Combating Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction

SEC. 717. PAYMENT OF COMMISSION EXPENSES.The compensation, travel expenses, per diem allowances of members and employees ofthe Commission, and other expenses of the Commission shall be paid out of fundsavailable to the Director of Central Intelligence for the payment of compensation, travelallowances, and per diem allowances, respectively, of employees of the CentralIntelligence Agency.Excerpt from Senate Report Accompanying Charter Legislation 24In the view of the Committee, the US Government at present is not well organized to meetthe threat to U.S. national security posed by the worldwide proliferation of chemical,biological or nuclear weapons or devices, and their delivery systems. More than 80departments, agencies and other organizations, including the Departments of Defense,State, Commerce, Energy, Health and Human Services and Justice, as well as theNational Security Council and the intelligence community, have responsibilities forcombating proliferation. Yet no one individual or organization is responsible forcoordinating the political, military, diplomatic, economic and intelligence resources that arerequired to prevent or roll back proliferation.Moreover, the Committee believes that there is unnecessary duplication of effort and otherinefficiencies among the departments and agencies that have responsibilities in this area,and that streamlining is required.Organizational inefficiencies and a lack of central focus and direction have made U.S.efforts to combat proliferation ad hoc, reactive and less effective than they could be. Giventhe extraordinary challenge to U.S. national security posed by the proliferation of weaponsof mass destruction (and the means to deliver them), and the current lack of focus withinthe Federal Government, the Committee believes that a thorough assessment and reviewof the institutional architecture of the Federal Government is required.The Committee’s authorization bill includes legislation to create a commission to performsuch an assessment, and to report to Congress on specific administrative, legislative andother changes it believes are required to improve U.S. performance.“Re-authorizing” LegislationP.L. 105-277 (FY 1999 Omnibus Appropriations bill)SEC. 708.24Report 104-258 to accompany S.1718, Authorizing Appropriations for Fiscal Year 1997 for theIntelligence Activities of the United States Government and The Central Intelligence AgencyRetirement and Disability System and for other purposes.101