Senate legislation targets Salt Typhoon and restructuring of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence
The Intelligence Community Efficiency and Effectiveness Act, a bill introduced by Senators Tom Cotton and Mark Warner, aims to streamline and reform the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) and enhance overall intelligence community (IC) operations.
The Act, which was announced last month, seeks to improve efficiency and effectiveness by trimming bureaucracy, enforcing spending discipline, and creating flexible, temporary task forces to tackle emerging and specific intelligence challenges.
Key provisions and reform goals include the creation of Temporary National Intelligence Task Forces, designed to provide nimbleness and direct reporting to Congress within 60 days, dissolving within 540 days to avoid permanent bureaucracy.
The Act also mandates the elimination or wind-down of certain ODNI offices and initiatives, such as the Intelligence Community Chief Data Officer, the Innovation and Malign Influence Centers, and the Climate Security Advisory Council. This is intended to reduce overlap and focus resources more effectively.
Budget and spending controls are another focus of the Act. It introduces restrictions on National Intelligence Program (NIP) funds, specifically barring spending on academic or think tank partnerships unless they involve Five Eyes intelligence partners. It also imposes a one-year moratorium on certain ODNI facility expenditures, requiring the sale or divestiture of unneeded properties.
One significant change is the closure of the National Intelligence University within 180 days, which signals a shift in leadership and tradecraft training for the IC. This move raises concerns about future gaps in training.
The Act also shifts roles and oversight within the IC. While some agencies like the FBI and CIA will gain expanded roles, ODNI's footprint and administrative reach will be reduced. However, ODNI will maintain its responsibilities as the Security Executive Agent overseeing security clearance policies, even though parts of the National Background Investigations Bureau functions will transition.
The Act requires the Director of National Intelligence to submit detailed estimates and implementation plans within 180 days on costs and processes to ensure sensitive compartmented information facilities comply with relevant Intelligence Community Directives.
The Act also includes provisions to establish guidelines for the IC's procurement and use of artificial intelligence, strengthen whistleblower protections for IC personnel, and ban intelligence community contractors from collecting or selling the location data of IC personnel to prevent foreign adversaries from using commercially available location data to expose IC officers and operations.
The Senate Select Committee on Intelligence passed its fiscal 2026 intelligence authorization bill on Tuesday, which includes many of the reforms proposed in the Intelligence Community Efficiency and Effectiveness Act. The bill also aims to strengthen the security of telecommunications networks by establishing baseline cybersecurity requirements for vendors of telecommunications services to the IC.
The House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence has yet to release details of its intelligence authorization bill mark up. It remains to be seen how the House will approach these reform measures.
In addition, the bill addresses "Salt Typhoon," a hacking group believed to be operated by the China's Ministry of State Security, and requires the director of national intelligence to issue standard guidelines for Intelligence Community personnel to document and report Anomalous Health Incidents.
A one-day virtual event, Workforce Reimagined, is scheduled for August 26, focused on building a federal workforce that's skilled, resilient, and ready to meet evolving mission demands.
Senator Ron Wyden voted against the Senate committee's bill because it eliminates the requirement for the general counsels at ODNI and the CIA to be Senate-confirmed.
It's unclear whether ODNI's internal effort to develop enterprise AI guidance for spy agencies has been finalized or rescinded under the Trump administration.
The Department of Homeland Security shared a bulletin detailing how Salt Typhoon infiltrated an Army National Guard network and went undetected for months starting last March.
The legislation would also establish Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas)'s "Intelligence Community Technology Bridge Act," which establishes a bridge fund for IC elements to assist businesses or nonprofit organizations transitioning products or services to the prototype or production phase.
- The Intelligence Community Efficiency and Effectiveness Act, a bill aimed at streamlining and reforming the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), seeks to create Temporary National Intelligence Task Forces to tackle emerging and specific intelligence challenges, providing nimbleness and direct reporting to Congress within 60 days.
- The Act requires the Director of National Intelligence to establish guidelines for the IC's procurement and use of artificial intelligence, a move that reflects the importance of technology in enhancing intelligence operations.
- Amidst the reforms, concerns have been raised about future gaps in training, as the Act includes the closure of the National Intelligence University within 180 days.
- The Senate Select Committee on Intelligence passed a fiscal 2026 intelligence authorization bill that includes the provisions of the Intelligence Community Efficiency and Effectiveness Act, aiming to strengthen the security of telecommunications networks by establishing baseline cybersecurity requirements for vendors of telecommunications services to the IC.
