LEGISLATIVE PROGRAMS FOR THE SECOND SESSION OF THE NINETY-SIXTH CONGRESS

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP85-00759R000100190013-2
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 22
• Document Creation Date: December 12, 2016
• Document Release Date: June 4, 2002
• Sequence Number: 13
• Publication Date: August 2, 1979
• Content Type: MF

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is 79
RANDUM FOR: Legislative Counsel
ATTENTION: Chief, Legislative Division, OLC
James H. McDonald
Director of Logistics
SUBJECT: Legislative Programs for the Second
Session of the Ninety-Sixth Congress
1. This Office has no suggestions for new legislation
which would uniquely benefit the Office of Logistics. How-
ever, in view of the considerable Executive and Congressional
interest being given to dealing with the energy crisis, this
Agency may wish to promote its support of new legislation to
help deal with the crisis.
2. Some examples of actions which might be useful to
the Agency and its employees are:
a. Provide free Government transportation (or
at a reasonable fee) from central locations served
by mass transit to Agency buildings.
b. Permit Government to purchase vans for
lease to Government employees interested in forming
van pools.
c. Permit the use of official vehicles when
deemed justified for commuting.
3. The Washington Post of 29 July 1979 carried an article
by Jane Preunc 'ent3t ecl 'Tind a New Way to Get to Work Such
as Sharing a Ride in a Van," which indicated that California
State employees are permitted to use State vehicles for com-
muting. Such programs offer Federal employees positive incen-
tives to conserve energy.
OL 9 2662a
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SUBJECT: Legislative Programs for the Second Session of the
Ninety-Sixth Congress
It would seem that such actions have a greater chance of
achieving the conservation goals than some other measures,
such as paid parking by Government employees.
STATI NTIL
Jame s H. McDonald
Distribution:
Ori - Adse
- OL/P&PS (Official)
1 - OL/PEPS (Chrono)
1 - OL Files
1 - D/L Chrono
TATINTL OL/P&PS
TATINTL Retyped 0 DDL jhm (3 Aug 79)
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OLC 79-20B2
29 June 1979
STATINTILROM
ref, Legislation Division/OLC
SUBJECT Legislative Programs for the Second Session of
the Ninety-Sixth Congress
1. The Office of Management and Budget requires that the
head of each Federal agency submit a proposed legislative
program for Administration clearance each fall for the session
of Congress which begins the following January. This memorandum
initiates the process of formulating the Central Intelligence
Agency legislative program for the Second Session of the
Ninety-Sixth Congress and the Agency's contribution to the
Intelligence Community program that will also be submitted by
the DCI.
2. The following guidelines are provided to aid your
component in the preparation of proposals for inclusion in
these legislative programs:
--It is not necessary to repeat items in the
current legislative programs; i.e., Protection of
Intelligence Identities, Relief from the Freedom
of Information Act, Changes in the Hughes-Ryan
Amendment, Revised CIA Firearms Authority, Educa-
tional Travel Benefits, and Death Gratuities.
Items not accomplished this year will be carried
over.
--While the passage of Intelligence Charter
Legislation this year remains possible, the likelihood
is not great, and legislative proposals should be
premised on the proposition that Charter will still
be an issue in 1980.
s
)NTERNAL USE ONLY
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JNTE NAL USE ONLY
--It is not necessary to submit specific statutory
language, or to specify a statute to be amended. A
description of each problem or goal, accompanied by an
explanation of why it is thought that legislation is
necessary to solve or achieve it will be sufficient.
It would also be helpful to have an outline of testimony
to be presented in support of each proposal, and an
indication of any potential problems (e.g., security,
cover, etc.) in pursuing a suggestion through the
legislative process.
--All suggestions should also be accompanied by
your component's views as to whether or not the
proposal has Intelligence Community applicability,
i.e., whether the proposal should be included in the
Intelligence Community rather than the CIA legislative
program.
3. The Senate's inclusion of our Educational Travel Benefit
in the FY 1980 Intelligence Authorization Bill (and its expected
retention in Conference) sets an important positive precedent for
use of the FY 1981 Authorization Bill for similar purposes next
year.
the Intelligence Community.
4. Failure to include a proposal in the legislative programs
submitted to 0MB in the fall can considerably reduce chances of
obtaining Administration support for the proposal later on.
5. I realize that it seems rather early to be thinking
about legislative programs for next years but I believe that
sufficient lead time is necessary to insure that the CIA and
Intelligence Community proposals are sufficiently
thought out and presented in as specific a form as possible.
6. I would appreciate having your proposals by 3 August 1979
so that we can proceed to discuss and evaluate them. Your
cooperation in this endeavor is much appreciated. A memorandum
similar to this one will be sent to appropriate offices throughout
cc: FPH
LLM
CB
ABS
STATINTL
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 1r\ Ht'iA' ,SE ?) 1L,
3 " JUL 19/9 ~.
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3 1 JUL 9979
FISCAL YEAR 1980 INTELLIGENCE AUTHORIZATION BILL
There is some uncertainty as to the conference date on the bill,
and the Senate has not yet appointed conferees. There is a possibility
conference will occur on 1 or 2 August; however with the summer recess
coming up, it may be put off gress reconvenes in September. (U)
INTELLIGENCE CHARTER LEGISLATION
Senate Select Committee on Intelligence staff members have delivered
counterproposals to the Administration's draft Title I. (U)
PROTECTION OF INTELLIGENCE IDENTITIES
We have asked the Office of Management and Budget to expedite handling
of our legislative proposal to provide criminal penalties for the
unauthorized disclosure of the identities of certain intelligence personnel.
(U/IUO)
FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT - AMENDMENT TO CIA ACT OF 1949
We have prepared and circulated for component comment our amendatory
language and accompanying documents which we plan to present to the
Office of Management and Budget for Administration approval. The Department
of Justice Inter-Agency FOIA Task Force is also moving towards submission
to 0MB of its government-wide FOIA proposals. Their package will more than
likely contain our amendatory language. (U/IUO)
FEDERAL TORT CLAIMS ACT
We are currently formulating amendatory language to the Justice
Department-proposed Federal Tort Claims Act Amendments which would make
the bill acceptable. OLC and OGC attorneys will meet next week with
Justice Department officials in order to discuss our suggested amendments.
(U/IUO)
FOREIGN SERVICE REORGANIZATION
Hearings before the House Post Office and Civil Service and Foreign
Affairs Committees continued last week on the proposed State Department/
Foreign Service reorganization bill. No issues of concern to CIA have been
raised thus far in the hearing process. (U/IUO)
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PeVartment rrf ~ustixe
EMBARGOED FOR RELEASE
UNTIL 3:00 P.M. 5/8/79
ADDRESS
BY
THE HONORABLE GRIFFIN B. BELL
ATTORNEY GENERAL OF THE UNITED STATES
TUESDAY, MAY 8, 1979
CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
LANGLEY, VIRGINIA
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None
Let me begin by saying that the CIA is a
great institution. No agency in the government has a
higher calling -- to enable the President to conduct
foreign policy and to provide the information necessary
to preserve our country and keep it strong. The complexity
and pace of the world in which we live require people
of the highest competence and dedication to interpret
international intentions and events.
I am proud that Admiral Turner, your able director,
invited me to be the first Attorney General to speak at
the CIA in its distinguished history, originating with the
daring achievements of the OSS in World War II. I must note
that it was a lawyer, William J. Donovan, who drafted the
first plan for a central intelligence agency at President
Roosevelt's request in 1944.
The relationship between the Agency and the Attorney
General is in many ways a symbol of the challenge of this
era of American history. For the CIA, the challenge is
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to collect intelligence with one eye cocked to spot
legal issues that might have gone unquestioned in the past.
For the Attorney General, the challenge is to handle
those legal issues in a scrupulous fashion while trying
not to impair the effectiveness of the agency.
Stan Turner and I are on the same path.
We have been striving to make our agencies as
independent as possible from political influence. If the
Justice Department is to do its job, it cannot flinch from
prosecuting the powerful or rendering detached, sometimes
unpleasant legal advice and letting the chips fall where
they may. If CIA is to do its job, it must be willing
and able to tell policymakers some unpleasant truths
with unfailing accuracy, providing dispassionate analysis
of foreign events and intentions for those involved in
the passions of domestic politics who may want to see
the world differently.
Fortunately, we have a president with the vision to
understand that it is in the long-term interest of his
Administration and those that will follow to encourage
independence in institutions like ours. Indeed, he
instructed me to make the Department of Justice a non-
political institution. This has been done. I often
compare our role with that of the foreign intelligence
community. Our justice system, like our foreign
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intelligence system, must be guided by neutral principles
in a nonpartisan spirit.
It is fitting to observe today that a statue of
Captain Nathan Hale stands in front of the Justice
Department as well as the CIA. Nathan Hale epitomized
the ideal of service to which we should aspire as Americans.
Following the American defeat at the Battle of Brooklyn
Heights on August 27, 1776, General Washington became
desperate for information about British plans and strength.
Nathan Hale was the only officer to volunteer for the
hazardous mission of gathering intelligence behind British
lines. Stepping forward to volunteer for the mission
which was to cost his life, Hale said: "I wish to be
useful, and every kind of service necessary to the public
good becomes honorable by being necessary." This
ideal of service is a standard to which all of us in
government should aspire.
Some of the most difficult and important problems
I have encountered in government have been in the
intelligence field. The DCI is not the only one whose
life is complicated by wearing two hats. The Attorney
General is both the legal adviser to the government and
the administrator of a large department containing one
of the government's premier intelligence agencies --
the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Often in making
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decisions in a counterespionage case, I am pulled between
the traditional law enforcement approach to Justice and
the pure discipline of information monitoring and foreign
intelligence analysis. As you know, I lean to the view
that incarceration is a deterrent to spying. At the least,
an attitude of prosecution might lead to a "spy detente."
The President has delegated certain duties to me
in the counterintelligence area. I make daily decisions
about authorizing the use of intelligence techniques
that intrude into a sphere of privacy -- electronic
surveillance of various forms, mail covers, and physical
search. I have tried to exercise this authority with
great restraint and care, especially when the rights of
American citizens are at issue. I have also tried to
stand up to the responsibility to use this authority
vigorously whenever it has appeared that it would properly
strengthen our nation's efforts to thwart or impede
clandestine intelligence activity for a foreign power.
The Attorney General must also be a legal adviser
and a litigator -- for the President and for other agencies
in the government. When the CIA needs to bring a lawsuit
or needs defense from a suit, that task falls to the
Justice Department. The Snepp case is an example. It
involved a dispute over fundamental principles. We have
prevailed thus far. As a follow-up, I have recently
directed a comprehensive review of the government's-
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security agreements. We need to design agreements that
are narrowly tailored, easily understood and easily
enforced.
Finally, the Attorney General provides general legal
advice and assistance by participating in the drafting
of legislation and regulations, and by interpreting many
community-wide regulations of intelligence activity.
The guidelines and charter writing business is as
delicate as open heart surgery. Our country cannot afford
to allow regulators in any branch of government to become
so entranced with the artistry of operating on an agency
that they forget the goal -- to maintain a healthy and
effective agency that has the confidence of the American
people.
I have recently decided to create a new office of
Intelligence Policy and Review at the Justice Department
to consolidate a number of intelligence-related functions.
This office will provide the intelligence community with
a resource for more timely and consistent legal advice
and legislative assistance. The office will review
compliance with Attorney General regulations and provide
clear interpretation of those regulations. With this
structure, we will be able to provide better legal
assistance in the intelligence area without blurring the
distinction between lawyers and intelligence operatives.
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In a sense, this is the era of the "founding fathers"
in the field of intelligence law. After all that we have
been through in the recent past, there is a recognition
on all sides that intelligence activity must be administered
within the constitutional framework and that a legal
system of accountability is needed.
We must strive to assure the people that their
intelligence agencies will not be turned against them.
Such fear is illustrated by the words of Sir Thomas
Erskine May in 1873 in his Constitutional History of England:
"Men may be without restraints upon their liberty;
they may pass to and fro at pleasure; but if their
steps are tracked by spies and informers, their
words noted down for crimination, their associates
watched as conspirators, -- who shall say that
they are free? Nothing is more revolting to
Englishmen than the espionage which forms part
of the administrative system of continental
despotisms. It haunts men like an evil genius,
chills their gaiety, restrains their wit, casts
a shadow over their friendships, and blights
their domestic hearth. The freedom of a country
may be measured by its immunity from this baleful
agency."
Our job as lawyers is to design a system of law in
the intelligence field that reassures the American citizen
and still works with you, not against you.
As Attorney General, I am here to discuss the
intersection of our interests in certain legal areas.
I would also like to wave the flag a bit. I think the
American people are still distinguished by the heritage
of the banners of the American Revolution. For example,
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Lieutenant John Marshall, later to become Chief Justice
of the United States, served as drillmaster for the
Culpeper Minute Men, a celebrated Virginia battalion with
the famous flag which bore a coiled rattlesnake with the
motto: "Don't Tread on Me -- Liberty or Death." America
must continue to carry that spirit into the international
arena if we are to survive and prosper. This prevalent
spirit assures me that the American people want a strong
intelligence system and a strong CIA.
Our path for strengthening the CIA lies in making
certain that all its activities are channeled in law. In
that sense, the law is our support. Current law, however,
presents problems in some areas. One example is the
so-called "graymail" phenomenon.
"Graymail" has become shorthand for the ability
of a defense lawyer to use current legal procedures to
gain leverage by seeking a court ruling compelling
government disclosure of national security information.
The government is then forced into the position of
sustaining the damage of the disclosure or conceding a
critical point or dropping the case altogether.
In cases involving classified information, there is
an inevitable tension between the responsibility of the
Director of Central Intelligence to prevent the compromise
of intelligence sources and methods and the responsibility
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of the Attorney General for vigorous enforcement of the
criminal laws. That tension is exacerbated by "graymail"
problems. It is ironic and unfortunate that espionage
prosecutions brought to maintain necessary secrecy often
pose risks of disclosing our secrets under the current
system.
As Attorney General, I have vigorously enforced the
espionage laws. You know the cases. I believe that
such serious transgressions against this nation cannot go
unpunished. I am convinced that such prosecutions are
necessary to maintain a credible deterrent to future acts
that would jeopardize national security. At the same time,
I am sensitive to the need to minimize the security costs
associated with such prosecutions. I have directed
Justice lawyers to conduct meticulously our cases to
guard against disclosure of sensitive
materials and to work closely with the intelligence
community to evaluate the costs of disclosures which
appear to be necessary to bringing a case.
Although the same procedural problems exist in
non-espionage prosecutions, the most serious consequences
for the CIA and Justice occur when criminal law enforcement
efforts yield to security concerns. Inevitably, there
are claims that a prosecution was dropped at the urging
of the intelligence community to avoid embarrassing
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revelations of misconduct. Even more importantly, there
is the danger that those associated with intelligence
activities are treated or perceived as above the law.
A system that fosters such perceptions undermines the
public's confidence in intelligence activities and in the
fair administration of justice.
My experience as Attorney General has convinced me
that we may be able to solve most of the problem through
prudent changes in existing law. 'I am joined in this view
by others in the Executive branch, including the Director
of Central Intelligence. Senator Joseph Biden's Subcommittee
of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence and
Congressman Morgan Murphy's Subcommittee of House
Intelligence have held hearings examining the "graymail"
question. They are working with us to develop legislative
solutions to the "graymail" problem.
Draft legislation has now been formulated at Justice
in close consultation with the intelligence community
and these Congressional subcommittees. our legislative
proposal would enhance the government's ability to
discharge its prosecutorial and intelligence responsibilities
without undermining a defendant's right to fair trial.
It would produce a more systematic and predictable manner
of handling cases involving classified information.
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First, the proposal would create a procedure for
pretrial rulings on whether classified information must
be disclosed either at pretrial or trial proceedings.
This will enable the government to receive a preliminary
decision on whether national security information must
be produced to a defendant and whether it may be used by
a defendant in the trial. It would also prevent the
premature and unnecessary abandonment of prosecutions in
the face of "graymail" threats by allowing the government
to obtain court orders barring the disclosure of
inadmissible classified information. Where classified
information is determined by the court to be admissible
in evidence at the behest of a defendant, there would be a
chance to seek alternatives to disclosure of particular
information while preserving the prosecution. In sum,
this procedure would equip the government to make an informed
assessment, prior to trial, of the national security costs of
continuing a prosecution.
Second, our proposal would authorize the government
to take interlocutory appeals from adverse district court
orders requiring disclosure of classified information.
There is no effective provision for such appeals in the
current law.
In addition to these two key provisions, the proposal
includes an array of other procedural safeguards.
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- it establishes a procedural mechanism for setting
early timetables to resolve issues in criminal
cases involving classified information.
- It requires protective orders to safeguard
classified materials that may be ordered disclosed
to defendants although not revealed in open court.
- It provides guidance on alternatives to disclosure
of specific classified information to the defendant
and provides other proof procedures at trial to
avoid unnecessary disclosure.
- It establishes security procedures for safekeeping
of classified information submitted to the courts.
I believe that such legislation will go a long way toward
solving the "graymail" problem. I urge the appropriate
committees of Congress to give expedited consideration
to our proposals.
Another major area where there is a need for good
lawyering in the intelligence field is in the development
of charter legislation. I have worked for over two years
on constructing a legal framework for the intelligence
agencies and for systems ensuring accountability,
control, and oversight for intelligence activities. This
has involved drafting Executive Orders, Attorney General
guidelines and now charters.
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This experience teaches two truths. First, if
charters will prevent intelligence agencies from performing
their mission effectively, they are not worth the price.
Second, if well-balanced charter legislation can be
enacted, it would be a truly valuable and historic
achievement. As James Madison put it in the Federalist
Papers: "In framing a government which is to be administered
by men over men, the great difficulty lies in this: you
must first enable the government to control the governed;
and in the next place oblige it to control itself."
If the charter process fails, our intelligence
activities will continue and our regulatory system will
remain intact, but there will be a loss. Without charters,
the climate of suspicion will continue -- breeding unfounded
conspiracy theories and Congressional interference in
operational management decisions. Second, this atmosphere
will be compounded by continued uncertainty about the
law, tending to chill and deter decisionmaking and action
by field operatives as well as those at headquarters
who must decide what information to disseminate or what
operations to authorize.
Neither the officer tracking espionage abroad nor the
Attorney General who is faced with wiretap requests should
have to worry about a different Congress or a different
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administration retrospectively judging good faith
decisions. Clear laws and judicial warrants should
provide intelligence officers with relief from the
threat of lawsuits which now hangs over their heads.
By statutorily involving the judiciary, as they are
already involved in criminal cases, in authorizing
intrusive investigative techniques against Americans,
a charter can provide greater certainty in the law.
At the same time, a sound charter would provide
a mandate for proper intelligence collection. I want to
emphasize that none of the benefits from such legislation
could ever compensate for the damage that could be done
by unnecessary restrictions that would be against the
national interest. It would be better to do without
charters than suffer such restrictions. I believe, however,
that reason and good sense will prevail. The passage of
the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act demonstrated
that a proper balance can be struck between national
security and civil liberties. I expect that Congress
will act responsibly in the charter process as well.
One of my great surprises when I became Attorney
General was to discover how much of my time was consumed
with intelligence work -- from case-by-case decisions
to framing sweeping intelligence policy. I now realize
how enriching and important this work has been for me.
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It presents many basic questions for our constitutional
system. In my tenure, I have seen the men and women of
the CIA perform with excellence in situations requiring
great judgment as well as ability. You have a hard job
to do in hard times. It has never been more important
that you do it right. The Department of Justice is
pledged to assist you.
You are our first line of patriots in war
and peace. Our nation depends on you, for there can
be no adequate foreign policy without an ample intelligence
system. You are ennobled by the fact that you must
perform without the reward of public recognition, often
in the face of high risk. The President has asked that I
thank you today on behalf of the American people for what
you have done and for what you are doing.
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