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House Intel Committee passes 2023 Intelligence Authorization Act

WASHINGTON, DC , July 20, 2022 | Rachel Walker (202-308-8930)

Washington, D.C. – Today, the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence approved the Fiscal Year 2023 Intelligence Authorization Act, authorizing funding for initiatives that will improve the Intelligence Community’s ability to collect data on hard targets, modernize the IC’s use of emerging technology, recruit and retain top talent to the IC, and strengthen congressional oversight. The measure was passed through a bipartisan voice vote and now heads to the House floor for final passage.

“Today, the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence passed the bipartisan Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2023,” said Lead Republican Mike Turner. “The IAA will improve the tools and resources our Intelligence Community uses to protect America, our allies, and allied-partners. Improving our operations and capabilities is extremely critical as we see adversarial nations like China, Russia and Iran continue using malign tactics to undermine our national security, whether it be through cyberattacks or nuclear intimidation.”

“The world we live in today is vastly different than the one we knew just a year ago,” said Chairman Adam Schiff. “Russia is waging a bloody and unprovoked war on Ukraine. China's malign global influence is rising. And human rights across the globe continue to come under attack. In the midst of this upheaval, it's more important than ever that the Intelligence Community remains well-resourced, well-staffed, and focused on providing policymakers with the best information and tools to protect our national security. The Fiscal Year 2023 Intelligence Authorization Act which passed out of our committee today is a strong step forward. It prioritizes the IC’s work on the hardest targets while strengthening our workforce, our use of emerging technologies, and congressional oversight. The war in Ukraine has demonstrated the immense contribution the Intelligence Community can make to our national security and to our allies, and this year’s IAA ensures we will be ready for the next crisis as well. I'm grateful to members on both sides of the aisle for crafting a bipartisan package, and I look forward to moving it forward towards enactment.”

This year’s IAA authorizes funding for the IC at roughly 1.4% above the President’s FY 2023 Budget Request.

The legislation advances significant bipartisan Committee priorities, including:

Countering the proliferation of foreign commercial surveillance.
Responding to a bipartisan concern about the proliferation of highly sophisticated foreign commercial surveillance firms, the IAA includes a major new provision addressing this threat. In addition to classified reporting requirements and additional resources directed to the IC’s work on this issue, the bill would provide authority for the Director of National Intelligence to bar any contract with these foreign firms by the IC, as well as authorizing the President to put in place sanctions on foreign commercial spyware firms that target the IC.

Tracking Russian atrocities.
Since the outset of the Russian war against Ukraine, the Intelligence Committee has been working with the IC and the Biden administration to catalog any war crimes committed by Vladimir Putin's forces so we can seek accountability. This year's IAA will bolster the IC's capability to track and respond to Russian atrocities by establishing a Russian Atrocities Coordinator who will be tasked with identifying and disseminating intelligence about potential Russian war crimes so those responsible can be held to account.

Evaluating America's response to the war in Ukraine. 
This year's IAA includes several provisions requiring the IC to analyze America's response to the war in Ukraine to correct any deficiencies and strengthen any ineffective tactics. Specifically, IC must assess the effect of American sanctions on Russia, with an eye toward where they've fallen short and how they can be targeted to bring about an end to the bloodshed in Ukraine. The 2023 IAA will also require the IC to assess Russia's "grey-zone" assets.

Monitoring cooperation between China and Russia.
The 2023 IAA requires a report – that must be updated every 180 days – on any Chinese support for Russia's war effort in Ukraine. This includes any steps taken by China to help Russia evade the full weight of global sanctions or to provide military assistance to Russia’s war. Beyond Ukraine, the 2023 IAA also directs the IC to assess China and Russia's activities in Latin America and the Caribbean, paying careful attention to any efforts to bolster their influence in these regions.

Countering Iran.
This year's IAA also includes directives to counter Iran's malign activities and the threat posed by their use of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS). Specifically, the 2023 IAA directs the Director of National Intelligence to designate a coordinator for IC efforts to counter the proliferation of Iran-origin unmanned aircraft systems. It also directs the IC to enhance cooperation with Israel and other partners with respect to potential threats posed by Iran.

Modernizing the Intelligence Community.
Following years of oversight on the IC’s adoption of cutting-edge technologies to support its mission, this year's IAA includes provisions aimed at improving the way the IC adopts and integrates emerging technologies, with a specific emphasis on creating conditions for small and medium companies to compete with larger companies.

Specifically, this year's IAA directs the IC to establish Offices of Commercial Integration at each agency. Once operational, these offices will be tasked with helping smaller emerging technology companies overcome the administrative burdens associated with doing business with the IC.

Keeping the Intelligence Community workforce ahead.
The 2023 IAA is keenly attuned to the urgent needs of today's IC workforce. It contains several provisions designed to keep IC personnel ahead, specifically by supporting their physical and mental well-being. Additionally, this year's IAA establishes an Office of Workplace Support at the Central Intelligence Agency that will provide critical services to current and former employees and contractors in need of support, including employees who have been affected by Anomalous Health Incidents.

Fostering an Intelligence Community that reflects America.
For the last few years, the IC has been working to foster a workforce that more accurately reflects the diversity of the public it serves. This year's IAA furthers that goal by including several provisions that, taken together, will strengthen the IC's ability to recruit and retain women, minorities, and candidates of diverse socioeconomic backgrounds and lived experiences.

Specifically, the bill mandates an IC report on methods and strategies to improve workforce diversity, and a detailed assessment of current and planned efforts to expand opportunities for women and minorities in the IC. It also requires annual reports by the Federal Bureau of Investigation regarding any ongoing or in-planning steps that will enable the Bureau to identify and promote diverse candidates. It also directs the Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity (IARPA) to expand cooperation with minority-serving institutions, like Historically Black Colleges and Universities.

Recruiting the next generation of Intelligence Officers.
This year's IAA will help the IC to expand its workforce by recruiting top talent who may not otherwise pursue careers in Intelligence-related fields. Specifically, the 2023 IAA creates an External Advisory Board for Talent at the CIA which will be tasked with improving how the Agency recruits and retains personnel. The Board will also encourage the CIA to benefit from private sector expertise, specifically regarding best practices for recruiting and retaining qualified personnel.

The bill also strengthens the Pat Roberts Intelligence Scholars Program, a DNI-administered, highly-utilized program that benefits personnel across the workforce by reimbursing the cost of academic expenses incurred by IC officers in critical fields.

Shining a historical light on UAPs.
This year, the Intelligence Committee delivered on a promise to hold the first public hearing on Unidentified Aerial Phenomena in more than half a century. The hearing included newly declassified information about UAPs, including never-before-seen video footage and data from subject matter experts. In order to support the work to unravel the UAP mystery, the 2023 IAA directs the GAO to study historical classified information that may further the broader IC effort to understand and explain UAPs – including the implications they may have for our national security.

Assessing counterterrorism strikes.
This year's IAA's includes a provision that requires the Defense Intelligence Agency to assess the strategic impact of the U.S. military's counterterrorism strikes on targets outside areas of active hostilities in the last five years. This specific provision is designed to determine whether or not sufficient intelligence was produced before and after such strikes to inform policy and operational decisions.

Countering online foreign malign influence.
In recognition of the continued risk posed by adversaries’ information operations online, this year's IAA requires the submission of a plan to stand up the statutory Social Media Data and Threat Analysis Center, and provide a description of how the Center will coordinate with social media companies to monitor and assess foreign malign activities on the internet. The legislation also specifies that the Center must determine which categories of social media data and metadata are valuable indicators of these foreign malign activities and, critically, how they can be shared in a manner that protects the privacy and civil liberties of all Americans.

Click here to read the full text of the legislation. 

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