CIA Gets Huge Rise in Anti-Terrorism Funds-Senator

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The CIA (news - web sites) is receiving a "huge" increase in anti-terrorism funds this year, Senate Intelligence Committee Vice Chairman Richard Shelby said on Wednesday.

The CIA's budget is classified, but is estimated by intelligence experts to be roughly $3 billion a year, which is about 10 percent of the overall intelligence budget that also funds programs in the Defense Department and other agencies.

President Bush (news - web sites) has requested $27 billion more this year in a supplemental budget to fight terrorism that includes funding for Pentagon (news - web sites), CIA and homeland security programs.

Congress was expected to consider that budget request over the next few weeks. The United States launched a war on terrorism after the Sept. 11 attacks.

"This year the agency is about to receive a huge new infusion of funds to help fight the war on terrorism which we all support," Shelby, an Alabama Republican, said at a nomination hearing for CIA inspector general.

Shelby pointedly made the statement to nominee John Helgerson while reciting past criticism of the CIA's financial management.

Helgerson said if he were confirmed by the Senate as the spy agency's third inspector general, one area he would focus on would be the CIA's procurement and acquisition process for information technology and information systems.

"This is an area that frankly in any government agency is ripe for waste, fraud and abuse," he told the committee.

"I am mindful that CIA has received and will be receiving significant additional funds," Helgerson said. "A great deal of these monies are spent with overseas operations," and he would work to strengthen field audits, he said.

Helgerson's nomination was not considered controversial and approval by the Senate Intelligence Committee was expected.
His nomination would then go before the full Senate for a vote.

You wouldn't mind giving the CIA, as an institution, more money. for anti-terrorism. After all, somebody has to do the job. However, heads should roll over the fact that they did not do the job prior (and probably since) 9-11. Christians In Action has rarely been worth the powder (or C-4 ;) ) it would take to blow them up.

Yeah, well, we all were rightly disgusted by x42's emasculation of the CIA budget and policies. So *some* increase in funding would seem warranted. It sure looks stupid from the 'reward for performance' perspective, of course.

On the other hand, as far as 'waste' goes, CIA funded research contracts are as heavily regulated, tracked, and penny-pinched as other govt. contracts. I know it sounds like there's room for abuse, and some will trot out stories of $600 hammers--maybe there still is waste and abuse elsewhere. However, the government bid and contract process is actually very, very tightly controlled to limit how much money contractors get, how they spend it, etc. It really is, I have to deal with this all the time. As much as I often feel that government is wasteful, my perspective is that it's more a question of WHAT is being funded, not so much that individual agencies are not thrifty. They're cheap as hell!

That having been said, I'd love to see lots of waste cut at the AGENCY level (e.g., dissolve the so-called Civil Rights Commission and dethrone Her Highness). I'm sure there are plenty of other such agencies to cut, too...

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