United States House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence

Committee information

• Date created: July 14, 1977
• Members: Twenty-five members in the 119th Congress (2025–2027)
• Subcommittees: Central Intelligence Agency; National Intelligence Enterprise Subcommittee; Defense Intelligence & Overhead Architecture Subcommittee; National Security Agency & Cyber Subcommittee; Oversight & Investigations Subcommittee

Role

The United States House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence is a committee in the House of Representatives responsible for overseeing the US intelligence community. The committee encompasses the intelligence-gathering aspects of seventeen federal agencies and departments relating to law enforcement, foreign policy, and national security. Among the entities included under the committee’s jurisdiction are the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the State Department, the Department of Homeland Security, and the Department of the Treasury. The committee is also responsible for intelligence-related activities of the US Armed Forces, although it does share some jurisdiction over these departments with the House Armed Services Committee.

Committees in the US Congress are subdivisions of the House and Senate that are assigned jurisdiction over specific issues and duties. Committees investigate issues and review and vote on legislation that falls under their specific mandate. They can then make recommendations to the main body of the House or Senate and bring the issue to a full vote. Committees can also be divided into subcommittees that are responsible for more specific tasks. Congressional committees were established in the first Congress in 1789; at the time, however, they were only seen as temporary measures. The number of committees expanded in the early nineteenth century as some committees were made permanent. Reforms in the twentieth century reduced the number of committees. They also set rules for the number of subcommittees allowed.

During the 119th Congress, the House had twenty permanent committees and the Senate had sixteen. Both bodies also have a number of temporary committees and joint committees. The House and Senate have more than two hundred committees and subcommittees combined between the two chambers. In the House, the number of subcommittees is limited to five per committee, although the rules do allow the formation of an oversight subcommittee in a supervisory capacity. Some House committees are allowed more than the maximum number of subcommittees. For example, the House Appropriations Committee has twelve subcommittees and the Foreign Affairs Committee has seven. The Senate does not have a rule restricting the number of subcommittees.

Standing committees are permanent congressional committees. They have the legislative authority to consider bills and recommend them to the full chamber for a vote. Standing committees are granted the authority to monitor federal agencies and programs relating to their specific duties. Most standing committees also recommend funding for the agencies and programs under their jurisdiction.

A select committee is established by a resolution of either the House or Senate. A select committee can be created to investigate issues that are not under the jurisdiction of an existing standing committee. Most select committees confine their responsibility to studying or investigating an issue or federal agency. In some cases, select committees may consider legislative action. Select committees are temporary and must be renewed after their mandate expires. On some occasions, select committees have become standing committees.

A joint committee is made up of members of both the House and Senate. Joint committees rarely consider legislative action. They typically confine their work to the study of an issue or congressional “housekeeping” duties. For example, the Joint Committee on the Library oversees the operations of the Library of Congress. In the early 119th Congress, there were four permanent joint committees in Congress.

History

In the context of government operations, intelligence is the collection of information to be used for political, military, or national security purposes. This can include covert operations, counterintelligence, and espionage. Intelligence operations were instrumental in helping the United States win the Revolutionary War (1775–1783) against Great Britain. As commander of the American army, George Washington was keenly aware of this fact. Shortly after becoming president in 1791, Washington asked Congress to establish a “secret service fund” to pay for intelligence operations. The practice was continued by his successors.

The first official US intelligence agencies—the Office of Naval Intelligence and the Army’s Military Intelligence Division—were formed in the 1880s. The organizations that would later become the National Security Agency (NSA) and the FBI were established during World War I (1914–1918). During World War II (1939–1945), most US intelligence was handled by the Office of Strategic Services, an organization that later evolved into the CIA.

In the mid-1970s, published reports accused the CIA of illegally conducting intelligence operations against antiwar protesters in the United States. In response, President Gerald Ford commissioned a special investigative panel to examine the CIA’s involvement. After other reports surfaced that the CIA may have been responsible for assassination attempts against foreign leaders, Congress began its own investigation. Rather than confine itself to the actions of the CIA, the congressional probes examined alleged abuses in the entire intelligence community.

In January 1975, the Senate formed the Select Committee to Study Government Operations with Respect to Intelligence Activities, a panel better known as the Church Committee, named after its chair, Senator Frank Church. A month later, the House created the House Select Intelligence Committee. This committee was eventually chaired by Representative Otis Pike and became known as the Pike Commission. Both committees included the CIA, FBI, and the NSA in their investigations. However, the Senate’s probe focused on allegations of illegal activities by the agencies, while the House also examined their overall effectiveness and financial costs to the taxpayers.

The CIA and the Ford administration openly fought with the Pike Commission over access to documents and other legal information. The CIA often refused to comply with the commission’s requests for information, forcing the commission to threaten legal action. Even after a compromise was reached, partisan in-fighting between Democrats and Republicans on the commission prevented the final report from being published.

The work of the commissions brought to light the need for permanent congressional oversight of the intelligence community. In response, the Senate formed the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence in 1976. On July 14, 1977, the House passed a resolution granting the House Select Intelligence Committee the same status as a standing committee. It was renamed the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. The committee functions in an oversight capacity, monitoring the intelligence community to ensure the accountability and efficiency of the various agencies. Its main legislative responsibility is to authorize annual funding for the intelligence community. On some occasions, the committee can also consider other legislation relating to intelligence issues.

In 2017 and 2018, the full committee began an investigation into alleged Russian interference in the 2016 US presidential election. More specifically, the committee was looking into reports that Republican President Donald Trump and his campaign colluded with Russian officials to gain sensitive information on his opponent in the election, Democrat Hillary Clinton. The investigation was often contentious and split along party lines. In its final report issued in April 2018, the Republican-led committee found that the Trump campaign’s contact with Russian officials was “ill-advised,” but that it could find no direct evidence of a conspiracy between Trump and the Russians.

Subcommittees

The original makeup of the committee consisted of twenty members, with the party holding a majority in the House also holding a majority on the committee. During the 115th Congress, which was in session from January 2017 to January 2019, the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence was made up of twenty-two members—thirteen Republicans and nine Democrats. At each new session of Congress, the number of committee members can be adjusted by the committee chair, who is always a member of the House majority party. The full committee is scheduled to meet on the first Thursday of each month when Congress is in session. While most meetings are open to the public, the committee reserves the right to call a closed meeting to discuss issues of national security, legally sensitive matters, or classified intelligence information.

The full committee has jurisdiction over the CIA, FBI, NSA, the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO), the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA), and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). It is also responsible for the intelligence-gathering arms of the Air Force, Army, Coast Guard, Marines, and Navy, and the departments of Homeland Security, State, Treasury, and Energy. In addition, the committee oversees the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), a cabinet-level official who heads the US intelligence community. In the 119th Congress, the committee had five subcommittees: Central Intelligence Agency; National Intelligence Enterprise Subcommittee; Defense Intelligence and Overhead Architecture Subcommittee; National Security Agency and Cyber Subcommittee; Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee.

United States House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence Subcommittee on the CIA

This subcommittee is responsible for the oversight of the activities, budget, and policies of the CIA. However, the committee’s jurisdiction does not extend to the agency’s covert activities. The CIA was created in 1947 to gather and evaluate foreign intelligence in the interests of national security. The agency keeps the number of people it employs classified; however, some reports estimate its workforce at more than twenty thousand.

The subcommittee meetings are almost always closed to the public. In April 2018, the subcommittee met to discuss the 2019 budget. A month later, the subcommittee discussed ongoing intelligence activities. Among the budgetary matters discussed at the April 2018 meeting was a decision to allocate $514 million for the CIA’s retirement and disability fund in 2019. The CIA does not disclose the size of its budget, but it did list its declassified 1998 budget as $26.7 billion. During the 119th Congress, the subcommittee had ten members.

United States House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence Subcommittee on the Department of Defense Intelligence and Overhead Architecture

This subcommittee oversees the activities, budgets, and policies of the NRO, NGA, DIA, and the military intelligence aspects of the Department of Defense. The NRO designs and operates the nation’s spy satellites and provides intelligence information to other agencies. The NGA gathers intelligence related to human activity on geographical locations on Earth. The DIA monitors the military capabilities of foreign governments and other groups of concern. The subcommittee met three times in closed sessions in 2018 in reference to budgetary matters. In the 119th Congress, ten members served on the subcommittee.

United States House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence Subcommittee on National Intelligence Enterprise

This subcommittee is concerned with oversight of agencies that monitor activity that could pose a potential threat to national security. This includes the National Counterterrorism Center, the National Counterproliferation Center, and the National Counterintelligence and Security Center. The subcommittee is also responsible for national security elements of the FBI, DEA, and the Departments of State, Homeland Security, Energy, and Treasury. The ODNI also falls under this subcommittee’s jurisdiction. Ten members served on this subcommittee in the 119th Congress.

United States House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence Subcommittee on the National Security Agency and Cybersecurity

This subcommittee handles oversight of the NSA, its cybersecurity programs, and the electronic security programs of the Department of Defense. The NSA is an intelligence-gathering arm of the Department of Defense, created in 1952. Its primary function is monitoring electronic communication systems and weapons systems. The NSA monitors intelligence sources both globally and on US soil. Cybersecurity operations guard against electronic attacks through computer and information systems. During the 119th Congress, the subcommittee had ten members.

Oversight & Investigations Subcommittee

This subcommittee concerns all whistleblower complaints and investigations or information concerning waste, fraud, or abuse within the intelligence community. Oversight responsibilities include all issues within the jurisdiction of the committee and its subcommittees.

Bibliography

Heitshusen, Valerie. “Committee Types and Roles.” Congressional Research Service, 2 May 2017, www.senate.gov/CRSpubs/312b4df4-9797-41bf-b623-a8087cc91d74.pdf. Accessed 18 Jan. 2025.

“History and Jurisdiction.” United States House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, intelligence.house.gov/about/history-and-jurisdiction.htm. Accessed 18 Jan. 2025.

“History of CIA.” Central Intelligence Agency, www.cia.gov/legacy/cia-history. Accessed 18 Jan. 2025.

"House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence." Congress, www.congress.gov/committee/house-intelligence-permanent-select/hlig00. Accessed 18 Jan. 2025.

Matsakis, Louise. “The House Intel Committee’s Russia Report Doesn’t Let Trump off the Hook.” Wired, 24 Apr. 2018, www.wired.com/story/house-intel-committee-russia-report-doesnt-let-trump-off-the-hook. Accessed 18 Jan. 2025.

“Rules of Procedure for the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence United States House of Representatives 115th Congress.” US House of Representatives Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, 2018, intelligence.house.gov/uploadedfiles/hpsci‗rules‗of‗procedure‗-‗115th‗congress.pdf. Accessed 18 Jan. 2025.

Spieler, Matthew. The U.S. House of Representatives: Fundamentals of American Government. Thomas Dunne Books, 2015.

“Subcommittees.” US House of Representatives Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, intelligence.house.gov/subcommittees. Accessed 18 Jan. 2025.

“U.S. House of Representatives. Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. (7/14/1977–).” National Archives, catalog.archives.gov/id/10535577. Accessed 18 Jan. 2025.