Arlen Specter: “I support public disclosure of the overall funding law and would start with the language of the Constitution, which I…”

“I support public disclosure of the overall funding law and would start with the language of the Constitution, which I believe supports that disclosure: No money shall be drawn from the Treasury, but in Consequence of Appropriations made by Law; and a regular Statement and Account of the Receipts and Expenditures of all public Money shall be published from time to time. On the base, that calls for public disclosure. I know some courts have limited that interpretation to what Congress says. But I believe, as a constitutional matter, disclosure ought to be made. And beyond that, as a public policy matter for the Congress, disclosure ought to be made. In the 8 years I served on the Senate Intelligence Committee--2 years as chairman--it seemed to me that much too much is kept secret, and disclosing the overall amount is not to disclose the programs. We have seen terrorism as the instrumentally for political purposes, replacing war. Intelligence is very important to fight terrorism, and I believe if the American people knew how much money was being spent on intelligence gathering, the people would want more spent and not less. Just yesterday, the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee took issue with the way the Central Intelligence Agency is being run, saying it is not being run effectively. Much too much is being kept secret, Mr. President.”