CONGRESS DRAGGING ITS FEET ON TOWER PANEL'S CALL FOR A JOINT INTELLIGENCE COMMITTEE

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP90-00965R000504400003-9
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: February 17, 2012
• Sequence Number: 3
• Publication Date: March 12, 1987
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

Sl Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/02/17: CIA-RDP90-00965R000504400003-9
ARTICLE APPEARED
ON PAGE i / --- 10
NEW YORK POST
12 March 1987
Congress dragging its feet on Tower panel's call for a joint intelligence committee
T
'N ITS unsparing and
brutally frank criticism
of the Reagan adminis-
tration's mistakes in the
Iran debacle, the Tower
Commission performed a
real service for President
Reagan by making it easier
for him to identify and insti-
tute the changes necessary
in personnel, policy and
procedure. .
As demonstrated by the
appointment of Howard
Baker, Frank Carlucci and
William Webster, the Presi-
dent has finally moved deci
sively to repair the damage
and has put a team of ex-
perienced pragmatists into
key positions in his admin-
istration. The National Se-
curity Council staff is also
being restructured along
the lines of the commis-
sion's recommendations.
By contrast, the response
in the U.S. Congress has
been mixed and muted to
the one clear and specific
recommendation of the
Tower panel that applies to
the legislature's way of
doing business,
Pulling no punches, the
Tower board asserts the
Executive and Legislative
Branches may be equally
responsible for the growing
frequency of leaks of classi-
fied information.
But the commission states
flatly that the excessive
number of members and
staff aides that make up the
House and Senate Intelli.
gence Committees "pro.
vides cause for concern and
a convenient excuse for
presidents to avoid congres-
sional consultation."
Having placed its finger
squarely on the most seri-
ous vulnerability of the in-
telligence oversight pro-
cess, the commission rec-
ommends that Congress re-
place its two Intelligence
Committees with a single
joint committee, modeled
on the Joint Atomic Energy
Committee of the mid-1970s.
With a combined mem-
bership of more than 30
senators and representa-
tives and more than 60 au-
thorized staffers, this
bloated oversight structure
provides cover for leakers
who find safety in the sheer
number of suspects who
have to be interviewed by a
frustrated FBL
Given the strategic reality
that effective American
covert action will continue
to be necessary over the
next decade in dealing with
Soviet interventions, a num-
ber of responsible members
of Congress have risen to
the Tower Commission's
challenge.
In the House the ranking
minority member of the In-
telligence Committee, Rep.
Henry J. Hyde (R-Ill.), has
introduced legislation that
already has 87 sponsors and
would establish a joint com-
mittee.
In the Senate, Sen. Dan
Quayle (R-Ind.) has intro-
duced similar legislation
and has reason to hope that
Sen. Sarin Nunn (D-Ga.) and
other moderate Democrats
may join as co-sponsors.
At prese= the intelligence
agencies' chiefs reveal as lit-
tle as Possible because of
fear of leaks, and the compe-
tent congressional review
that could have prevented
ed
the Ire a was never
g use o
security concerns that
per-
suaded the administration
to bypass Congress entirely.
Another undeniable reality
that is forcing Congress to
reform its oversight func-
tion is the accumulating evi-
dence that the intelligence
services of our NATO allies
are increasingly withhold-
ing information from us for
fear of leaks.
Defenders of the status
quo on the Senate and House
Intelligence Committees
claim the Executive Branch
is the real source of serious
leaks. For more liberal
Democrats, skeptical of all
forms of covert action, the
current elaborate and leaky
machinery of oversight can
be relied on to reduce covert
actions to a minimum.
But the most substantial
obstacle to necessary re-
form in this field is the
determination of the large
and well-paid staff of both
committees to hold on to
their jobs - and the desire
of many of the members on
these two committees to
enjoy the high profile and
TV notoriety that can be
used to insure reelection.
In order to achieve neces-
sary and overdue reform,
some senators, representa-
tives and staffers are going
to have to give up influential
and well-paid positions. That
is the bitter pill that the
Tower Commission is ask-
ing more than half of the in-
telligence oversight bu-
reaucracy to swallow for the
greater good of the country.
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/02/17: CIA-RDP90-00965R000504400003-9