Column: Strengthening National Intelligence

Statement

PICKERING COLUMN: STRENGTHENING NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE
12/17/2004

Congress deliberated and passed, and President George W. Bush signed, the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 in December. Congress must provide for the common defense and structure our government to secure our homes and communities. We launched a commission to examine and investigate past inadequacies taken advantage of by the 9/11 terrorists. The commission released its recommendations and Congress codified many reforms in this, the most massive overhaul of our nation's intelligence structure since the National Security Act of 1947.

By creating a new Director of National Intelligence, establishing a strong counterterrorism network and improving communication among different branches and agencies of the government, Congress makes significant progress in the large, on-going task of protecting the nation. The work of implementing the Commission's reforms will continue next year, and the goal of making America safe will always be our mission.

I want to share with you many of the provisions enacted by the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act.

We create a Director of National Intelligence (DNI) to head the intelligence community, to serve as principle intelligence adviser to the President and to oversee and direct the implementation of the National Intelligence Program. We authorize the DNI to coordinate resources across the intelligence community and oversee the new National Counter Terrorism Center (NCTC). The NCTC will be the primary Executive Branch organization for counterterrorism intelligence and strategic operational planning. Recognizing the vital role of public diplomacy in the planning and execution of foreign policy, we require the DNI to prepare and implement an annual strategic plan for public diplomacy policies.

Our leaders need the best intelligence and analysis to make strategic and operative decisions. Our troops and personnel in the field require real-time intelligence as they engage enemies. This act preserves the principle of battlefield unity and protects our war fighters by insuring the military chain of command receives necessary data from the intelligence community.

This legislation provides 40,000 new enemy combatant detention beds to prevent terrorists from being released into the world. It clarifies criminal activity concerning weapons of mass destruction by expanding current law to include chemical weapons and the development of nuclear weapons as grounds for criminal prosecution. The act denies summary pre-trial release to persons charged with a federal crime of terrorism to prevent potential terrorists from fleeing justice.

We make it a crime for an individual to intentionally pull a terrorist hoax or fake the death of a US soldier. Such acts siphon off valuable resources, manpower and equipment as we respond to real threats. It is now illegal to knowingly receive military training from a foreign terrorist organization, and we can deport any alien who has received such training.

We doubled the current number of border patrol officers to 10,000 over the next 5 years and by making visa revocation grounds for deportation, we provide the Department of Homeland Security the tools necessary to remove aliens. The act prevents violators from blocking deportation by citing countries of origin lacking functioning governments. The act requires all drivers' licenses and birth certificates to meet federal security standards to further prevent terrorists from falsifying identification to gain admission to and remain in our country.

The act authorizes federal officials to target and track "lone wolf" terrorists who act individually and free of terrorist organizations, and improves the tools available to law enforcement to investigate and prosecute money laundering and related crimes by terrorists seeking to secure financing. The bill expands the definition of "material support" of terrorists to include any act of international or domestic terrorism carried out with knowledge the organization is a terrorist organization.

The Federal government may now share grand jury information with appropriate state, local and foreign law enforcement officials for the purpose of preventing or responding to a terrorist threat. But we created a Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board to insure privacy and civil liberties concerns are appropriately considered in the implementation of these laws, regulations and policies.

When the new Congress convenes in January, we will continue to address homeland security measures, most notably border security and terrorist travel. We still have work to do on immigration reform which will be one of Congress's top priorities in the coming year.

Congressman Chip Pickering serves Mississippi's Third Congressional District. He is assistant majority whip and serves on the Agriculture Committee and is Vice-Chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee in the US House of Representatives. Visit the online office at www.house.gov/pickering for more columns and press releases.

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