A routine intelligence authorization bill passed by the House Tuesday could get jammed up in the Senate if it retains provisions that hamper the oversight of US spies.
Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) said he would oppose any unanimous consent request to pass the 2016 Intelligence Authorization Act if it includes language restricting the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board (PCLOB) from investigating covert activity.
In a statement first posted by investigative reporter Marcy Wheeler Tuesday, Sen. Wyden (D-Ore.) said that Section 305 of the House-passed bill would “undermine independent oversight of US intelligence agencies” by curtailing the powers of the PCLOB. The independent, bipartisan executive agency was created after 9/11 in an effort to ensure that new counterterrorist activities don’t violate the Bill of Rights.
“While this Board’s oversight activities to date have not focused on covert action, it is reasonably easy to envision a covert action program that could have a significant impact on Americans’ privacy and civil liberties,” the Senator stated.
Wyden added that an “even bigger concern” of his is that the CIA would take advantage of the provision to be non-compliant with all PCLOB investigations by claiming that the probes were in some way connected to covert activities.
“I recognize that this may not be the intent of this provision, but in my fifteen years on the Intelligence Committee I have repeatedly seen senior CIA officials go to striking lengths to resist external oversight of their activities,” he said.
The rider proved non-controversial in the House where the bill passed 364-58. That legislation will have to be reconciled, however, with a pending Senate policy bill that didn’t include the PCLOB restrictions.
“In my judgment Congress should be making it harder, not easier, for intelligence officials to stymie independent oversight,” Wyden said. He promised to work with his colleagues to “modify or remove the provision.”
The House-passed intelligence authorization bill also requires an assessment of political assassinations by the Russian government, a report to Congress on foreign fighters trying to join the Islamic State, and a cyber attack damage assessment.
