COMMENTS ON S. 1935 (SENATOR PROXMIRE'S PROPOSED AMENDMENTS TO SECTION 102 OF THE NATIONAL SECURITY ACT OF 1947, AS AMENDED)

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP75B00380R000500400024-1
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 3
• Document Creation Date: December 15, 2016
• Document Release Date: November 17, 2003
• Sequence Number: 24
• Content Type: SUMMARY

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COMMENTS ON S. 1935
(Senator Proxmire's Proposed Amendments to
Section 102 of the National Security Act of
1947, as Amended)
General Comments
It is difficult, if not impossible, to legislate morality which seems
to be Senator Proxmire's goal especially in subsection (C) of his amendments
which would preclude the Agency from engaging in "any illegal activity within
the United States. " Second, as pointed out in a recent editorial in the
Philadelphia Inquirer, it seems rather useless to attempt to pass a law
forbiding the Central Intelligence Agency from doing what it is already forbidden
to do, that is, exercising any "police-type" law enforcement or internal
security operations. Third, Several of Senator Proxmire's provisions
(especially subsections (B) and (D) are unconstitutional since they pre-
clude certain activities unless specifically authorized by committees of the
Congress.
Distinction Between Domestic Activities on the one Hand and
Internal Security and Law Enforcement on the Other.
There is nothing in the National Security Act of 1947 or the
Central Intelligence Act of 1949 which precludes the Agency from performing
activities merely because they are carried on within the United States. In
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their anxiety to level criticism at the Agency some persons have jumped
to the conclusion that CIA is precluded by law from engaging in any activities
within the United States. The existing law places no such restrictions on
the Agency. Furthermore, if the Agency were precluded from engaging in
any domestic activities it would be impossible for it to carry out a number of
foreign intelligence activities which it is specifically directed to perform
under the law. In addition, it would make it impossible for the Director of
Central Intelligence to carry out the responsibility placed upon him for the
protection of intelligence sources and methodssfor such a responsibility
necessarily includes the conduct of investigations of security leaks and other
matters within the U. S.
Foreign Intelligence Function.
If it is Senator Proxmire's intention to limit CIA's domestic
activities to those matters directly related to its foreign intelligence
functions (which we feel is the intention of existing law), this could be
accomplished by amending Section 102(d) of the National Security Act of
1947 to read as follows:
11(d)
"(1) to advise the National Security Council in matters concerning
such foreign intelligence activities of the Government departments
and agencies as relate to national security;
"(2) to make recommendations to the National Security Council for
the coordination of such foreign intelligence activities of the depart-
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menu and agencies of the Government as relate to the national
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"(3) to correlate and evaluate foreign intelligence relating to the
national security, and provide for the appropriate dissemination of
such intelligence within the Government using where appropriate
existing agencies and facilities; Provided, That the Agency shall
have no police, subpoena, law-enforcement powers, or internal-
security functions: Provided further, That the departments and
other agencies of the Government shall continue to collect, evaluate,
correlate, and disseminate departmental intelligence: And provided
further, That the Director of Central Intelligence shall be respon-
sible for protecting foreign intelligence sources and methods from
unauthorized disclosure,
"(4) to perform, for the benefit of the existing foreign intelligence
agencies, such additional services of common concern as the National
Security Council determines can be more efficiently accomplished
centrally;
"(5) to perform such other functions and duties related to foreign
intelligence affecting the national security as the National Security
Council may from time to time direct. "
Specific Comments by Section Are Contained in Attachment "A "
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