“I am pleased that President Bush today announced support for the creation of a Director of National Intelligence. As Congress moves ahead with this proposal, we must ensure that this position is provided with the budgetary, statutory and personnel authority to truly manage our nation’s 15 intelligence agencies. And I would hope that is the President’s intent.

The intelligence failures leading up to 9/11 and in the evaluation of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq have clearly demonstrated the urgent need to reform our intelligence community.

It is imperative that we move ahead as quickly as possible and establish new, meaningful leadership for our entire intelligence community and substantially improve the collection and analysis of intelligence to help carry out the war against non-state, asymmetric terrorism. The Director National Intelligence (DNI) must have the power to develop intelligence strategies, set priorities and move around the players to accomplish these goals.

The creation of a DNI was a top recommendation of the 9/11 commission last month. The Joint House-Senate Intelligence Committee investigating the September 11 attacks also called for the establishment of a DNI 20 months ago. We cannot afford to wait any longer.

In June 2002, I first introduced legislation to create a DNI and followed that in January 2003 with the Intelligence Community Leadership Act of 2003, which is now cosponsored by Senators Olympia Snowe, Jay Rockefeller, Trent Lott, Bob Graham, Barbara Mikulski and Ron Wyden.

The legislation would separate the current position of Director of Central Intelligence (currently held by one individual, who both runs the Central Intelligence Agency and the intelligence community as a whole) into two positions:

• A Director of National Intelligence (DNI) to lead all segments of the Intelligence Community; and
• A Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (DCIA) to serve as head of the CIA.

Subsequent to the release of the 9/11 Commission report efforts have been underway to incorporate key details of the Commission’s report into the bill.

In February, I sent a copy of the legislation to National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice and plan to send the bill to the President today. I hope we can work together and ensure there is no undue delay.”