Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008

The Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008 (H.R.2082) was a bill in the 110th Congress "to authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2008 for intelligence and intelligence-related activities of the United States Government, the Community Management Account, and the Central Intelligence Agency Retirement and Disability System, and for other purposes." (Official title.)

Current status



 * Requires $39.00 million to be transferred from the Director of National Intelligence to the Attorney General for the National Drug Intelligence Center (Sec. 104).


 * Authorizes $262.50 million for the Central Intelligence Agency Retirement and Disability Fund (Sec. 201).


 * Directs the Director of National Intelligence to implement a multi-level security clearance system for persons proficient in foreign languages or with cultural, linguistic, or other subject matter expertise "critical to national security," and to annually report to Congress regarding the foreign language proficiency of the intelligence community (Sec. 303, Sec. 414).


 * Requires the Director of National Intelligence to submit a report to Congress no later than March 31, 2008, regarding the use and impact of private contractors in the intelligence community, as well as the accountability mechanisms that govern their performance (Sec. 307).


 * Requires the Director of National Intelligence to submit a report to Congress no later than March 31, 2008, outlining plans to increase the recruiting, hiring, and retaining of diverse candidates (Sec. 309).


 * Directs the Director of National Intelligence to conduct vulnerability assessments for major systems, which are defined as significant programs of the intelligence community with projected total development and procurement costs exceeding $500.00 million (Sec. 311).


 * Directs the Director of National Intelligence to present annual reports to Congress regarding the acquisition of any major systems and to notify Congress within 60 days if development costs for any programs significantly exceed the baseline costs (Sec. 313, Sec. 314).


 * Increases the time of potential imprisonment for disclosing the identity of undercover intelligence officers and agents from 10 to 15 years (Sec. 324).


 * Requires the Director of National Intelligence to report to Congress within 45 days after the date of the enactment of this bill regarding the detention and interrogation methods used by the intelligence community (Sec. 326).


 * Mandates that no person in the custody or within the control of an element of the intelligence community, regardless of that individual's physical location or nationality, shall be "subject to any treatment or technique of interrogation not authorized by the United States Army Field Manual on Human Intelligence Collector Operations" (Sec. 327).


 * Requires all members of the Congressional intelligence committees to be fully updated on intelligence regarding the Israeli military action in Syria on September 6, 2007, before more than 30 percent of authorized appropriations may be expended (Sec. 328).


 * Requires the Director of National Intelligence to report to Congress regarding the nuclear intentions and capabilities of Iran and North Korea (Sec. 407).


 * Establishes an Office of the Inspector General of the Intelligence Community to objectively investigate and audit the conduct of the intelligence community (Sec. 413).

Key votes


The House passed the bill on May 11, 2007, by a vote of 225-197.





Following a conference report, the House approved the amended bill for the Senate on December 13, 2007, by a vote of 222-199.

 Americans for Democratic Action, which supported the approval of the conference report, selected the vote for their 2007 House scorecard, where they gave it the following description: "Adoption of the conference report on a bill that would authorize classified (unspecified) amounts to be spent in fiscal 2008 for 17 U.S. intelligence activities and agencies, including the CIA, the Office of the National Intelligence Director and the National Security Agency, including the intelligence portion of the emergency supplemental funds for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. It would prohibit the use of any interrogation treatment not authorized by the U.S. Army Field Manual against any individual in the custody of the intelligence community. It would also authorize increased investment in U.S. human intelligence activities, including training, infrastructure and global capabilities."

The Senate passed the bill on February 13, 2008, by a vote of 51-45. 

Americans for Democratic Action, which supported passage, selected the vote for their 2008 Senate scorecard, where they gave it the following description: "Adoption of the conference report on a bill to authorize classified amounts in fiscal 2008 for 17 U.S. intelligence activities and agencies, including the CIA, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, and the National Security Agency and for the intelligence portion of the fiscal 2008 emergency supplemental for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. It would prohibit the use of any interrogation treatment not authorized by the U.S. Army Field Manual on Human Intelligence Collection Operations against any individual in the intelligence community’s custody." However, President George W. Bush vetoed the bill in March. The House attempted to override the veto, but that motion failed on March 11, 2008.



Articles and resources

 * Security Sweep's article Climate change as a security threat 10 Oct 2007.
 * San Francisco Chronicle's article Intelligence needed on climate change 6 Jun 2007.