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United States House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence

(Redirected from House Intelligence committee)

The United States House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence (HPSCI), also known as the House Intelligence Committee, is a committee of the United States House of Representatives, currently chaired by Mike Turner. It is the primary committee in the U.S. House of Representatives charged with the oversight of the United States Intelligence Community, though it does share some jurisdiction with other committees in the House, including the Armed Services Committee for some matters dealing with the Department of Defense and the various branches of the U.S. military.

United States House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence
Permanent select committee
Active

United States House of Representatives
118th Congress
Seal of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence
History
FormedJuly 14, 1977
Formerly known asSelect Committee on Intelligence
Leadership
ChairMike Turner (R)
Since January 9, 2023
Ranking memberJim Himes (D)
Since February 1, 2023
Structure
Seats25
Political partiesMajority (14)
  •   Republican (14)
Minority (11)
Jurisdiction
Purposeto "oversee and make continuing studies of the intelligence activities and programs of the United States Government"
Oversight authorityUnited States Intelligence Community
Senate counterpartUnited States Senate Select Committee on Intelligence
Subcommittees
  • Strategic Technologies and Advanced Research (STAR) Subcommittee
  • Counterterrorism, Counterintelligence, and Counterproliferation (C3)
  • Intelligence Modernization and Readiness (INMAR)
  • Defense Intelligence and Warfighter Support (DIWS)
Website
intelligence.house.gov

The committee was preceded by the Select Committee on Intelligence between 1975 and 1977. House Resolution 658 established the permanent select committee, which gave it status equal to a standing committee on July 14, 1977.[1]

Jurisdiction

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The committee oversees all or part of the following executive branch departments and agencies:

History

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Prior to establishing the permanent select committee in 1977, the House of Representatives established the "Select Committee on Intelligence", commonly referred to as the "Pike Committee", so named after its last chairman, Otis G. Pike of New York. The select committee had originally been established in February 1975 under the chairmanship of Congressman Lucien Nedzi of Michigan. Following Nedzi's resignation in June, the committee was reconstituted with Pike as chair, in July 1975, with its mandate expiring January 31, 1976. Under Pike's chairmanship, the committee investigated illegal activities by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

The final report of the Pike Committee was never officially published due to Congressional opposition. However, unauthorized versions of the draft final report were leaked to the press. CBS News reporter Daniel Schorr was called to testify before Congress, but refused to divulge his source.[2] Major portions of the report were published by The Village Voice, and a full copy of the draft was published in England.

During the 1980s the HPSCI worked to acquire access to covert action notifications of the CIA, as well as to strengthen the role of the committee in intelligence agency funding. Under the Reagan administration, the HPSCI and United States Senate Select Committee on Intelligence (SSCI) worked with Director of Central Intelligence William J. Casey on what was known as the "Casey Accords". The accords required that covert action findings were to be accompanied by "scope papers" that included a risk/gain assessment of each such activity. However, the deal was not acceptable to the HPSCI, and after the Iran–Contra affair, more pressure was placed on strengthening the oversight of committees.[3]

In 2017, the committee was tasked along with the SSCI to evaluate the degree of Russian interference in the 2016 US elections.[4] The committee was also investigating allegations of wiretapping of Donald Trump, as well as ties between Russian officials and members of Trump's presidential campaign.[5][6] The committee came under intense scrutiny in 2017 and 2018 due to allegations of partisanship and leaks of classified information by members and their staff. In March 2018, the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 elections was abruptly ended by the committee's Republican members despite the assertion by Democratic members that the investigation was incomplete and had failed to gather pertinent information. Notably, House Intelligence Republicans released a draft of their investigatory report which contradicted some findings of the U.S. Intelligence Community and was written without the input of House Democrats.[7][8] In March 2018, after further disagreements, Republican committee member Tom Rooney claimed that the committee had "lost all credibility" and had become "a political forum for people to leak information to drive the day's news."[9]

With the change of party leadership in the House in the 116th United States Congress, the committee launched a probe of Trump's finances and Russian ties in February 2019.[10] In June 2019, in the course of hearings on the national security implications of climate change, the White House blocked the submission of a statement by the State Department's Bureau of Intelligence and Research Office of the Geographer and Global Issues, and the analyst who wrote the statement, Rod Schoonover, resigned.[11][12]

Members, 118th Congress

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Majority Minority
Ex officio

Subcommittees

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118th Subcommittee Chair Ranking Member
Central Intelligence Agency Subcommittee[13] Rick Crawford (R-AR) André Carson (D-IN)
National Intelligence Enterprise Subcommittee[14] Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA) Stacey Plaskett (D-VI)
Defense Intelligence & Overhead Architecture Subcommittee[15] Trent Kelly (R-MS) Chrissy Houlahan (D-PA)
National Security Agency & Cyber Subcommittee[16] Darin LaHood (R-IL) Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ)
Oversight & Investigations Subcommittee[17] Brad Wenstrup (R-OH) Jimmy Gomez (D-CA)

Historical membership rosters

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117th Congress

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Majority Minority
Ex officio
Subcommittees
117th Subcommittee Chair Ranking Member
Strategic Technologies and Advanced Research (STAR) Subcommittee Jim Himes (D-CT) Chris Stewart (R-UT)
Counterterrorism, Counterintelligence, and Counterproliferation (C3) Subcommittee André Carson (D-IN) Rick Crawford (R-AR)
Intelligence Modernization and Readiness (INMAR) Subcommittee Eric Swalwell (D-CA) Markwayne Mullin (R-OK)
Defense Intelligence and Warfighter Support (DIWS) Subcommittee Peter Welch (D-VT) Brad Wenstrup (R-OH)

Chairs

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Select Committee chairs

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Permanent Select Committee chairs

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See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ "H.Res.658 - Resolution to amend the Rules of the House of Representatives and establish a Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence". Congress.gov. July 14, 1977. Retrieved November 21, 2019.
  2. ^ U.S. House. Hearings Before the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct. Investigation of Publication of Select Committee on Intelligence Report. 94th Congress, 2nd session. July 19, 20, 21, 22, 26, 27, 28 and 29, September 8, 14, 15, 1976.
  3. ^ Snider, L. Britt. The Agency & The Hill CIA's Relationship with Congress, 1946–2004 (PDF). p. 63. Archived from the original (PDF) on August 3, 2019. Retrieved March 19, 2017.
  4. ^ "Donald Trump's habit of making accusations without evidence is corrosive". The Economist. Retrieved March 19, 2017.
  5. ^ "Five things to watch at the House Intelligence Committee's Russia hearing". Washington Post. Retrieved March 19, 2017.
  6. ^ "House Intelligence Committee member on the Russia-Trump investigation: 'There is more than circumstantial evidence now'". Business Insider. March 23, 2017. Retrieved March 25, 2017.
  7. ^ "Russia probe: House intel Republicans end investigation, find 'no evidence' of collusion". USA Today. March 12, 2018. Retrieved March 15, 2018.
  8. ^ Megerian, Chris (March 13, 2018). "Republicans wind down House Intelligence Committee's Russia investigation, claiming no evidence of collusion". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved March 15, 2018.
  9. ^ Squitieri, Jason (March 13, 2018). "Republican member of House Intel Committee says it has 'lost all credibility'". CNN. Retrieved March 15, 2018.
  10. ^ "House Intelligence Committee launches broad new probe of Trump's finances and Russia ties". Chicago Tribune. February 6, 2019.
  11. ^ Eilperin, Juliet (July 10, 2019). "Intelligence aide, blocked from submitting written testimony on climate change, resigns from State Dept. Rod Schoonover's decision to leave was voluntary, according to individuals familiar with the matter". The Washington Post. Retrieved July 16, 2019.
  12. ^ "White House edits of intelligence agency's testimony. This document shows White House officials' comments on the State Department's Bureau of Intelligence and Research climate testimony, which they ultimately blocked from being submitted to Congress". Washington Post. June 14, 2019. Retrieved July 16, 2019.
  13. ^ "Central Intelligence Agency | Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence".
  14. ^ "National Intelligence Enterprise | Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence".
  15. ^ "Defense Intelligence & Overhead Architecture | Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence".
  16. ^ "National Security Agency & Cyber | Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence".
  17. ^ "Oversight & Investigations | Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence".
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