Timothy Roemer: “I rise in strong bipartisan support of the fiscal year 2001 intelligence authorization. I believe this bill sets about…”

“I rise in strong bipartisan support of the fiscal year 2001 intelligence authorization. I believe this bill sets about the right level of overall funding for intelligence activities next year. The President requested 6.6 percent more in funding for national programs over last year's appropriated level. While some have complained that the administration failed to request sufficient funding for intelligence activities, the testimony we heard during our budget hearings did not convince me we needed to go beyond the relatively robust topline increase in the request. Nevertheless, there was room for concern about some aspects of the request and the allocation of those resources. I have been very critical of one classified program of great cost and exceedingly doubtful impact. I have also been extremely concerned that the heightened pace of U.S. Government counterterrorism efforts arising out of the threat identified over the Millennium could not be sustained through the end of this fiscal year and into FY 2001. Finally, through oversight and legislative hearings, the compiled evidence significantly increased my concerns about the state of language capabilities of intelligence community personnel. I have found that not only are there too few people speaking the language in country, but too often the ones who do are not sufficiently proficient.”