NOMINATION OF KEITH R. HALL (Senate - June 20, 1996)

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Mr. COHEN. Mr. President, I would like to take this opportunity to endorse the nomination of Mr. Keith R. Hall to be Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Space. I have known Mr. Hall since 1983, when I was first appointed to serve on the Senate Intelligence Committee. I came to know Mr. Hall particularly well during the period from 1987 to 1990, when I served as the vice chairman of the Intelligence Committee. During that period, the chairman and I relied heavily on Mr. Hall for assessments of the arcane programmatics surrounding the President's budget submissions for the Central Intelligence Agency, the Defense Intelligence Agency, the National Security Agency, and the National Reconnaissance Office. Throughout this period, Mr. Hall demonstrated exceptional knowledge and expertise, unflagging energy and integrity, and a truly nonpartisan spirit of cooperation with myself and other members of the minority party on the committee.

In 1991, Mr. Hall left the Intelligence Committee to become the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Intelligence and Security in the Office of the Secretary of Defense. By all accounts, he served very ably in that position, instituting new procedures to try and eliminate potentially wasteful duplication between national and tactical intelligence programs. From May 1995, until February of this year, Mr. Hall served as the Executive Director for Intelligence Community Affairs. In that position, Mr. Hall was directly responsible to the Director of Central Intelligence for developing the President's National Foreign Intelligence Program. I think it came as no surprise to anyone that Secretary Deutch brought Mr. Hall with him from the Defense Department when he became Director of Central Intelligence .

As my colleagues are aware, the National Reconnaissance Office has been the target of substantial controversy in recent years as a result of the costs associated with its new headquarters as well as the accumulation of a vast excess of carry-forward funds that accumulated in various accounts in recent years. Inevitably, these controversies have damaged the morale of the organization, notwithstanding the numerous spectacular achievements of the NRO. There is no doubt in my mind that Mr. Hall will be forthright in all of his dealings with Congress; that he will ensure there is no repetition of such controversies; and that he will be able to maintain and effectively manage the careful cooperation between the Intelligence Community and Defense Department that is necessary for the effective operation of the National Reconnaissance Office.

Mr. Hall has earned the confidence of officials at all levels of the administration and he certainly earned my confidence during his able service on the staff of the Senate Intelligence Committee. He is an outstanding individual and I urge my colleagues to support his nomination.

I ask unanimous consent that a copy of Mr. Hall's complete resume be printed in the Record.

There being no objection, the resume was ordered to be printed in the Record, as follow:

Keith R. Hall, Deputy Director, National Reconnaissance Office

Keith R. Hall was appointed Deputy Director, National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) and Acting Director, NRO on 27 February 1996. Prior to his appointment, Mr. Hall had served as Executive Director for Intelligence Community Affairs, assuming that position in May 1995. In this capacity he led a community staff which reported directly to the Director of Central Intelligence providing advice and assistance to the Director in planning and executing his Community management responsibilities. Mr. Hall was then principal architect and co-chairman of the Intelligence Program Review Group process. He was also co-chairman of the Security Policy Forum and with the Vice Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff, directed the study group which proposed the creation of the Imagery and Mapping Agency.

Mr. Hall has been involved in United States intelligence in various capacities since 1970. He served nine years in Army intelligence where he was assigned to various signals and human intelligence positions, including two tours in which he commanded overseas operational intelligence units. In 1979, having been nominated and competitively selected as a Presidential Management Intern, he resigned from the Army and was appointed to the Office of Management and Budget where he was the budget examiner for the Central Intelligence Agency until 1983.

From 1983 to 1991, Mr. Hall served in a variety of professional staff positions with the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence , eventually serving as Deputy Staff Director. In that capacity, he had primary responsibility for supporting Committee members in the annual budget authorization process involving all United States intelligence activities. As a member of the Committee's senior staff, he also played a key role in other Committee activities including oversight of intelligence programs, interaction with other Congressional and Executive Branch elements, and review of intelligence -related legislation.

From 1991 until his appointment as Executive Director for Intelligence Community Affairs, Mr. Hall served as the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Intelligence and Security in the Office of the Secretary of Defense. His responsibilities included policy development, resource management, and oversight for all Defense intelligence , counterintelligence, and security activities. In this capacity he served as Chairman of the National Counterintelligence Policy Board and Co-Chairman of the Intelligence Systems Board.

He received his BA in History and Political Science from Alfred University and a Masters in Public Administration from Clark University. Mr. Hall has received several military awards and decorations; the Director of the Office of Management and Budget Award for Professional Achievement, the Central Intelligence Agency Gold Seal Medallion, and the Secretary of Defense Award for Distinguished Civilian Service.