The U.S. Intelligence Community: Selected Cross-Cutting Issues (CRS Report for Congress)
Premium Purchase PDF for $24.95 (38 pages)
add to cart or
subscribe for unlimited access
Pro Premium subscribers have free access to our full library of CRS reports.
Subscribe today, or
request a demo to learn more.
| Release Date |
April 12, 2016 |
| Report Number |
R44455 |
| Report Type |
Report |
| Authors |
Anne Daugherty Miles, Analyst in Intelligence and National Security Policy |
| Source Agency |
Congressional Research Service |
Summary:
This report focuses on cross-cutting management issues that affect the Intelligence Community’s
(IC’s) ability to counter “pervasive and emerging threats” to the United States and balance
resources both appropriately and wisely. As the IC’s senior manager, these issues ultimately fall
within the Director of National Intelligence’s (DNI’s) area of responsibility. The DNI is charged
with integrating the community of intelligence agencies so that they operate effectively as one
team.
There are no easy solutions to the challenges examined in this report. The IC’s efforts to
demonstrate progress are hampered by difficulties such as the IC’s diffuse structure—a
confederation of separately managed component parts; the unique demands of operating in secret;
the interrelationships between many issues; and diminishing resources.
The issues selected for examination in this report were chosen because they affect a number of
agencies and are widely discussed by professionals within and external to the IC (and are not so
complex that they need their own separate report).
1. Budget. Are the resources in the IC budget (the national and military intelligence
programs) managed and balanced appropriately to meet the needs of every
agency and the IC mission as a whole?
2. Analysis. The heart and soul of the intelligence function; analysis is the
responsibility of every IC agency. How to improve analysis is an enduring focus
of reform efforts.
3. “Big Data.” The IC Information Technology Enterprise (IC ITE) is a major
initiative focused on many of the challenges and opportunities associated with
the current ocean of available information. How well is the IC putting vast
amounts of unstructured data to valuable use?
4. Diversity. New initiatives designed to improve diversity in the entire IC
workforce have been a recurring theme in intelligence-related legislation and IC
policy directives over the past decade. Can anything else be done?
5. Global coverage. The IC’s need to prepare for and respond to any and all crises
and threats—worldwide—is referred to as global coverage. Do expectations
about what the IC can and should cover need be adjusted?
6. Continuous Evaluation (CE). The expanded use of publicly available data when
reviewing the backgrounds of a security clearance holder is the new standard for
all IC agencies. What is the CE issue from a privacy and civil liberties
perspective?
7. Polygraphs. Although polygraphs are required by every agency, their reliability
and validity are questionable. As the IC moves toward CE, are they still
necessary?
8. Transparency. What more can be done IC-wide to enhance public understanding
of intelligence activities through greater transparency while still protecting
national security?
While the eight issues are different in many ways, they are similar in that they shine a light on
important questions that can be applied to any IC issue in terms of balance, best practices,
integration, privacy and civil liberties, transparency, and trust.
