Intel Inside

The fiscal year 2013 intelligence authorization bill has been approved by both chambers of Congress and forwarded to the president for his signature, according to a joint statement released yesterday by the leaders of the House and Senate intelligence committees.

The bill "is significantly below last year's enacted budget, but also up slightly from the President's budget request," the statement reads, adding:

The House Intelligence Committee unanimously voted to report the FY13 bill to the full House on May 17, 2012 and it originally passed the House on May 31 with overwhelming bipartisan support.  The Senate passed its version of the authorization bill on December 28, 2012, after extensive negotiation between the House and Senate committees.  With today's vote, the House approved the version approved by the Senate and has sent the legislation to the President for signature.

Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Feinstein said, "This bill marks four straight years of Congress passing an intelligence authorization bill.  This bill provides important oversight provisions while authorizing funding for critical national security programs.  The bill has been carefully negotiated between the two committees, our House and Senate colleagues, and the executive branch, and I look forward to the president signing it into law."

Senate Intelligence Committee Vice Chairman Saxby Chambliss said, "I am pleased that Congress has passed this annual intelligence authorization bill, which allows the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence to provide comprehensive oversight of the nation's intelligence community. It is imperative that Congress provide oversight to hold the intelligence community accountable for its fiscal and legal responsibilities."

House Intelligence Committee Chairman Rogers said, “The current challenging fiscal environment demands the accountability and financial oversight of our classified intelligence programs that can only come with an annual intelligence authorization bill.  This important bill reaffirms to the hard-working men and women in the intelligence community that Congress is united in ensuring they have the tools they need in order to do the very difficult and dangerous work of keeping America safe."

House Intelligence Committee Ranking Member C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger said, "It is our responsibility on the Intelligence Committee to give our intelligence professionals the resources, capabilities and authorities they need to keep our country safe.  This bill does this while keeping costs in check. It invests in personnel and programs that are working and cuts things that aren't.  I look forward to the President signing this bill to make it law."

Read the Senate committee's manager's report.