Joe Lieberman: “I say through the Chair, that power would be seriously limited, which is to say the personnel transfers under the…”

“I say through the Chair, that power would be seriously limited, which is to say the personnel transfers under the amendment would have to be done in accordance with procedures to be developed by the national intelligence director with the concerned department head and only for periods up to 1 year, and that is a constriction that says to the national intelligence director: You do not have the latitude to do what you think is necessary to protect the national security interests. This is a little bit like saying to a general: You can only make a decision for a short period of time in moving your troops around to better confront the enemy and achieve victory. It makes no sense. It is a critical part of the overall proposal of our bill and the 9/11 Commission. If the Senator from Ohio would give me a moment, this morning, the Family Steering Committee composed of families of victims of 9/11 sent a letter to every Senator commenting on some of these amendments. With regard to this amendment introduced by the Senator from West Virginia, No. 3845, they say that the 9/11 Commission has stated repeatedly that the power of the purse is critical for the national intelligence director position. S. 2845, the underlying bill, provides for the national intelligence director to be empowered with budget execution and transfer authorities. The NID also needs to be able to transfer personnel in response to threats, which is what the Senator's question goes to.”