CONGRESS RENEWS DEMAND TO KEEP AN EYE ON CIA

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP91-00561R000100090069-7
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: February 24, 2012
• Sequence Number: 69
• Publication Date: January 19, 1976
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

;STAT
V Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/02/24: CIA-RDP91-00561 R000100090069-7
CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR
19 JANUARY 1970
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five proposals before Sen. Abraham Ribicoff's
h midi -
By Dana Adams Sc
f Committee on Government Operations. He
Stffespondent o
a corr The Christian Science Monitor - .- will emphasize a need for an intelligence
1ashington committee with power to prevent the in-
Congress wants a new oversight committee, volvement of the United States in dangerous
1to be given prior information of covert U.S. and possibly counterproductive covert foreign
activities abroad - but President Ford thinks adventures.
Congress is too leaky a vessel-to be trusted Senator Church is concerned about the
with such information. ::. possibility that the administration will seek
't'his is the crux of the public debate that will something like an official secrets act, which
begin anew this week in Washington as the would enable it at ..will to :make, secret
search for resolving both the misuse of the whatever it saw fit.:
CIA and abuses by the agency itself gains new' Although there has been extensive liaison
momentum.. ". ; between the Senate and House inteligence.
a through
President Ford, who has been outraged by committees and the White. House differences
disclosure of CIA plans to help the Christian Presidential aide John Marsh,
Democrats of Italy and by: disclosure of the. between the two branches remain far-reach-
names of CIA officers prior to the ascassina- ing.: _.~ '=
tion of Richard S. Welch in Athens, will put the The differences are - summarized in the.-:
emphasis on these aspects of the problem in White House contention that to give a congres-
his State of the Union address Monday (Jan. sional oversight committee prior information-1
19). A special message on the CIA and the on covert operations would raise conintelligence problem generally will follow.' : stitut oval problems. It would, in the White .t
Sen. Frank Church (D) of Idaho, chairman House view, make the committee a part of the
of the Senate Select. Committee on executive branch, thereby violating the con---
telligence, will follow on Tuesday with legisla- stitutional separation of powers... , - =
Senator Church's` reply is that the Con-
stitution 'requires Congress to advise as well
as consent, and that it cannot advise without
prior information.
At present the administration informs sub---I
committees of no less than six committees of
Congress - the Foreign Relations; Armed
Services, and Appropriations Committees in
each house - of the covert operations of thei
CIA. But after the fact, and in secrecy. Sworn
to secrecy about something that has already ? i
happered, the congressmen have found them-
"selves helpless to act until someone has leaked
the secret information
Senator. Church's 11-man committee will
propose that, when it is phased out bn Feb.29,
its functions betaken over- by a new com-
mittee of five.Democrats and four Republi-
cans.
This committee, either jointly with a House
committee or in parallel operations, would
become the sole recipient of intelligence
briefings from the administration.
It would have the power of dissent.
If it differed from an administration plan to
engage in some covert project, like- the
overthrow of the Government of Chile, it
would first withdraw funds for that project.
If the administration persisted, using other
funds, the committee could refer the matter to
a secret session of the entire Senate.
Security would be easier to maintain be-
cause fewer legislators would be involved.
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/02/24: CIA-RDP91-00561 R000100090069-7