§3308 — Title 50 War and National Defense | U.S. Code

Summary

The Director of National Intelligence must write rules, with input from the Comptroller General, that let the Comptroller General access information held by intelligence agencies. The Director can change those rules later. The rules must follow chapter 7 of title 31 and the National Security Act of 1947 (50 U.S.C. 401 et seq.). The Comptroller General must keep any received information at least as secret as the agency that gave it. Government Accountability Office employees who get the information face the same legal penalties for improper disclosure as the agency’s own staff. The initial rules had to be sent to Congress by May 1, 2011, and any changes must also be sent. Rules take effect 60 days after Congress gets them unless the Director decides they need to start sooner for national security.

Title 50, §3308

War and National Defense — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)(1)The Director of National Intelligence, in consultation with the Comptroller General of the United States, shall issue a written directive governing the access of the Comptroller General to information in the possession of an element of the intelligence community.

(2)The Director of National Intelligence, in consultation with the Comptroller General, may issue an amendment to the directive issued under paragraph (1) at any time the Director determines such an amendment is appropriate.

(3)The directive issued under paragraph (1) and any amendment to such directive issued under paragraph (2) shall be consistent with the provisions of—

(A)chapter 7 of title 31; and

(B)the National Security Act of 1947 (50 U.S.C. 401 et seq.).

(b)(1)The Comptroller General of the United States shall ensure that the level of confidentiality of information made available to the Comptroller General pursuant to the directive issued under subsection (a)(1) or an amendment to such directive issued under subsection (a)(2) is not less than the level of confidentiality of such information required of the head of the element of the intelligence community from which such information was obtained.

(2)An officer or employee of the Government Accountability Office shall be subject to the same statutory penalties for unauthorized disclosure or use of such information as an officer or employee of the element of the intelligence community from which such information was obtained.

(c)(1)The directive issued under subsection (a)(1) shall be submitted to Congress by the Director of National Intelligence, together with any comments of the Comptroller General of the United States, no later than May 1, 2011.

(2)Any amendment to such directive issued under subsection (a)(2) shall be submitted to Congress by the Director, together with any comments of the Comptroller General.

(d)The directive issued under subsection (a)(1) and any amendment to such directive issued under subsection (a)(2) shall take effect 60 days after the date such directive or amendment is submitted to Congress under subsection (c), unless the Director determines that for reasons of national security the directive or amendment should take effect sooner.

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

References in Text

The National Security Act of 1947, referred to in subsec. (a)(3)(B), is act July 26, 1947, ch. 343, 61 Stat. 495, which is classified principally to chapter 44 (§ 3001 et seq.) of this title. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Tables. Codification Section was formerly classified to section 403–9 of this title prior to editorial reclassification and renumbering as this section.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Definition For definition of “intelligence community”, see section 2 of Pub. L. 111–259, set out as a note under section 3003 of this title.

§3308 Information Access by the Comptroller General of the United States