"Congress and the CIA " by L. Britt Snider

This is a study of the CIA’s relationship with Congress. It encompasses the period from the creation of the Agency until 2004—the era of the DCIs.

This study is not organized as one might expect. It does not describe what occurred between the Agency and Congress in chronological order nor does it purport to describe every interaction that occurred over the period encompassed by the study. Rather it attempts to describe what the relationship was like over time and then look at what it produced in seven discrete areas.

Part I describes how Congress and the Agency related to each other over the period covered by the study. As it happens, this period conveniently breaks down into two major segments: the years before the creation of the select committees on intelligence (1946–76) and the years after the creation of these committees (1976–2004). The arrangements that Congress put in place during the earlier period to provide oversight and tend to the needs of the Agency were distinctly different from those put in place in the mid-1970s and beyond. Over the entire period, moreover, the Agency shared intelligence with the Congress and had other interaction with its members that affected the relationship. This, too, is described in part I. Part II describes what the relationship produced over time in seven discrete areas: legislation affecting the Agency; programs and budget; oversight of analysis; oversight of collection; oversight of covert action; oversight of security and personnel matters; and the Senate confirmation process. It highlights what the principal issues have been for Congress in each area as well as how those issues have been handled.

Table of Contents
Preface
PART I WHAT THE RELATIONSHIP WAS LIKE
Chapter 1 The Nature of the Relationship, 1946–76
Chapter 2 The Relationship: 1976–2004
Chapter 3 Intelligence-sharing and other Interaction
Chapter 4 Organizational Arrangements at the CIA
PART II WHAT THE RELATIONSHIP PRODUCED
Chapter 5 Legislation
Chapter 6 Program and Budget
Chapter 7 Oversight of Analysis
Chapter 8 Oversight of Collection
Chapter 9 Oversight of Covert Action
Chapter 10 Oversight of Security and Personnel Matters
Chapter 11 The Senate Confirmation Process
Appendix A. Directors of Central Intelligence
Appendix B. Committee Chairmen with Responsibility for the CIA (194 7–2004)
Appendix C. Heads of the CIA Office of Congressional Affairs (194 7–2004)
Appendix D. List of Abbreviations
Bibliography
Index