LETTER TO HONORABLE J. W. FULBRIGHT FROM ALLEN W. DULLES

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP71B00364R000600080008-6
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 8
• Document Creation Date: December 16, 2016
• Document Release Date: August 19, 2005
• Sequence Number: 8
• Publication Date: June 13, 1961
• Content Type: LETTER

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REDRA
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13 June 461
Honorable J. W. Fulbright
Chairman
Committee on Foreign Relations
United States Senate
Washington 25, D. C.
Dear Senator Fulbright:
This is in response to your letter of May 11, 1961 asking for
the comments of the Central Intelligence Agency on Senate Jo: at
Resolution 77, "To establish a Joint Committee on Foreign
Information and Intelligence.
The proposed Joint Resolution contemplates a Joint Ccmittee
for both Foreign Information and Foreign Intelligence activities. The
informational aspects of this resolution are not within my fiel~. of
competence and responsibility. However, I do not believe tha: the
two functions should be considered in one committee. At the -4---esent
time they are handled by different committees of the Congress;.
Furthermore, foreign informational activities are overt. Tht
intelligence activities to which the proposed Joint Committee vauld
probably direct its chief attention are largely of a secret character
and are not directly related to the foreign informational activities of
the Government.
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For some years there have been established Subcoinm?.ttees of
the Appropriations and Armed Services Committees of both H arses which
have specific jurisdiction over CIA matters. We report to these Sub-
committees in accordance with their requests and provide their with
whatever material they wish. We also receive requests for appearances
hAAJ e-
from other committees of the Congress. We respondfto these requests
r\
for intelligence briefings from your Committee, from the Joir:t Committee
on Atomic Energy, from House Foreign Affairs, and a numbs;- of other
committees. During the course of the 86th Congress, Agency
representatives made 46 appearances before various congressOnal
committees. The creation of the proposed Joint Committee vxdd not,
I a-maid, lessen the desire of those committees for Agency appearances.
As the Director of Central Intelligence, I have the duty . subject
to the National Security Council, to carry out the Agency's statutory
responsibility to coordinate the foreign intelligence activities -31, the
several intelligence organizations of the Government. These ntelligence
organizations are integral parts of departments or agencies responsible
to different committees of the Congress. The Armed Servicef; Committees
of the Senate and House have legislative jurisdiction with respect to the
Central Intelligence Agency. The creation of the proposed Joiat
Committee to make continuing studies of each intelligence age icy of the
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United States thus create{ jurisdictional problems sir re there
is no evidence that any of the present committees having respoisibility
have indicated either the desire or willingness to cede jurisdic-ion over
the Central Intelligence Agency or the intelligence component i of the
departments concerned.
From the standpoint of legislation affecting the Ag snc' -, I see
no necessity for the establishment of a Joint Committee. Thf- Agency
was established by the National Security Act of 1947 and there was a
subsequent enabling Act in 1949. Since the passage of these tvo laws
concerning the Agency, only two items of legislation have bee n initiated
by the Agency andlIyj by the Armed Services Committees having
legislative jurisdiction.
Al. ( 4 4" ~, a,
W~W J4 llbe
^ for legislation and it is doubt whether tiz
~
ore legislation needed ? .i11Tfir an in ~~ *?
arty
While the method through which the Congress informs itself
on the activities of the Central Intelligence Agency and thm of wr foreign
intelligence activities of the Government is a matter for the congress
to determine, I believe the matters discussed above are pert.nent in
considering the establishment of a Joint Committee for Intelligence
Activities. As I stated on the occasion of a recent appearance before
your Committee, I am satisfied with the existing arrange-nex tR Fes,
my viewpoint, I do not believe the estab,,, sh t"C a Joint Committee
to_ 3 y.
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3
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L0u1d like to point out a purely technical matter oc% erring
at line 6 on page 5 of the Senate Joint Resolution 77. 1 belie=re this
line is simply an inadvertent printing error and assume the iie in
toto should be deleted.
The Bureau of the Budget has no objection to the submission
of this report from the standpoint of the Administration's pr 3&ram.
Sincerely,
Allen W. Dulles
Director
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Excerpt from Transcript
Committee on Foreign Relations
United States Senate
Tuesday - 2 May 61
The Chairman. Senator Mansfield, Mr. Dulles, before fJ
left, asked me to ask you your opinion of the McCarthy bill. re you
familiar with that?
Mr. Dulles. I am not familiar.
The Chairman. It is the same as the old Mansfield bill al~~cut a
Joint Committee for intelligence. Do you have any views on th. t i
Mr. Dulles. I have always taken the position, Mr. Chaii man,
that the Congress should, so far as I was concerned, determine how I
should report to it and through what channels.
I now have, as you know, a special committee of the Rout e Armed
Services Committee, and there is also one in the Senate, to wh. clz
committees I report on call.
I also have a special committee of the respective Appropz~ir,,tions
Committees to which I report frequently.
I am perfectly satisfied, as far as I am concerned, with tore.
present arrangement.
If the Congress feels it is wise to change that arrangemen F, I
certainly would entirely acquiesce to that, and I would not want -:c oppose
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The Chairman. You are not opposing or endorsing it?
Mr. Dulles. No, air.
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