LETTER TO HONORABLE MELVIN PRICE FROM STANSFIELD TURNER

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP81M00980R003200090073-8
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 2
• Document Creation Date: December 19, 2016
• Sequence Number: 73
• Content Type: LETTER

Approved For Release 2006/08/1.0. CIA-RDP81 M00980R0032000V6t
Central Intel ligence Agency
asT ington, D. C. 20515
Honorable Melvin P ices Chairman
Committee med Servicgs%
Dear Mr. Chairman:,
PLC 77-2119
This letter is in response to your request for the views and
comments of the Central Intelligence Agency on H. R. 747, H. R.
4173, H. R. 6051 and H. R. 6195, bills that would amend the charter
for the CIA and place limitations on foreign intelligence activities
conducted by the Government. At the time I received your request
earlier this year, I deferred providing substantive comments on
these bills, in light of the ongoing review of our intelligence charter
in the Executive Branch and with the Congress. Although the critical
and complex considerations involved in this review remain under active
consideration, I would like to apprise you of my interest in this legis-
lation and offer some very general views on these matters.
It is my firm belief that the Government must retain its ability
to collect, analyze and disseminate foreign intelligence to policy
makers. This capability is an absolutely essential element of the
process whereby national defense and foreign relations policies are _
formulated and implemented. To do this, we must be able to collect
foreign intelligence in a clandestine manner, not only during wartime
but more importantly, during peacetime. In large part the very capability
to gather foreign intelligence exists to prevent the country from finding
itself drawn into a situation in which international conflict would be
unavoidable.
It is also important to bear in mind that the National Foreign
Intelligence Program supports a wide variety of essential Government
functions relating to foreign military, political and economic matters,
such as arms limitation verification and world energy resources. The
Government's needs in these and other areas, where vital information
is often not available openly, require the maintenance of a continued
capability to engage in covert collection activities. The existence of
a ' central" intelligence authority--the Central Intelligence Agency--is,
in my view, essential to the proper and efficient functioning of this.
mechanism.
MORUCI
 Approved For Release 2006/08/10: CIA-RDP81 M00980R003200090073-
I anticipate that the broad range of issues relating to the Natiional
Foreign Intelligence Program and legislative oversight, including
the ba;3ic issues addressed by these bills, will be considered in some
detail by the Executive Branch and the Congress during the second
session of the 95th Congress. In the meantime, I hope the thoughts
I have. included in this letter will assist in consideration of any legis-
lation relating to foreign intelligence with which your Committee might
be concerned. I appreciate having had the opportunity to provide my
views on these very important matters. -
The Office of Management and Budget has advised there is no
objection to the submission of this report from the standpoint of the
Administration's program.
Yours sincerely,
STANSFIELD TURNER
Distribution:
`_. .'Orig.- Addressee....
,:1=:- ADCI
k 14 -':A/DDCI.
1-#R
_ I : - IC Staff :-
Z -; ?IFAC.
I - SA/DO/O
J - DDA 1..- DDS&T _uy
IG
Cor pt
1' OLC Subject,
OLC Chrono
- OLC OPiB Liaison
? OLC:RLB:sm (26.Oct:77)