DYNAMIC PAGE -- HIGHEST POSSIBLE CLASSIFICATION IS
TOP SECRET // SI / TK // REL TO USA AUS CAN GBR NZL
(U) Power of the Purse Strings
FROM: SIGINT Communications
Unknown
Run Date: 01/10/2005
A very brief tutorial on how the Agency gets its funding from Congress (U)
(U//FOUO) Although SID provides intelligence primarily for the use of the Executive Branch of
the government, it is the U.S. Congress that provides oversight and determines the Agency's
budget. That is why our dealings with Congress are so important. In this article, we'll look at
how SID interacts with Congress on budget issues -- we think you'll be surprised at how much
work goes into this effort, most of it invisible to the general SID workforce.
(U//FOUO) Our main contacts in Congress are with the following four committees:
House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence (HPSCI)
Senate Select Committee on Intelligence (SSCI)
House Appropriations Committee (HAC)
Senate Appropriations Committee (SAC)
For budgeting purposes, the first two committees are known as "authorizors", while the latter
two are the "appropriators". Let's look briefly at the budget process (we'll try to keep it
simple!)...
(U) The Budget
(U) "Marking Up" the President's Budget
(U//FOUO) The budget process works like this:
The President submits a budget to Congress (with SID's portion detailed in a document
called the Congressional Budget Justification Book - CBJB) requesting specified amounts
of money for NSA and 12 other agencies that are part of the National Foreign Intelligence
Program. Every year, NSA's DF3 (Program and Budget Build) puts together the CBJB
based on input from SID and the rest of the Agency, excluding IAD.
The above four congressional committees then review the CBJB and "mark it up"- i.e.
they indicate whether they think the funding should be raised, lowered, or left the same.
The committee staffers also may request briefings on various projects, to help them
gauge the appropriate level of funding.
The congressional committees then reconcile (this is referred to as "conference") the
various versions of their mark ups, which result in the Intelligence Authorization Bill and
the Intelligence Appropriation Bill. At that point, it is submitted to the full Congress for a
vote and (if passed) sent to the President for signature or veto.
(U) More on the CBJB
(U//FOUO) The compilation of the CBJB is a major project. Personnel from NSA's DF3 coordinate
with SID budget managers to gather together cost figures and justifications for every program
across the directorate and present the data in a consistent format for the congressional
committees. The CBJB is due to the committees on the first Monday in February. Compiling the
CBJB is a big endeavor: as an example, the CBJB for 2004 totaled 761 pages, and took 5
months to assemble.
(U) Budget Jargon
(U//FOUO) As with everything else, the budget process has its own vocabulary. Here are a few
terms you may hear:
Fence : When NSA funding is fenced, it means we cannot spend those dollars until we
satisfy certain requirements levied on us by Congress. Fences are associated with
Congressional Directed Actions (CDAs).
With/Without Prejudice : When a cut is taken "with prejudice", it means that NSA
must take the cut from a specified project/program. If a cut is taken "without prejudice",
we have the option of funding that program/project at the level we requested and taking
that cut from elsewhere in the budget.
A not A : Appropriated not Authorized. This occurs when the Appropriators provide
funding for programs, but the Authorizers do not give NSA the authority to spend it.
Hollow Authority : This occurs when the Authorizers give NSA the authority to spend
funds, however, the Appropriators do not provide us the with the dollars.
Congressional Member/Staffer : The "member" is the senator or congressman. The
"staffer" is just that -- one of his staff. The staffers are led by a "staff director". Sensitive
classified information is sometimes shared only with the staff director and members of
Congress -- not with the staffers -- to limit distribution as much as possible.
"(U//FOUO) SIDtoday articles may not be republished or reposted outside NSANet
without the consent of S0121 (DL sid_comms)."
DYNAMIC PAGE -- HIGHEST POSSIBLE CLASSIFICATION IS
TOP SECRET // SI / TK // REL TO USA AUS CAN GBR NZL
DERIVED FROM: NSA/CSSM 1-52, DATED 08 JAN 2007 DECLASSIFY ON: 20320108