LETTER TO HONORABLE WILLIAM S. MOORHEAD, CHAIRMAN FROM W.E. COLBY

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP76M00527R000700130022-6
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 4
• Document Creation Date: December 9, 2016
• Document Release Date: January 31, 2001
• Sequence Number: 22
• Publication Date: April 29, 1974
• Content Type: LETTER

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CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20505
29 April 1974
I-Honorable William S. Moorhead, Chairman
Foreign Operations and Government Information Subcommittee
Committee on Government Operations
House of Representatives
Washington, D. C. 20515
Dear Mr. Chairman:
This is in reply to your letter dated 11 April 1974 requesting a
statement for the record on H. R. 12206, "To amend title 5, United States
Code, to provide that persons be apprised of records concerning them
which are maintained by Government agencies, " and on related bills
11. R. 13303 and H. R. 13872.
H. R. 12206 would add a new section 552a to title 5 of the United
States Code which would:
1. preclude an agency from providing any information
about an individual to any other agency. unless the individual
concerned is notified (paragraph (a) (1));
2. require an agency to maintainea record of the names
and addresses of all persons to whom such information was
provided (paragraph (a)(3));
3. permit any person to inspect his own record, to
have copies made thereof, and to supplement and correct
the record (paragraphs (a)(4) and (5));
4. require an agency to remove erroneous information
of any kind and notify all. agencies to whom the information
was disseminated (paragraph (a)(6));
5. exempt records that are specifically required by
Executive order to be kept secret in the interest of the
national defense and foreign policy (paragraph (b)(1));
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6. require an annual report to Congress on the number
of records so exempted (paragraph (c)); and
7. provide "Nothing in this section shall be construed
to permit transfer or similar distribution of any information
deemed confidential by other statutes. " (paragraph (g)).
While the other two bills are substantially similar to H. R. 12206,
H. R. 13872 also establishes a Federal Privacy Board to oversee the
implementation of the legislation and narrows the exemptions for records
kept secret for national defense and foreign policy reasons so that the
exemption applies only if disclosure would endanger military plans, reveal
military weaponry, or endanger the life of any person engaged in foreign
intelligence gathering operations of the United States Government.
The National Security Act of 1947 provides in part:
"(d) For the purpose of coordinating the intelligence
activities of the several Government departments and
agencies in the interest of national security, it shall
be the duty of the Agency, under the direction of the
National Security Council--
(3) to correlate and evaluate intelligence relating to
the national security, and provide.for the appropriate
dissemination of such intelligence within the Govern-
ment using where appropriate existing agencies and
facilities:. . . " (50 U. S. C. 403(d)(3)).
Under this provision it is the statutory responsibility of this Agency to
disseminate to other agencies foreign intelligence information on individuals
and to maintain related records. As currently written the proposed legis-
lation extends to all persons regardless of citizenship or domicile and would
appear to. apply to such dissemination and records. It is my hope that you
would agree that the dissemination of foreign intelligence information and
related records should be outside of the scope of the proposed legislation,
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The National Security Act of 1947 also provides in part that:
"(d)(3) . . . And provided further, That the Director
of Central Intelligence shall be responsible for
protecting intelligence sources and methods from
unauthorized disclosure; . . . " id ,
This language is viewed as explicit statutory authority for the security
classification of information relating to intelligence sources and i ethods
utilized by this Agency in connection with its foreign intelligence ~ re ponsi-
bilit:ics. Si:Lnilar explicit statutory authority exists with respect to
Communications Intelligence (18 U. S. C. 798) and atomic energy Restricted
Data (42 U. S. C. 2162). A paramount consideration is to protect lives,
as suggested in H. R. 13872, but it is also exceedingly important that
sensitive information vital to our national security not be compromised.
In the interest of resolving any possible statutory conflict, the
proposed legislation should specifically exempt records protected from
disclosure by statute. Moreover, since the mission of this Agency
exclusively relates to the field of foreign intelligence and our records
pertain to the fulfillment of that function, it is requested that this Agency
be specifically exempted from the proposed legislation. Recommended
language in the case of II. R. 12206 is enclosed.
Due to the deadline requested, this report was discussed in
general terms with the Office of Management and Budget but was not
formally cleared.
Since rely,
$'TGi i j
W. E. Colby
Director
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H. R. 12206
Insert at page 3, line 19, after the word "specifically" the words:
"protected by or pursuant to statute"
Insert at page 4, line 4, a new subsection:
11(3) maintained by the Central Intelligence Agency.
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