3 BILLS AIM AT CURBING THE CIA

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP90-00552R000100390009-1
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: July 29, 2010
• Sequence Number: 9
• Publication Date: April 28, 1983
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2010/07/29: CIA-RDP96-00552R000100390009-1
PRILADIvPHLA I;:aUIRIR
cO
ARIL 1983
3billsairn
at curbing
the CIA
House eg ` ,
foreign activities
By Alfonso Chardy
l1101t ret Wuhing ,,-fur w
WASHINGTON -. Three separate
efforts are under way in the House to
ciirb the ability of the CIA to carry
out or support covert actions against
other governments.
President Reagan and CIA Director
William, J. Casey already are lobby-
ing members of the House Select
Committee on Intelligence against
one of the proposals, a bill by com-
mittee chairman ward P. Boland
(D., Mass.) -that wou a covert
CIA support for guerrilla forces
fighting against the leftist Sandinista
government of Nicaragua.
Today the committee will -take up
the Boland bill, which also would
establish an overt S50 million fund to
help friendly countries combat ille.
gal arms trafficking for insurgent
groups in Central America.
The legislation would also amend
the congressional 'resolution govern-
ing the current budget. That resolu.
tion contains an amendment written
by Boland and adopted in December
that prohibits the use of federal
funds for the -purpose of overthrow-
ing the Nicaraguan government or
provoking .a military confrontation
between Nicaragua and neighboring
Honduras. Some members of. Con-
gress have accused-the Reagan _ad-
ministratiop.of.violating that restric-
Boland's new measure would cut
off all funds for the Nicaraguj opera.
tion and give the CIA 45 days to
phase out its support for the guerril-
la group, the Nicaraguan Democratic
Force.
A*, 'a proposal to give Congress
veto power over all covert CIA opera-
tions o was contained, in legislation
-introduced yesterday by- Rep. Wyche
Fowler Jr. (D., Ja.). He isachairman
of the Intelligence Committee's over-
sight and evaluation subcommittee
and is ,one of those who. accuses the
administration-of -violating the Bo-7
land .amendment
And ;3he douse -'1~'oreign Affairs
Committee will consider later this
week or next week another related
proposal. It is a bill offered by Rep.
Michael D. Barnes (D..3&d
4 `chair-
man o the subcommittee on' western
hemisphere affairs. which would al-
low covert operations only if ap-
proved by a joint resolution of Con-
gress: The subcommittee approved
the Barnes bill two weeks ago.
Fowler's proposal for con ession-
a] veto power represents the first
attempt at maior reform of conerec-
sional intelligence-oversight m-eth-
ods since 1974, when Congress -
after an investigation that disclosed
some -CIA abuses - required the CIA
to notify Congress of existing covert
> vities. Until then. U.S. intelli-
;ence branches essentially operated
without congressional controls. .
' President Reagan, on the advice of
:zsey, summoned Boland and five
)ther Intelligence Committee mem-
hers to the White House on Tuesday
and begged them not to shut down
the Nicaraguan operation.
The-coven action involves CIA and
other U.S. support for armed Nicara.
guan exiles of the Nicaraguan Demo-
cratic Force, who are already fight-
ing within their country against the
Sandinista government.
According to congressional
sources, the intelligence panels au-
thorized 519.9 million for fiscal 1983
to finance the operation, including
about S3 million to fund, equip and
train the insurgent force. Casey re.
portedly asked for more funds for
fiscal 1984,-which begins Oct--L per-
.haps up to S25 -million,"to continue
fina
i
nc
4 the, operation,
The new CIA budget requests are
being debated by the House and Sen-
ate panels, and members in both
have drafted resolutions aimed at
eliminating the -funds because they
feel that the CIA misled the commit-
tees and actively sought to over-
throw the Sandinista government.
In announcing his bill to curb co-
vert action, Fowler said yesterday.on
the House floor that the issue "raises
again the question of the adequacy of
the current system when and under
what kind of controls covert actions
should be undertaken."
Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2010/07/29: CIA-RDP90-00552R000100390009-1