WP: The Gap in Intelligence Oversight, by Nancy Pelosi

[Rose Siding]

The uproar concerning President Bush's admission that he authorized the National Security Agency (NSA) to conduct certain electronic surveillance affecting people in the United States is a wake-up call for intensive congressional oversight of intelligence activities.

Review of intelligence-gathering and analysis is a critical responsibility of the legislative branch. But as the independent Sept. 11 commission concluded, "so long as oversight is governed by current congressional rules and resolutions, we believe the American people will not get the security they want and need." As one who served on the House intelligence committee for 10 years and who continues to serve in a non-voting capacity, I know that the commission's concerns are justified and require immediate action.

Congress is not an afterthought in assessing intelligence activities; federal law requires that it be kept informed of all such activities. But despite that clear statutory directive, the Bush administration consistently acts as though it alone owns intelligence information.

The products of our intelligence agencies belong to the government, of which Congress is an equal branch. The executive branch operates intelligence programs and activities, and Congress oversees and pays for them -- and thus has a responsibility to ensure that they are effective and carried out in a manner consistent with the Constitution, our laws and our values. That's why the intelligence committees were created. But as the Sept. 11 commission noted, the way intelligence information is conveyed to Congress and the way Congress operates make rigorous oversight impossible.

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http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/01/13/AR2006011301698.html