LETTER TO HONORABLE JOHN C. STENNIS FROM W. E. COLBY

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP77M00144R000800060006-5
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 13
• Document Creation Date: December 12, 2016
• Document Release Date: December 7, 2001
• Sequence Number: 6
• Publication Date: March 28, 1975
• Content Type: LETTER

OLC 75-0149/b
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WASHINGTON, D.C. 20505 1Executive Registry
2 8 MAR 1975
Honorable John C. Stennis, Chairman
Committee on Armed Services
United States Senate
Washington, D. C. 20510
Dear Mr. Chairman:
This is in response to your request for our recommendations
on S. 99, which would establish a Joint Committee on National Security,
The proposed Joint Committee would be composed of twenty--five
members, including the Senate and House leadership, appropriate
committee leadership, and six other members of Congress as designated
by the leadership. The function of the Joint Committee would be to study
and review: (a) the activities, goals, and strategies of the National
Security Council; (b) whether the foreign, domestic, and military policies
of the United States are appropriately integrated in furtherance of national
security; (c) whether the activities, charters, and organizations of U. S.
intelligence agencies are consistent with national security requirements;
and (d) Government classification and declassification practices, and to
make recommendations regarding these practices, if warranted.
As you know, I have consistently taken the position that the
manner in which congressional oversight of this Agency is exercised is
a matter for Congress itself to determine, but I do note that to the extent
S. 99 involves a review of CIA activities, it overlaps the oversight now
being performed by several committees of both houses, including the
Subcommittee on Central Intelligence which you chair. Consistent with
the responsibility imposed upon me by the National Security Act of 1947,
I do want to urge that the Congress, in effecting any change in oversight,
take the necessary steps to protect intelligence sources and methods from
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unauthorized disclosure. I believe limiting oversight to the minimum
number of committees required to effectively conduct it will substantially
contribute to the protection of those sources and methods.
The Office of Management and Budget advises there is no objection
to the submission of this report from the standpoint of the Administration's
program.
Sincerely,
' E. CCelb
W. E. Colby
Director
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 ? E:.e~lTSwa ite i3tZy
JOHN C. STENNIS, MISS., CHAIRMAN
S UART YMIN oONAI~aorovJe6F-IrRPced se 2002/01/02 : CIA-RDP77M00144R000800060006-5""'"?~ ~--~
EN M. SAM J. ERVIN_ JR. N_(`_ orrre u nn .......... ..... .. .. ,
HOWARD --W. CANNON, NEV.
THOMAS J. MC INTYRE, N.H.
HARRY F. BYRD, JR., VA.
HAROLD E. HUGHES, IOWA
SAM NUNN GA.
BARRY GOLDWATER, ARIZ.
WILLIAM L. SCOTT, VA.
ROBERT TAFT, JR., OHIO
J Cnff eb , 1of ez zenaf e
COMMITTEE ON ARMED SERVICES
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20510
Honorable William E. Colby
Director of Central Intelligence
Central Intelligence Agency
Washington, D. C.
Enclosed herewith is a copy of S. 99, a bill now pending
before this Committee, which is referred to you for consideration.
It will be appreciated if you will submit to this Committee
four copies of the recommendations of your Department with
reference to this legislation.
John .;C, Stennis
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94TIl CONGRESS
1sT Sri ssiox
S.99
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
JANUARY 15,1975
Mr. IIUNrrJRTY introduced the following bill; which was read twice and
referred to the Committee on Armed Services
A BILL
To establish a Joint Committee on National Security.
1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
3 'That the 'Congress declares that-
4 (1) it has been vested with responsibility under
5 the Constitution to assist in the formulation of the for-
6 eign, domestic, and military policies of the United
States ;
(2) such policies are directly related to the security
of the United States;
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1 (3) the integration of such policies promotes our
2 national security; and
(4) the National Security Council was established
4 by the National Security Act of 1947 as. a means of
5 integrating such policies and furthering the national
6 security.
7 The Congress further declares that the integration of
8 such policies and furthering the national. security also require
9 oversight and monitoring by the Congress of activities of
10 the intelligence agencies of the United States.
11 2. (a) In order to enable tiie Congress to more
12 effectively carry out its constitutional responsibility in the
13 formulation of foreign, domestic, and military policies of the
14 United States and in order to provide, the . Congress with
15 an improved means for formulating legislation and provid-
16 ing for the integration of such policies which will further
17 promote the security of the United States, there is estab-
18 lished a joint committee of the Congress which shall be
19 known as the Joint Committee on National Security, here-
20 after referred to as the "joint committee". The joint com-
21 mittee shall be composed of twenty-five Members of Con-
22 gress as follows :
23 (1) the Speaker of the House of Representatives;
24 (2) the majority and minority leaders of the Senate
25 and the House of Representatives;
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1 (3) the chairmen and ranking minority members
2 of the Senate Committee on Appropriations, the Senate
3 Committee on Armed Services, the Senate Committee
4 on Foreign Relations, and the Joint Committee on
5 Atomic Energy;
6 (4) the chairmen and ranking minority members
7 of the House Appropriations Committee, the House
8 Armed Services Committee, and the House Foreign
Affairs Committee;
(5) three Members of the Senate appointed by
11 the President of the Senate, two of whom shall be
1.2 members of the majority party and one of whom shall
13 be a member of the minority party;
14 (6) three Members of the House of Representa-
15 Lives appointed by the Speaker, two of whom shall be
16 members of the majority party and one of whom shall
17 be a member of the minority party.
18 (b) The joint committee shall select a chairman and
19 a vice chairman from among its members.
20 (c) Vacancies in the membership of the joint committee
21 shall not affect the power of the remaining members to
22 execute the functions of the joint committee and shall be
23 filled in the same xnanne 4s 14 the ;case of the original
tnleTit,
24 appom
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1 SEC. 3. (a) The joint committee shall have the follow-
2 ing functions :
3 (1) to make a continuing study of the foreign,
4 domestic, and military policies of the United States with
5 a view to determining whether and the extent to which
6 such policies are being appropriately integrated in fur-
7 therance of the national security;
8 (2) to conduct in a timely fashion a thorough re,
9 view and analysis of activities of the intelligence agencies
10 of the United States in order to determine whether their
11 charters, organization and operations are consistent with
12 the national security needs of the Government;
13 (3) to make a continuing study of the recommen-
14 dations and actions of the National Security Council
15 relating to such policies and activities, with particular
16 emphasis upon reviewing the goals, strategies, and al-
17 ternatives of such foreign policy considered by the
18 Council; and
19 (4) to make a continuing study of Government
20 practices and recommendations with respect to the clas-
21 sification and declassification of documents, and to rec-
22 ommend certain procedures to be implemented for the
23 classification and declassilacat:ion of such material.
24 (b) The joint committee shall make reports from time
25 to time (but not less than once each year) to the Senate and
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1 House of Representatives with respect to its studies. The re-
2 ports shall contain such findings, statements, and recom-
3 mendations as the joint committee considers appropriate.
4 SEC. 4. (a) The joint committee, or any subcommittee
5 thereof, is authorized, in its discretion (1) to make expendi-
6 tures, (2) to employ personnel, (3) to adopt rules respect-
7 ing its organization and procedures, (4) to hold hearings,
8 (5) to sit and act at any time or place, (6) to subpena wit-
9 nesses and documents, (7) with the prior consent of the
10 agency concerned, to use on a reimbursable basis the services
11 of personnel, information, and facilities of any such agency,
12 (8) to procure printing and binding, (9) to procure the
13 temporary services (not in excess of one year) or inter-
14 mittent services of individual consultants, or organizations
15 thereof, and to provide assistance for the training of its pro-
16 fessional staff, in the same manner and under the same con-
17 ditions as a standing committee of the Senate may procure
18 such ;services and provide such assistance under subsections
19 (1) and (j) , respectively, of section 202 of the Legislative
20 Reorganization Act of 1946, and (10) to take depositions
21 and other testimony. No rule shall be adopted by the joint
22 committee under clause (3) providing that a finding, state-
23 ment, recommendation, or report may be made by other than
24 a majority of the members of the joint committee then hold-
25 ing office.
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1 (b) Subpenas may be issued over the signature of the
2 chairman of the joint committee or by any member desig-
3 nated by him or the joint committee, and may be served by
4 such person as may be designated by such chairman or mem-
5 her. The chairman of the joint committee or any member
6 thereof may administer oaths to witnesses. The provisions of
,7 sections 1,02-104 of the Revised Statutes (2 U.S.C. 192-
8 194) shall apply in the case of any failure of any witness to
9 comply with a subpena or to testify when summoned under
10 authority of this section.
11 (c) With the consent of any standing, select, or special
12 committee of the Senate or House, or any subcommittee,
13 the joint committee may utilize the, services of any staff
14 member of such House or Senate committee or subcom-
18
19
20
23
24
mittee whenever the chairman of the joint committee deter-
mines that such. services are necessary and appropriate.
(d) The expenses of the joint committee shall be paid
from the contingent fund of the Senate from funds appro-
priated for the joint committee, upon vouchers signed by the
chairman of the joint committee or by any member of the
joint committee authorized by the chairman.
(e) Members of the joint committee, and its person-
nel, experts, and consultants, while traveling on official busi-
ness for the joint committee within or outside the United
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States, may receive either the per diem allowance author-
ized to be paid to Members of the Congress or its employees,
or their actual and necessary expenses if an itemized state-
ment of such expenses is attached to the voucher.
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 :0 UNCLASSI FJeroved Eg
OQO1N>Qot60006-5 ^ SECRET
ROUTING AND RECORD SHEET
SUBJECT: (Optional)
FROM:
EXTENSION
NO.
Legislative Counsel
7D49
DATE 25X
TO: (Officer designation, room number, and
DATE
building)
OFFICER'S
COMMENTS (Number each comment to show from whom
RECEIVED
FORWARDED
INITIALS
to whom. Draw a line across column after each comment.)
1.
Director
3
V"/
Attached for your signature
1
3 1~
6
is a
ro
osed res
onse t
p
p
p
o
the Senate Armed Services
L
Committee's request for
3,
our comments on S. 99, a
bill to establish a Joint
Committee on National
4.
Security. This is Senator
Humphrey's proposal. We
k
t
t
t i
h
l
5.
ma
e a s
a
emen
n t
e
etter
arguing against the
proliferation of oversight.
6.
This letter has been
coordinated with OGC.
7.
TATINTL
;
8.
eo
eL
Ca
.
L egislative Counsel
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
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