Contact: Rob Ostrander 202.224.7627 Shana Stribilng 202.224.0309
Thursday, April 6, 2006

WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senator Kit Bond, Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation-Treasury-HUD, today held a hearing on the fiscal year 2007 federal Department of Treasury budget, where Bond praised the Department for their efforts to crack down on terrorist financing and the role played by the Office of Terrorism and Financial Intelligence (TFI).

“As recommended by the 9/11 Commission combating terrorist financing must remain front and center in our counterterrorism efforts,” said Bond. “Supporting TFI continues to be a critical piece of our counterterrorism effort since we must quickly adapt to the ever changing nature of terrorist financing. It is critical for the government to anticipate the ‘imagination’ of the terrorists because as we know, the terrorists will go through any means to cause chaos and murder innocent people.”

Bond heard testimony from Treasury Secretary John Snow, Undersecretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, Stuart Levey, and Assistant Secretary for Intelligence and Analysis, Janice Gardner. Bond praised Levey and Gardner for an outstanding job of bringing together the unique capabilities and resources of the Treasury Department in intelligence gathering and analysis, making the Department a key player an asset in the intelligence community and in the war on terrorism.

After September 11th, Congress authorized the creation of the Treasury’s Office of Terrorism and Financial Intelligence (TFI) to increase the Department’s role in the war on terrorism. TFI deserves credit and recognition for its strong role in combating terrorist financing, including efforts to designate terrorist entities, shut down financial flows to terrorist organizations and individuals and rogue regimes, and uncover clandestine financial networks, said Bond. In order to carry out this mission, Bond pointed out, officials depend upon the PATRIOT Act as a powerful new tool.

Bond, the only majority party Senator with both appropriations and intelligence committee responsibilities, said it is encouraging to see the Office of Intelligence and Analysis (OIA) running so successfully. As part of TFI, Congress also created the Office of Intelligence and Analysis (OIA). Since becoming a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, Bond has stressed that the key to winning the war on terror lies in the effective utilization of aggressive intelligence collection and rigorous analysis. OIA is the focal point within the Department of Treasury for compartmented intelligence analysis and intelligence support to operations.

While Bond praised TFI for their progress and efforts, he cautioned them to stay vigilant and for Congress to continue their strong support because the enemy is continually changing and adapting to our tactics. He also warned that the cost to carry out terror attacks is shrinking. According to experts, the 9-11 attacks were estimated to cost about $500,000. The 3-11 bombings of Madrid, Spain are estimated to have cost around $15,000, and the most recent attacks from last July in London may have cost the terrorists as little as $2,000.