Mikulski, Warner Introduce Bipartisan Bill Honoring Intelligence Service Professionals

Legislation Designates July 26 as ‘U.S. Intelligence Professionals Day’

July 11, 2012

WASHINGTONU.S. Senators Barbara A Mikulski (D-Md.) and Mark R. Warner (D-Va.), members of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, today introduced a joint resolution that would designate July 26 as United States Intelligence Professionals Day to honor intelligence officers, past and present, for their service and professionalism. July 26, 2012 will mark 65 years since President Harry Truman signed the National Security Act of 1947, which created the intelligence community and governs its activities to this day. In addition to Senators Mikulski and Warner, the bipartisan legislation is cosponsored by Senators Roy Blunt (R-Mo.), Richard Burr (R-N.C.), Saxby Chambliss (R-Ga.), Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), Jim Risch (R-Idaho), Olympia Snowe (R-Maine) and Mark Udall (D-Colo.).  

"Intelligence professionals serve our country in anonymity knowing that most of the work they do to protect our freedom will never be made public," Senator Mikulski said. "They are unsung heroes who risk their lives and even give their lives fighting terrorists and those who wish to do this country harm. This bill honors America's intelligence professionals with their own national day of recognition. As a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, I am proud and honored to support the brave men and women of the intelligence community."  

"Our country relies on the quiet work of the intelligence community every day to keep us safe, and these men and women – many of them Virginians -- deserve our respect and appreciation for their service and sacrifice," Senator Warner said. "We rely on the abilities of these intelligence professionals and it is appropriate that we honor their work and acknowledge their silent victories."  

The full text of the resolution introduced by the bipartisan group of nine senators follows:

JOINT RESOLUTION  

Title: Amending title 36, United States Code, to designate July 26 as United States Intelligence Professionals Day.  

Mr. WARNER (for himself, and Senators Mikulski, Blunt, Burr, Feinstein and Chambliss) introduced the following joint resolution; which was read twice and referred to…  

JOINT RESOLUTION

Amending title 36, United States Code, to designate July 26 as United States Intelligence Professionals Day.  

Whereas on July 26, 1908, Attorney General Charles Bonaparte ordered newly-hired Federal investigators to report to the Office of the Chief Examiner of the Department of Justice, which subsequently was renamed the Federal Bureau of Investigation;  

Whereas on July 26, 1947, President Truman signed the National Security Act of 1947 (50 U.S.C. 401 et seq.), creating the Department of Defense, the National Security Council, the Central Intelligence Agency, and the Joint Chiefs of Staff;  

Whereas the National Security Act of 1947 which appears in title 50 of the United States Code, governs the definition, composition, responsibilities, authorities, and oversight of the intelligence community of the United States;  

Whereas the intelligence community is defined by section 3(4) of the National Security Act of 1947 (50 U.S.C. 401a(4)) to include the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, the Central Intelligence Agency, the National Security Agency, the Defense Intelligence Agency, the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, the National Reconnaissance Office, other offices within the Department of Defense for the collection of specialized national intelligence through reconnaissance programs, the intelligence elements of the Army, the Navy, the Air Force, the Marine Corps, the Coast Guard, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and the Department of Energy, the Bureau of Intelligence and Research of the Department of State, the Office of Intelligence and Analysis of the Department of the Treasury, the elements of the Department of Homeland Security concerned with the analysis of intelligence information, and other elements as may be designated;  

Whereas July 26, 2012, shall be the 65th anniversary of the signing of the National Security Act of 1947 (50 U.S.c. 401 et seq.);  

Whereas the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 created the position of the Director of National Intelligence to serve as the head of the intelligence community and to ensure that national intelligence be timely, objective, independent of political considerations, and based upon all sources available;  

Whereas Congress has previously passed joint resolutions, signed by the President, to designate Peace Officers Memorial Day on May 15, Patriot Day on September 11, and other commemorative occasions, to honor the sacrifices of law enforcement officers and of those who lost their lives on September 11, 2001;  

Whereas the United States has increasingly relied upon the men and women of the intelligence community to protect and defend the security of the United States in the decade since the attacks of September 11, 2001;  

Whereas the men and women of the intelligence community, both civilian and military, have been increasingly called upon to deploy to theaters of war in Iraq, Afghanistan, and elsewhere since September 11, 2001;  

Whereas numerous intelligence officers of the elements of the intelligence community have been injured or killed in the line of duty;  

Whereas intelligence officers of the United States are routinely called upon to accept personal hardship and sacrifice in the furtherance of their mission to protect the United States, to undertake dangerous assignments in the defense of the interests of the United States, to collect reliable information within prescribed legal authorities upon which the leaders of the United States rely in life-and-death situations, and to "speak truth to power," by providing their best assessments to decision makers, regardless of political and policy considerations;  

Whereas the men and women of the intelligence community have on numerous occasions succeeded in preventing attacks upon the United States and allies of the United States, saving numerous innocent lives; and  

Whereas intelligence officers of the United States must of necessity often remain unknown and unrecognized for their substantial achievements and successes:

Now, therefore, be it Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,  

SECTION 1. DESIGNATION OF July 26 AS UNITED STATES INTELLIGENCE PROFESSIONALS DAY.

Chapter 1 of title 36, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:  

`Sec. 145. Intelligence Professionals Day  

`(a) DESIGNATION- July 26 is United States Intelligence Professionals Day.  

`(b) PROCLAMATION- The President is authorized and requested to issue each year a proclamation calling on—  
`(1) the people of the United States to observe this day with appropriate ceremonies and activities; and  
`(2) all departments, agencies, and instrumentalities of the United States and interested organizations and individuals to display the flag of the United States on United States Intelligence Professionals Day in honor of the courage, fidelity, sacrifice, and professionalism of the men and women of the intelligence community of the United States;  

SEC. 2. CONFORMING AMENDMENT.  

The table of contents for chapter 1 of title 36, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new item:  
`145. United States Intelligence Professionals Day'.