secret.Therefore, although the House and
Senate Intelligence committees are the authorizing committees for funding of
the intelligence community, the final budget review is handled in the Defense
Subcommittee of the Appropriations committees.Those committees have no
subcommittees just for intelligence, and only a few members and staff review
the requests.
The appropriations for the CIA and the national intelligence agencies--
NSA, NGA, and NRO--are then given to the secretary of defense.The sec-
retary transfers the CIA's money to the DCI but disburses the national
agencies' money directly. Money for the FBI's national security components
falls within the appropriations for Commerce, Justice, and State and goes to the
attorney general.
9
In addition,the DCI lacks hire-and-fire authority over most of the intelligence
community's senior managers. For the national intelligence agencies housed in
the Defense Department, the secretary of defense must seek the DCI's concur-
rence regarding the nomination of these directors, who are presidentially
appointed.But the secretary may submit recommendations to the president with-
out receiving this concurrence.The DCI cannot fire these officials.The DCI has
even less influence over the head of the FBI's national security component, who
is appointed by the attorney general in consultation with the DCI.
10
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