INTERNATIONAL SECURITY AND SATELLITE MONITORING ACT OF 1988, H.R. 4036

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP90M00005R001300080035-7
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: S
• Document Page Count: 7
• Document Creation Date: December 27, 2016
• Document Release Date: November 14, 2012
• Sequence Number: 35
• Publication Date: April 7, 1988
• Content Type: MEMO

Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/11/15: CIA-RDP90M00005R001300080035-7
7 April 1988
egis a ive Division
Office of Congressional Affairs
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Special Assistant for Imagery
Collection Requirements and Evaluation Staff, DI
SUBJECT: International Security an~ellite Monitoring
Act of 1988, H.R. 4036
1. We had received a copy of this bill earlier f the
COMIREX staff for review and comments. of that
staff had included his comments from his review which I am
attaching to this memo for your information.
2. Following are comments which we were preparing from the
perspective of the Talent Control Officer/CIA.
-- We regard this as a dangerous bill from a security
standpoint. By calling for complete access to our
classified systems, it provides the opportunity for members
of Congress, the Commission, and staffers to go on a fishing
expedition into our uses of earlier, current, and future
satellite systems. Either intentionally or unintentionally,
information on our classified systems could spill over into
the unclassified arena and be exposed to public scrutiny.
-- The Commission would provide an excellent forum for
those members of Congress (and others) who have been urging
the declassification of satellite imagery--a situation
that we have so far successfully avoided.. The wide area
photographic coverage provided by our obsolete search
systems would be particularly at risk since the product from
those systems would be particularly applicable to many of
the objectives of the bill. Declassification of these
products would erode the DCI's role in the protection of
intelligence sources and methods and lead to increased
pressure to declassify the products from current systems as
---, ,
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SUBJECT: International Security and Satellite Monitoring
Act of 1988; H.R. 4036
-- In view of the increasing interest by the news media
in the use of satellite photography for news reporting, it
can be anticipated that the work of the Commission would be
followed closely by certain members of the press. This
would increase the risk of having classified information
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exposed to the media--either intentionally or
unintentionally--by Commission members or staffers
inexperienced in the handling of classified data.
-- Expedited security investigations on members of the
Commission and staff is no guarantee that security will be
preserved. It is not the investigation itself but the
results of the investigation which permits or bars access to
classified information. On the premise that all members and
staffers would require access to classified information, all
should be subjected to an investigation beforehand.
-- If this Agency were to be required to provide all
requested classified data on photosatellite systems, it
could call for a significant cost in terms of manpower to
respond. ~~
3. If you have an uestion regarding these comments,
STAT please call me I would appreciate receiving a
copy of your response to the HPS(1).
Attachment:
IC Staff comments on H.R. 4036
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SUBJECT: International Security and Satellite Monitoring
Act of 1988; H.R. 4036
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DRAFT
COMhtENTS ON HOUSE BILL H.R.4036
(International Security and Satellite Monitoring Act of 1988)
The enactment of this Bill (attached is a summary of its provisions and a
copy of its full text) would have a major impact on U.S. foreign relations and
the Intelligence Community in general, and on the COh1IREX community in
particular. Because of the extremely broad range of issues the Bill raises,
national policymakers will probably find it difficult to assess the merits of
the actions proposed for study. However, the associated negative aspects with
reference to the potential for erosion of U.S. intelligence capabilities are
easier to identify. Therefore, senior Administration officials need to be
aware of its provisions and its status and progress in Congress needs to be
carefully and continuous monitored.
The Bill raises important questions and issues generated by the
proliferation of satellite remote sensing progracis in contrast to a situation
where only the U.S. and the USSR had the only effective satellite remote
sensing capabilities. Similar proposals have been surfaced before by the .
French, and most recently as the Canadian Paxsat concept.
While the text of this proposed Bill is couched in terms of a study, it
is clear that the objective is to address and move toward the concept of a
multinational or international remote sensing program. The implementation of
such a concept would directly impact intelligence sources and methods, for
which the DCI is statutorily responsible. These direct impacts could include
transfer of sensitive technology on remote sensors, control and processing
operations, and the methodology used in exploiting derived data.
The power to examine and report on these extremely sensitive matters is
placed in the hands of an independent commission, with the principal federal
officials responsible for such matters relegated to only advisory positions.
Past experience is that the potential for leaks and exposure of sensitive
intelligence data and information under such circumstances is high.
To reduce the possibility of such adverse effects on the national
security, one Administration option would be to attempt to restructure the
study effort so that it is executed by or under the aegis of the responsible
officials of the Federal Government -- namely, the Secretary of Defense, the
Secretary of State, and the DCI.
Another Aaninistration option would be to oppose the passage of this Bill
on the grounds that it is contrary to the national interest, e.g., it would
weaken national security and would undercut U.S. private sector development by
further stimulating foreign activities in satellite remote sensing. '
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If the Administration chooses not to oppose or redirect the execution of
this Bill, then at a minimum the following comments on the current provisions
should be transmitted for appropriate corrective action:
o Page 6, 1 fines 6-8. Subparagraph (10) requires rephrasing or further
clarification. It would be fully comprehensible if the subparagraph
were restricted to lines 6 and 7, and line 8 were deleted.
o Page 6, lines 16-18. The definition in Subparagraph (2) of a "common
security system" as "a system that addresses the linkage beta~een
military, environmental, and economic concerns" does not track very
well. Either the defined terra or the aefinition shoulo be changed so
as to achieve abetter correlation -- one that is more
understandable.
o Pages 8-5. Line 20 on page 8 indicates a total of 15 advisory
members, however, the following text actually lists a total of 17
advisory members. Obviously, this inconsistency needs to be
corrected.
a-v
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SUMNJ~RY OF PROVISIONS OF H.R.4036
The objectives cited in this proposed Bill, which has been referred to the
House Committees on Science, Space, and Technology and Foreign Affairs,
include the following points:
o A revitalization of President Eisenhower's "Open Skies" concept.
o An assessment of current and proposed satellite monitoring
capabilities, U.S. and foreign, to identify areas for the development
of mutually advantageous international satellite monitoring
capabilities.
o Having the U.S. lead in articulating and advocating new policies for
revolutionizing the international gathering and dissemination of
i nformation.
To carry out these objectives, the Bill outlines a wide range of study
areas where remote sensing satellites might be cooperatively employed,
including such aspects as the following:
o Economic factors, namely the study and protection of the Earth's
resources.
o Scientific studies of the interaction of the Earth's environmental
phenomena.
o Disaster management and relief.
o Facilitating control of international terrorism and drug trafficking
activities.
o Facilitating arms control treaties.
o Facilitating crisis control and conflict reduction efforts.
o Formation of an "open skies" agency.
o Identifying steps to promote worldwide acceptance of remotely sensed
information.
o Analyzing the potential for multinational or international satellite
monitoring arrangements.
The-study areas are to be executed with consideration of an extremely
broad range of factors, including impacts of multinational satellite
monitoring arrangements on:
o The security of the U.S. and other countries
o U.S. intelligence gathering operations.
o Established United tJations programs.
o Required transfers of technoloyy and data processing capabilities for
commercial programs.
o tdethods for joint use of military and civilian programs.
o Interactions between U.S. and any international programs.
o Costs of implementing international monitoring programs.
o Extent of markets for satellite imagery with better than 5 meters
resolution.
o Relationships of commercial organizations to the development of
value-added markets.
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The structure of the Commission responsible for carrying out this study is
to consist of:
0 15 voting mertb ers, of which 5 each are to be appointed by the
President, the Speaker of the. House, and the President pro tempore of
the Senate. Officers and employees of the Federal Government are
excluded from being voting members. The President designates the
Chairperson and Vice Chairperson from the list of voting members.
15-17 advisory members. The President is to appoint 1 representative
fror~ each of 13 federal organizations, the House Speaker is to
appoint 2 House hlembers, and the Senate President pro tempore is to
appoint 2 Senators. The DCI, the Secretary of Defense, and the
Secretary of State will each have only one representative, who can
neither vote nor participate in the formulation of the findings and
recommendations of the Commission.
o Executive Director ana Staff. The Executive Director, who is
appointed by the Chairperson, appoints the members of the Staff.
Upon Commission request, and with department/agency head approval,
federal employees may be detailed to the Staff.
The Commission is empowered to obtain information necessary to carry out
its duties. Department/agency heads are to expedite security investigations
to permit Commmission members to gain access to classified national security
information.
The Commission is to report to the President and to each House of Congress
within 18 months from the enactment of this Bill.
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