CIA Faces a Budget Squeeze
From today's WSJ, print edition:
"WASHINGTON--The U.S. Central Intelligence Agency is facing a budget crunch in Iraq as a result of contradictory provisions in two related bills, approved by the Republican-controlled Congress and signed by President George W. Bush within months of each other last year.
"The first measure, providing $368.7 billion in appropriations for the Pentagon and intelligence agencies, was enacted in September. Then before Christmas, Mr. Bush signed a second intelligence bill authorizing expenditures and instructing how money is to be spent. It curtails the CIA's ability to use a significant portion of the appropriations intended for agency operations in Iraq. It isn't clear why lawmakers issued such instructions.
"'No one has called me yet,' said House Intelligence Committe Chairman Porter Gross (R., Fla.), who was part of negotiations on the second bill. But the previously secret mishap has riled the CIA leadership, which saw the problem coming before the bill signing and now is seeking a legislative fix, intelligence officials say."
To paraphrase Brad DeLong, why oh why are we ruled by these idiots?
"WASHINGTON--The U.S. Central Intelligence Agency is facing a budget crunch in Iraq as a result of contradictory provisions in two related bills, approved by the Republican-controlled Congress and signed by President George W. Bush within months of each other last year.
"The first measure, providing $368.7 billion in appropriations for the Pentagon and intelligence agencies, was enacted in September. Then before Christmas, Mr. Bush signed a second intelligence bill authorizing expenditures and instructing how money is to be spent. It curtails the CIA's ability to use a significant portion of the appropriations intended for agency operations in Iraq. It isn't clear why lawmakers issued such instructions.
"'No one has called me yet,' said House Intelligence Committe Chairman Porter Gross (R., Fla.), who was part of negotiations on the second bill. But the previously secret mishap has riled the CIA leadership, which saw the problem coming before the bill signing and now is seeking a legislative fix, intelligence officials say."
To paraphrase Brad DeLong, why oh why are we ruled by these idiots?
posted by John at 1:54 PM
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