LETTER TO HONORABLE JOHN L. MCCLELLAN, CHAIRMAN FROM W. E. COLBY

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP75B00380R000700040005-0
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 2
• Document Creation Date: December 16, 2016
• Document Release Date: May 19, 2005
• Sequence Number: 5
• Publication Date: August 14, 1974
• Content Type: LETTER

Approved For Release 2005/06/06 : CIA-RDP75B0038OR000700040005-0
CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20505
14 August 1974
Honorable John L. McClellan, Chairman
Committee on Appropriations
United States Senate
Washington, D. C. 20510
Dear Mr. Chairman:
I have read with much interest your remarks on the floor of the
Senate on 5 August 1974 regarding section 406 of the appropriation for
the Department of Housing and Urban Development and other agencies
(H. R. 15572). That section would prohibit the transfer or expenditure
of funds, appropriated by that bill, to the Central Intelligence Agency.
I share your concern over the inclusion of such language in the bill.
I was impressed by your statement that since there were no funds
in H. R. 15572 for CIA and since it had been made clear that the only bill
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was also brought out in that debate that the Director of the Office of
Management and Budget and representatives of the various agencies who
testified on the bill had indicated that there were no funds in the bill for
the use of CIA.
Section 406, as reported, states that, "No funds appropriated by
this Act may be transferred to or expended by or on behalf of the Central
Intelligence Agency. " The language of this provision is so broad that it
would preclude all transfers of funds from those agencies specified in the
bill to CIA including transfers under the authority of the Economy Act of
1932, as amended. As you know, the Economy Act authorizes the direct
transfer of funds either by advance or by reimbursement when procurement,
contracting, services, or facilities can be provided more cheaply by one
organ of Government than another.
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This Agency, like. other Government departments, transfers to
and receives from other agencies a considerable amount of money each
year under the provisions of the Economy Act in order to effect the
efficiency and economy envisioned by that Act. If language similar to
section 406 were to be included in every appropriation bill, this Agency
and the agencies receiving the appropriations under those bills would be
precluded from effecting the economy in Government which I believe we
all support. I believe it is manifestly wrong--and in fact discriminatory--
to prohibit this Agency and those agencies who wish to utilize the services
and other facilities of CIA which are authorized under the Economy Act
from effecting the savings and efficiency provided under that Act. Of
course, any utilization of the Economy Act authority would still be subject
to the provisions of the National Security Act of 1947, as amended, which
states' that CIA shall have no police, subpoena, law-enforcement powers,
or internal-security functions.
Since H. R. 15572 has been recommitted to the Appropriations
Committee, I strongly recommend that section 406 be stricken from
the bill.
Distribution:
Orig.' - Addressee
1 - DCI
1 - DDCI
I - ER
1 - OGC
1 -.OLC subj.
1 - O LC chrono
Sincerely,
Signed
W. E. Colby
Director
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