Posted on 02/12/2014 9:29:24 PM PST by Second Amendment First
Dozens of House lawmakers want the Obama administration to release the secret “black budget” used to fund intelligence agencies.
A bipartisan group of 62 members of Congress wrote President Obama a letter on Wednesday asking him to release the fiscal 2015 spending levels for 16 federal spy agencies when he delivers the rest of his budget to Congress on March 4.
“The current practice of providing no specificity whatsoever regarding the overall budget requests for each intelligence agency falls woefully short of basic accountability requirements,” the legislators wrote.
“As you develop your fiscal year 2015 budget, we strongly urge you to take a simple step toward much needed transparency by including the total amount requested for each of the sixteen intelligence agencies. We believe the top line number for each agency should be made public, with no risk to national security, for comparative purposes across all federal government agencies.”
Wednesday’s request was led by Reps. Peter Welch (D-Vt.) and Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.), who last month introduced the Intelligence Budget Transparency Act. The bill would require the administration to release basic details about the spy agencies’ budgets.
The federal government has disclosed the overall amount of money spent to fund the intelligence community since 2007, but has kept classified more specific details about the individual budgets of agencies like the CIA, FBI and National Security Agency (NSA).
Documents released by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden last year showed that the CIA has grown to eat up about 28 percent of the $52.6 billion spent in 2013. The $14.7 billion it received was about 50 percent more than the NSA’s funding.
The White House did not immediately respond to an inquiry from The Hill about the lawmakers' request.
Racists.
“we strongly urge you to take a simple step toward much needed transparency by including the total amount requested for each of the sixteen intelligence agencies.”
Response! “Eff You and the horse you rode in on.”
H.R. 3855: Intelligence Budget Transparency Act of 2014
Title: Intelligence Budget Transparency Act of 2014
Introduced: Jan 13, 2014 (113th Congress)
Sponsor: Rep. Cynthia M. Lummis [R-WY]
Status: Referred to Committee - Referred to the House Committee on the Budget.
Full Text: View the full text by choosing a version below:
Jan 13, 2014 - H.R. 3855 (version: ih)
Cosponsors
Total: 34 [13R 21D]
Rep. Anna G. Eshoo [D-CA18]
(joined Jan 17, 2014)
Rep. Peter A. DeFazio [D-OR4]
(joined Jan 17, 2014)
Rep. Beto O’Rourke [D-TX16]
(joined Jan 17, 2014)
Rep. Paul Tonko [D-NY20]
(joined Jan 17, 2014)
Rep. Colleen W. Hanabusa [D-HI1]
(joined Jan 17, 2014)
Rep. Richard M. Nolan [D-MN8]
(joined Jan 17, 2014)
Rep. Rick Larsen [D-WA2]
(joined Jan 17, 2014)
Rep. Keith Maurice Ellison [D-MN5]
(joined Jan 17, 2014)
Rep. Barbara Lee [D-CA13]
(joined Jan 16, 2014)
Rep. Ted Poe [R-TX2]
(joined Jan 16, 2014)
Rep. James “Jim” P. McGovern [D-MA2]
(joined Jan 16, 2014)
Rep. Earl Blumenauer [D-OR3]
(joined Jan 16, 2014)
Rep. John Conyers Jr. [D-MI13]
(joined Jan 16, 2014)
Rep. Michael C. Burgess [R-TX26]
(joined Jan 16, 2014)
Rep. Scott DesJarlais [R-TN4]
(joined Jan 15, 2014)
Rep. Adam Smith [D-WA9]
(joined Jan 15, 2014)
Rep. Mick Mulvaney [R-SC5]
(joined Jan 14, 2014)
Rep. Thomas Massie [R-KY4]
(joined Jan 14, 2014)
Rep. Chris Van Hollen Jr. [D-MD8]
(joined Jan 14, 2014)
Rep. Todd Rokita [R-IN4]
(joined Jan 14, 2014)
Rep. Justin Amash [R-MI3]
(joined Jan 14, 2014)
Rep. Ted S. Yoho [R-FL3]
(joined Jan 14, 2014)
Rep. Julia Brownley [D-CA26]
(joined Jan 14, 2014)
Rep. Michael E. Capuano [D-MA7]
(joined Jan 14, 2014)
Rep. Wm. Lacy Clay Jr. [D-MO1]
(joined Jan 14, 2014)
Rep. John C. Carney [D-DE]
(joined Jan 14, 2014)
Rep. Louie B. Gohmert Jr. [R-TX1]
(joined Jan 14, 2014)
Rep. Andy Harris [R-MD1]
(joined Jan 14, 2014)
Rep. Tim Huelskamp [R-KS1]
(joined Jan 14, 2014)
Rep. Luis V. Gutiérrez [D-IL4]
(joined Jan 13, 2014)
Rep. David E. Price [D-NC4]
(joined Jan 13, 2014)
Rep. F. James Sensenbrenner Jr. [R-WI5]
(joined Jan 13, 2014)
Rep. Peter Welch [D-VT]
(joined Jan 13, 2014)
Rep. Jim Jordan [R-OH4]
(joined Jan 13, 2014)
Askin’ ain’t gettin’.
Why do we pay these bastards’ salaries? Huh? They’re playing parts in a theater production for the dumb masses.
Do THEY think WE think Benghazi Barry Soebarkah pays attention to anything they say?
Extremists.
I actually thought that the black caucus had come up with yet another scheme for redistribution for their “peeps”only, when I saw the headline. It’s not as if that’s out of the realm of possibility, these days.
Counter-response: No funding for intelligence agencies.
(Congress controls budgets — it is well within their purview to reign in non-accountability in exactly this manner.)
Yep. Black budgets must be totally racist. How can we be so racist? :-)
No. While I don’t trust obama and his minions any further than I can throw them. (Actually a lot less than that even) there is no way I would agree to open up Intel material to people with no need to know. There are oversight committees. But letting 60 plus more people in on sensitive programs? No effin way. We set up limited oversight to have oversight while reducing risk of exposure.
Forget asking little barry, ask John Brennan ... but of course he is not going to give that information to elected legislators.
Oh noes, another letter. Circular file stoopids.
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