§429a Expenditure of funds for Department of Defense intelligence and counterintelligence activities

Summary

The Secretary of Defense may spend money from the Military Intelligence Program for intelligence and counterintelligence activities that are confidential, extraordinary, or emergency in nature. The Secretary’s decision about such spending is final for the government’s accounting. No more than 5 percent of those funds in any fiscal year may be used this way unless the Secretary tells both the congressional defense committees and the congressional intelligence committees about the planned spending and waits 30 days. For each such payment the Secretary must certify it was for a confidential, extraordinary, or emergency purpose. By December 31 each year the Secretary must report to those committees the prior year’s expenditures, with a description, purpose, program element, and the certification. The Secretary cannot delegate authority for any single expenditure over $200,000. The only authority to use these Military Intelligence Program funds for those kinds of activities is the authority just described. Congressional intelligence committees: Senate Select Committee on Intelligence and House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence.