§3091a — Title 50 War and National Defense | U.S. Code

Summary

The Director of National Intelligence must brief the right congressional committees and leaders at least every six months, and when asked, about each controlled access program. Each briefing must describe what the program did during the period and show how the program met the requirements set by the Director and, if needed, the Secretary of Defense. A head of an intelligence element must tell those committees and leaders before creating a controlled access program or any compartment inside one. They must also give notice before moving a capability out of a controlled access program or into another compartment or a special access program, unless the move is needed to fix an urgent counterintelligence problem or to keep access during a reorganization. National Intelligence Program funds cannot be used for a controlled access program until that notice is sent. Each head must send an annual report listing active and ended compartments. The Director’s annual report must also certify whether creations, validations, big changes, or terminations are justified, and for each include the reason, the control officer’s name, and protection requirements. The “appropriate congressional committees” are the congressional intelligence committees, the Senate Committee on Appropriations, and the House Committee on Appropriations. “Congressional leadership” means the Senate majority leader, Senate minority leader, Speaker of the House, and House minority leader. A “controlled access program” is one run under Intelligence Community Directive 906 or its successor.

Title 50, §3091a

War and National Defense — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)(1)Not less frequently than semiannually or upon request by one of the appropriate congressional committees or a member of congressional leadership, the Director of National Intelligence shall provide to such committees and congressional leadership a briefing on each controlled access program in effect.

(2)Each briefing provided under paragraph (1) shall include, at a minimum, the following:

(A)A description of the activity of the controlled access programs during the period covered by the briefing.

(B)Documentation with respect to how the controlled access programs have achieved outcomes consistent with requirements documented by the Director and, as applicable, the Secretary of Defense.

(b)(1)A head of an element of the intelligence community may not establish a controlled access program, or a compartment or subcompartment therein, until the head notifies the appropriate congressional committees and congressional leadership of such controlled access program, compartment, or subcompartment, as the case may be.

(2)(A)Except as provided in subparagraph (B), a head of an element of the intelligence community may not transfer a capability from a controlled access program, including from a compartment or subcompartment therein to a compartment or subcompartment of another controlled access program, to a special access program (as defined in section 3348(g) of this title), or to anything else outside the controlled access program, until the head submits to the appropriate congressional committees and congressional leadership notice of the intent of the head to make such transfer.

(B)The head of an element of the intelligence community may make a transfer described in subparagraph (A) without prior congressional notification if the head determines that doing so—

(i)is required to mitigate an urgent counterintelligence issue; or

(ii)is necessary to maintain access in the event of an organizational restructuring.

(c)Funds authorized to be appropriated for the National Intelligence Program may not be obligated or expended for any controlled access program, or a compartment or subcompartment therein, until the head of the element of the intelligence community responsible for the establishment of such program, compartment, or subcompartment, submits the notification required by subsection (b).

(d)(1)On an annual basis, the head of each element of the intelligence community shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees and congressional leadership a report on controlled access programs administered by the head.

(2)Each report submitted under paragraph (1) shall include, with respect to the period covered by the report, the following:

(A)A list of all compartments and subcompartments of controlled access programs active as of the date of the report.

(B)A list of all compartments and subcompartments of controlled access programs terminated during the period covered by the report.

(C)With respect to the report submitted by the Director of National Intelligence, in addition to the matters specified in clauses (A) and (B)—

(i)a certification regarding whether the creation, validation, or substantial modification, including termination, for all existing and proposed controlled access programs, and the compartments and subcompartments within each, are substantiated and justified based on the information required by clause (ii); and

(ii)for each certification—

(I)the rationale for the revalidation, validation, or substantial modification, including termination, of each controlled access program, compartment, and subcompartment;

(II)the identification of a control officer for each controlled access program; and

(III)a statement of protection requirements for each controlled access program.

(e)In this section:

(1)The term “appropriate congressional committees” means—

(A)the congressional intelligence committees;

(B)the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate; and

(C)the Committee on Appropriations of the House of Representatives.

(2)The term “congressional leadership” means—

(A)the majority leader of the Senate;

(B)the minority leader of the Senate;

(C)the Speaker of the House of Representatives; and

(D)the minority leader of the House of Representatives.

(3)The term “controlled access program” means a program created or managed pursuant to Intelligence Community Directive 906, or successor directive.

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

References in Text

Intelligence Community Directive 906, referred to in subsec. (e)(3), is located at https://www.dni.gov/files/documents/ICD/ICD-906-Controlled-Access-Programs.pdf.

Amendments

2024—Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 118–159, § 6603, substituted “Limitations” for “Limitation on establishment” in subsec. heading, designated existing provisions as par. (1) and inserted par. heading, and added par. (2). Subsecs. (c) to (e). Pub. L. 118–159, § 6602(a), added subsec. (c) and redesignated former subsecs. (c) and (d) as (d) and (e), respectively.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date

of 2024 Amendment Pub. L. 118–159, div. F, title LXVI, § 6602(b), Dec. 23, 2024, 138 Stat. 2502, provided that: “Subsection (c) of such section [meaning 50 U.S.C. 3091a] shall apply with respect to controlled access programs (as defined in such section), and compartments and subcompartments therein, that are established on or after the date of the enactment of this Act [Dec. 23, 2024].”

§3091a Congressional Oversight of Controlled Access Programs