Dianne Feinstein: “Soon thereafter, Senators Collins and Lieberman were given the monumental task of moving forward with the project of…”

“Soon thereafter, Senators Collins and Lieberman were given the monumental task of moving forward with the project of intelligence reform. They were certainly the right choice. I provided my legislation to them, and I am pleased that much of it was included in their finished product, which in turn forms the basis for the conference report we are considering today. Let me now turn to the substance of the law we are about to vote upon, noting that this legislation is just a first step towards reform. It is a top-level structural change that is designed to lay the groundwork for the deep cultural, bureaucratic and operational changes which are needed throughout the intelligence community. The DNI will have a big job to do, and this legislation is just the beginning. As I have noted, the way our intelligence community is structured is fundamentally flawed. It is unsuited for the 21st century. The old days of the Soviet Union and Communism are over, replaced by a world of asymmetric threats, rogue states, and shifting terror organizations. The most important of these structural failings is related to what under current law is called the office of the Director of Central Intelligence, known as the DCI. That title involves two separate, and I believe incompatible, jobs--head of the intelligence community and head of the Central Intelligence Agency. Thus, there is only a nominal head of the intelligence community, who cannot be effective.”