FAS

Odds and Ends

04.28.06 | 1 min read | Text by Steven Aftergood

Sen. Arlen Specter (R-PA) filed an amendment that would prohibit all funding for the NSA domestic surveillance program unless and until the Bush Administration keeps Congress fully and currently informed of the program as required by law.

The Bush Administration welcomed the House version of the 2007 Intelligence Authorization Act for the most part, but also found several objectionable points. A White House statement (pdf) expressed opposition to one provision that required submission to Congress of an inventory of intelligence special access programs, and to another that would grant congressional access to portions of the intelligence community computer network.

The Justice Department has prepared detailed guidance for executive branch agencies to assist them in complying with President Bush’s Executive Order 13392 on “Improving Agency Disclosure of Information,” which was intended to enhance the operation of the Freedom of Information Act.