DDCI BRIEFING OF CIA SUBCOMMITTEE OF HOUSE APPROPRIATIONS - TUESDAY - 21 SEPTEMBER 1965
Document Type:
Collection:
Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST):
CIA-RDP82R00025R000600060001-3
Release Decision:
RIPPUB
Original Classification:
T
Document Page Count:
7
Document Creation Date:
December 15, 2016
Document Release Date:
September 15, 2003
Sequence Number:
1
Case Number:
Publication Date:
September 27, 1965
Content Type:
MFR
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Attachment | Size |
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CIA-RDP82R00025R000600060001-3.pdf | 247.03 KB |
Body:
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27 September 1965
MEMORANDUM FOR THE RECORD
SUBJECT: DDCI Briefing of CIA Subcommittee of House Appropriations
Tuesday - 21 September 1965
1. Mr. Helms, accompanied by William Colby, John Clarke and
John Warner, met with the Mahon Subcommittee of House Appropriations
for approximately an hour and a half beginning at ten o'clock. Present
from the Subcommittee were:
George H. Mahon, Chairman
Frank T. Bow
Glenard P. Lipscomb
Robert L. Michaels, Staff Assistant
There was no transcript and there was a technical sweep of the room with
monitoring during the hearing.
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2. Mr. Mahon requested a brief review of our over-all budget.
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personnel on duty were down slightly although the supplemental provides
for 0 additional personnel most of which are operations
with some of these being in the support fields such as finance and security.
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3. Mr. Mahon asked for an indication of the 1967 budget. It
was stated that this was now under review in the Agency and, not yet
forwarded to the Bureau of the Budget but that it probably would be
more than the FY66 budget including the supplemental by about
that this must be viewed as a long-term effort and we could not expect
immediate effects.
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6. Mr. Bow, after hearing some discussions of our programs
in the political action field, inquired, how some of these items squared
with USIA operations. Mr. Colby attempted to point out that while it is
true that the President has assigned USIA the responsibility for control
and coordination of psy-war in VietnanF-
Mr. Bow and Mr. Lipscomb pointed out that in the USIA budget hearings
on their supplemental this same example had been used. They exhibited
considerable concern that they could not clearly distinguish between the
various programs in terms of budget presentations by the USIA, AID and
CIA. Mr. Mahon suggested that Mr. Helms provide a general report
on these issues. Mr. Helms said he would be happy to do this.
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As to fraud or graft in these programs, it was
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pointed out that lump sums are not simply handed over but that receipts
are obtained and Agency personnel are watching the process to assure
value received. Mr. Helms pointed out that this is the kind of financing
that the Agency had been doing under its special authorities for a long
time and he felt these were under control although he conceded that there
could be isolated cases of kickback which we would not know about but
that he felt this was minimal.
8. Mr. Mahon stated he had some concern with Agency funding
in the sense that other programs of the Government are audited by GAO
and that the Agency is not. He accepted Mr. Helms' view that we had
been doing this for a long time and had procedures and internal auditing
but the fact remained there was no outside audit. He closed this subject
by stating he guessed there was no guarantee on these matters where CIA
is involved except to trust the integrity of the personnel running the Agency.
Mr. Mahon continued in a slightly different vein saying he was troubled
that the Subcommittee did not know all it should about the Agency. He
stated he was very appreciative of the fact that the Agency had always
been cooperative in this regard and that the problem was limitation of
time of the Subcommittee. He referred to the fact that he had visited the
Agency field stations in the past and had been out to the Agency and he felt
it had been most helpful that Mr. Bow and Mr. Lipscomb had spent
considerable time at the Agency. Mr. Lipscomb responded that his
visits to the Agency and briefings on financing procedures had been most
helpful. Mr. Helms stated that he would welcome further visits and
mentioned specifically that Mr. Michaels had been out to the Agency
in the past and was welcome to come out any time to review our procedures
so he could be in a better position to assist the Subcommittee.
9. In response to a question as to the role of the President's
Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board, Mr. Helms discussed this pointing
out that they did go into the question of validity of programs although they
did not go into expenditures. Mr. Mahon appeared pleased to know that
they at least reviewed programs.
10. Mr. Helms then raised I and Mr. Helms
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11. Mr. Mahon in pursuing the question of total budget inquired
about whether we were at the right level. He stated that in effect the
too much or too little. Mr. Helms responded by indicating that over the
last few years there has been strenuous effort to squeeze out all fat and
specifically to eliminate lesser priority activities. He pointed out that
the basic increases have come in crisis areas and in technical means
of collection. He stated that in his view this was a tight budget indeed
considering the commitments and requirements placed on the Agency
from high levels of Government. He stated that in his view he was
qualified to speak to this based on his many years of experience and
that a cut in the Agency budget level would require elimination of
specific activities which are today considered to be essential. He
pointed out how the Department of State, DOD and the Bureau of the
Budget are all carefully briefed on Agency programs and commented
that he believed the Agency in many ways is more tightly checked from
a budget standpoint than any other agency. He concluded by saying he
thought the budget, in his opinion, was at a minimum level in recognition
of today's world.
Agency budget is
12. Mr. Mahon asked about the NRO situation. Mr. Helms stated
that at some other time he would like to brief the group in detail on this
but did point out that this is a CIA/DOD program concerning which there
has been a new agreement signed recently. He stated that he believed
that this new arrangement does provide adequate principles governing
the division of work. In passing he stated that the NRO program is
resulting in a volume of collection which will require considerable
increases in NPIC.
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14. There was a query about the future for Singapore and
Mr. Helms stated that the results of the breakup do not create too
different a situation than before and that possibly in a generation we
could see a rejoining of the federation.
15. Mr. Helms then briefed on the Vietnam situation utilizing
the attached briefing statements. The specific items covered are
marked. Mr. Mahon inquired about the reported shoot down of the
F-104 over Hainan and Mr. Helms stated that the reports were that
this was simply a case of an aircraft, through error, being off course.
16. Mr. Lipscomb raised the question of
Vietnam under Viet Cong control.
and there was some discussion of this and it was agreed that
we would look into the situation to see if we could provide any useful
report on this to the Subcommittee. Mr. Lipscomb also inquired if
he could be furnished a public statement which includes the figures
that we had previously furnished him dealing with the areas in South
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