Testimony
of Robert S. Mueller, III, Director, FBI
Before the House Appropriations Committee, Subcommittee
on the Departments of Commerce, Justice, and State,
the Judiciary, and Related Agencies
March 17,
2004
"FBI's
Fiscal Year (FY) 2005 Budget Request"
Introduction
Good
afternoon Mr. Chairman, Congressman Serrano, and members of
the Subcommittee. It is my pleasure to come before you to
discuss the FBI's Fiscal Year (FY) 2005 budget request. Before
I begin, I want to take a moment to thank you for your leadership
and strong support of the FBI. The funding you have provided
has been critical to our mission and our efforts to transform
the FBI. Over the past two and a half years, we have moved
from an organization that was primarily focused on traditional
criminal investigations to one that is actively investigating
and disrupting terrorist operations.
When
I became Director of the FBI, about 32 percent of the FBI's
funding-or approximately $1 billion and 6,928 positions-were
dedicated to counterterrorism and counterintelligence. Nearly
half (49 percent) of all funding-or $1.5 billion and 13,828
positions-were dedicated to criminal programs. This allocation
of resources reflected an organization whose mission focused
on traditional crime fighting.
Today,
our mission has changed dramatically and our budget reflects
this change. For FY 2005 the FBI is requesting a total of
$5.1 billion, an increase of about $525 million over the FY
2004 enacted level. This includes net increases totaling $324.6
million and 948 new positions, 307 of which are agents. Approximately
44 percent of the funding is allocated to counterterrorism
and counterintelligence-or about $2.2 billion and 12,466 positions.
Compared to FY 2001, this represents more than double the
amount of funding and equates to an 80 percent increase in
the number of people devoted to the counterterrorism and counterintelligence
missions.
Equally
important is the fact that even with this change in focus,
our criminal program still represents about 32 percent of
our budget request-or about $1.6 billion and 11,765 positions.
With the support of this Subcommittee, we have remained at
the forefront of criminal investigations while upholding our
highest priority of terrorism prevention.
We have
spent the past two and a half years transforming the FBI and
realigning our resources to meet the threats we face in a
post-September 11th world. With our resources now appropriately
balanced among counterterrorism, counterintelligence, cyber
and criminal programs, we can now turn our full attention
to strengthening our intelligence program, improving interagency
coordination of intelligence and expanding our overseas presence.
My primary
focus, and a top priority in the FY 2005 budget, is the FBI's
Intelligence Program. I will spend some time this afternoon
discussing our achievements there and our plans for the future.
I will also briefly discuss our ongoing counterterrorism and
counterintelligence programs, our cyber initiatives, our criminal
program, and of course, our information technology. I strongly
believe that the FY 2005 budget will build upon our substantial
progress in all these areas, and will enable the FBI to continue
its transformation into the world's premier law enforcement
and counterterrorism agency.
Intelligence and Information Sharing, Counterterrorism, and
Counterintelligence Progress and Resource Needs
A strong, enterprise-wide intelligence program is not only
key to our counterterrorism efforts, it is critical to our
success across all investigations, including criminal, counterintelligence,
and cyber. The FBI has long been a leader in gathering information,
but in the past, we did not elevate the analytical process
above the individual case or investigation. Today, we are
focused not just on collecting information, but on analyzing
it, connecting it to other vital information, and disseminating
it to the widest extent possible-while at the same time respecting
civil liberties and working within the framework of the Constitution.
If I may, I would like to describe some of our most important
intelligence program initiatives:
· We stood up the Office of Intelligence, under the
direction of a new Executive Assistant Director for Intelligence.
The Office of Intelligence sets unified standards, policies,
and training for analysts, who examine intelligence and ensure
it is shared within the FBI, among Joint Terrorism Task Forces
(JTTFs), and with our partners in the national security and
law enforcement communities.
·
The Office of Intelligence has already provided over 2,400
intelligence reports and other documents for the President
and members of the Intelligence Community.
·
To strengthen information sharing between the field and FBI
Headquarters, and throughout the Intelligence Community, we
established Reports Officer positions. Reports Officers in
the field and at Headquarters extract pertinent information
from FBI investigations and disseminate it to the widest extent
possible. They play a key role in the dissemination of Intelligence
Information Reports to the Intelligence Community, as well
as dissemination of raw intelligence information to our federal,
state, local, tribal, and international partners.
·
We established Field Intelligence Groups (FIGs) in each field
office. The FIG is the centralized intelligence component
in each field office and is responsible for the management,
execution, and coordination of intelligence functions. We
also established a formal requirements process for identifying
and resolving intelligence gaps.
·
The FY 2005 budget request includes an increase of $13.4 million
and 151 positions to support the Office of Intelligence and
continue integrating the intelligence program across all FBI
divisions.
·
In accordance with the President's directive to establish
an independent threat fusion center, the FBI joined the Terrorist
Threat Integration Center (TTIC) in May 2003. The TTIC fuses
threat information from 10 federal agencies into a focused
analytical product. That information then goes into the hands
of those who need it most-the federal, state, and local intelligence
and law enforcement agencies working around the clock to protect
our country. The FY 2005 President's budget request includes
$35.5 million to co-locate a portion of the Counterterrorism
Division with the Central Intelligence Agency's (CIA) Counterterrorist
Center and the TTIC, in order to further improve interagency
communication and information sharing.
·
On December 1, 2003, we stood up the Terrorist Screening Center
(TSC). The TSC is providing unified, accurate terrorist screening
information to investigators and screeners around the country
twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. The FY 2005 President's
budget request includes $29 million to support the TSC.
Our enemies
remain determined to undermine and attack the United States,
so we must remain vigilant. To give some perspective, in FY
2001, we opened 4,324 counterterrorism cases in the field.
In FY 2003, that number more than tripled, jumping to nearly
14,000 cases. FISAs have increased significantly since FY
2001. With your help, we have strengthened our counterterrorism
and counterintelligence programs to respond to the increased
workload, and have met with considerable success.
Al Qaeda's
key leadership, major sources of funding, and a secure base
of operations have been decimated. Yet attacks in Istanbul
this past November and in Riyadh last May serve as sobering
reminders that Al Qaeda still has the will-and the capability-to
carry out devastating attacks. Our job is to anticipate terrorist
plans and to prevent terrorists from acting on them. Therefore,
the FBI is requesting program increases of $157 million to
continue our counterterrorism and counterintelligence progress,
including 742 positions, 323 of which are agents. I have already
discussed three pieces that are integral to this progress-the
Office of Intelligence, the TTIC, and the TSC. The requested
funding for FY 2005 will support our efforts to ensure the
intelligence we collect is appropriately analyzed and shared
in support of all FBI investigations.
·
Agents, analysts, and support personnel are vital to the intelligence
program, from the first fragment of information gathered to
the final phase of an investigation or operation. They also
support rising numbers of counterterrorism and counterintelligence
investigations, build relationships with our partners in state
and local law enforcement, and support the FBI's nationally
managed counterterrorism program. The FBI therefore requests
increases of $98.8 million and 586 positions, including 314
agents, both in the field and at FBI Headquarters.
·
Our efforts to ensure a seamless flow of information do not
stop at our borders. In today's world, crimes as diverse as
terrorism and corporate fraud, identity theft and human trafficking,
illegal weapons trade and money laundering traverse easily
across international boundaries. Repeated terrorist attacks
around the world have been deadly reminders of the need to
expand our overseas presence and work more closely than ever
with our international counterparts to protect our common
interests. The FBI therefore requests increases of $11.2 million
and 14 positions, including nine agents, to expand the Legat
Program and open four new offices and one sub-office overseas.
Daily interaction between FBI Legat personnel and their foreign
counterparts is crucial to building the mutual trust and cooperation
that is essential to maintaining a good flow of information.
·
Because of the increased counterterrorism workload, the need
for quality translation services has never been greater. The
FBI must have the manpower and resources to translate incoming
intelligence quickly and accurately in support of all investigations.
The FBI therefore requests increases of $12.8 million and
86 positions to support the Foreign Language Program, whose
workload has more than doubled since September 11, 2001, as
well as the National Virtual Translation Center (NVTC). The
NVTC serves as a clearinghouse to provide quick, accurate
translation of foreign intelligence to members of the Intelligence
Community. To date, the NVTC has received over 15,000 pages
of text and over 250 hours of audio in 16 different languages
from members of the Intelligence Community. The FBI requests
$7 million to support the NVTC.
Cyber
The
FBI's number three priority remains cyber. We have seen an
explosive growth in cyber crimes, both domestically and internationally.
Terrorists can exploit information technology to attack our
infrastructure and to facilitate their communications. The
Internet has become a conduit for crime. As criminals and
terrorists become more computer-savvy, we must not only keep
pace, we must be a step ahead. Let me give you a few highlights
of our progress in FY 2003:
·
We are actively protecting our children from online sexual
predators through our Innocent Images National Initiative.
Last year, Innocent Images investigations resulted in 642
arrests, 754 criminal charges, and 755 convictions.
·
Through our computer intrusion program, we identified over
1,300 compromised sites, resulting in 1,194 investigations,
78 criminal charges, 81 convictions and over $19 million in
restitutions, recoveries, and fines.
·
The FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) has received
more than 120,000 on-line complaints through its website since
January 1, 2003, an increase of 60 percent from FY 2002. IC3's
current volume of online complaints exceeds 14,000 per month,
or approximately 168,000 per year.
·
Operation Cyber Sweep, which wrapped up in November 2003,
included more than 120 investigations in which more than 125,000
victims lost over $100 million. Operation Cyber Sweep resulted
in 350 subjects identified, 125 arrests and convictions, and
70 criminal charges.
The FY
2005 budget request includes increases of $58.3 million and
188 positions, including 61 agents, for the Cyber program,
which facilitates activities across all FBI programs. The
funding and personnel requested for the Cyber program will
allow the FBI to continue its aggressive pursuit of computer
intrusion crimes, including those with ties to terrorist activity.
These resources will also allow the FBI to develop new technology
to ensure we are prepared to handle emerging cyber threats.
In addition, an increase of $3 million included in the Cyber
request will support the Innocent Images National Initiative,
whose investigations have become increasingly complex and
international in scope, and are critical to protecting our
children.
Criminal
Turning
for a moment to our criminal program, I recently approved
a new concept for the FBI's criminal investigative mission.
We will focus on the threat, not the instrumentality of the
crime. Whether an enterprise manipulates stocks, or smuggles
drugs, weapons or humans, we will focus on the criminal organization.
This structure will eliminate stovepipes, improve information
sharing across FBI programs, and allow us to fully integrate
intelligence into our criminal programs-an important step
in evolving the FBI into a more efficient intelligence-driven
organization.
In addition
to upholding its national security responsibilities in the
areas of counterterrorism, counterintelligence, and cyber,
the FBI remains dedicated to fighting crime. Let me give you
just a few examples:
·
The FBI remains committed to investigating public corruption
at all levels of government.
·
Protecting civil rights and civil liberties, as well as combating
criminal enterprises, remain high priorities for the FBI.
Over the past two years, our civil rights program has focused
particularly on hate crimes cases related to Muslim, Sikh,
and Arab-Americans. In FY 2003 alone, the FBI initiated 96
hate crime investigations in which Arab-Americans, Muslims,
or Sikhs were the victims. Charges were brought against 37
subjects.
·
We continue to crack down on corporate corruption, and have
aggressively investigated major fraud schemes that have cost
investors billions of dollars in losses. The FBI, along with
its partners, is investigating 170 major cases of corporate
fraud. To date, 240 executives have been indicted and 132
have been convicted.
·
The Enron Task Force has charged 29 individuals to date, has
restrained more than $95 million in proceeds derived from
criminal activity, and has obtained guilty pleas from former
Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Andrew S. Fastow and former
Enron Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Jeffrey K. Skilling.
·
To date, 18 former HealthSouth executives have been charged,
including former CEO Richard Scrushy, and 15 have pled guilty.
·
To date, six high-level former executives of Worldcom, including
former CEO Bernard Ebbers, have been charged. Five have pled
guilty, including former CFO Scott Sullivan.
·
We continue combating health care fraud. In the past two years,
civil recoveries in health care fraud matters have surpassed
$1.8 billion. Criminal restitutions exceed $1.5 billion; and
asset forfeiture and seizure totals have surpassed $109 million.
·
We continue to investigate violent crimes and gang activity.
The Washington Field Office (WFO) Safe Streets Task Force
has been aggressively targeting a violent gang in the Washington,
D.C., area with connections to gang activity in other states.
In conjunction with their efforts, just yesterday, multiple
arrests were made and search warrants were executed in the
Washington, D.C., area, New York City, and Atlanta. Items
seized include drugs and firearms, including a stolen police
handgun. Similarly, in February 2003, the FBI's New Haven
Division dismantled an extremely violent drug gang known as
the "Brotherhood," one of the FBI's top thirty gang
targets. The Brotherhood supplied cocaine and cocaine base
to narcotics traffickers for resale in Connecticut.
·
The FBI's drug program participates fully in the OCDETF and
High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) Programs. Our
counter-drug resources focus on the most significant criminal
enterprises.
·
Fugitive apprehension remains a concern to the FBI. These
matters are often multi-jurisdictional and often require the
FBI's unique resources to augment state and local law enforcement
efforts. As the only federal law enforcement agency with complete
national and international presence, the FBI targets and arrests
the most violent fugitives who have fled beyond the reach
of local jurisdictions.
For FY
2005, the FBI requests an increase of $6 million and 34 positions,
including 26 agents, in order to build on our success in combating
each of these criminal enterprises.
Forensic
Program-CODIS
I
want to take a moment to highlight the success of our Combined
DNA Index System (CODIS) program. CODIS is an invaluable crime-solving
tool that allows forensic crime laboratories to electronically
compare and exchange DNA profiles of convicted offenders,
unsolved crime scenes, and missing persons. In other words,
CODIS enables investigators to link serial crimes to each
other by matching DNA. It also allows investigators to match
DNA collected from an unsolved crime scene to a convicted
offender whose DNA is already in the system.
CODIS
has been installed in 175 sites in all 50 states, the District
of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Army Crime Laboratory.
Additionally, 31 international laboratories participate in
the CODIS program. As of January 2004, over a million DNA
samples from convicted offenders have been entered into CODIS
as part of the Federal Convicted Offender Program. Participating
laboratories have submitted 80,830 forensic DNA samples, including
567 samples for the Missing Persons database. To date, CODIS
has aided over 11,000 investigations and made over 11,000
hits. Over 7,000 of these hits linked convicted offenders
to DNA samples found at crime scenes.
Information
Technology
We
have made great progress on all investigative fronts-but our
success rests upon a strong foundation of information technology.
The FBI appreciates the Subcommittee's tremendous support
in helping us to overhaul our information technology. Thanks
to the resources you have provided, 500 counterterrorism and
counterintelligence FBI Headquarters employees have been provided
with access to Top Secret/Sensitive Compartmented Information
(TS/SCI) at their desks. The Wide Area Network implementation
was completed on schedule and the Enterprise Operations Center
was up and running on schedule in March 2003. Improvements
in data warehousing technology have dramatically reduced stove-piping
and cut down on man-hours that used to be devoted to tedious
extraction or entry of data.
As you
know, during the past year we have encountered some setbacks
regarding the deployment of Full Site Capability (FSC) and
the Virtual Case File. With your help, we are working to resolve
each issue, and we have made substantial progress. The FSC
pilot was completed and deployed in the Richmond field office
and its associated Resident Agencies (RAs) and off-sites in
January 2004. On February 12, 2004, the FSC deployment began
in Baltimore, and as of this past weekend, over 10,100 users
have already been migrated to FSC. We will continue deployment
throughout the country until completion in April 2004.
For FY
2005, the FBI requests increases of $20 million in technology
investments to continue pushing the FBI forward. A portion
of these resources will allow the FBI to install the TS/SCI
Operational Network in up to 10 field offices and to add users
to the Headquarters TS/SCI Local Area Network (LAN). The need
for secure communications among FBI offices throughout the
world has become even more essential. Expanding the TS/SCI
network will provide TS/SCI e-mail, message delivery, and
an electronically searchable archive on the desktop of every
agent and analyst. I will continue to seek your help and support
as the FBI moves forward into an increasingly high-tech future.
Infrastructure
Last,
but certainly not least, I want to discuss another of my highest
priorities-upgrading the FBI's infrastructure. It has become
clear that a substantial investment is needed in our infrastructure
now in order to prepare the FBI for the future. Upgrading
the FBI Academy at Quantico is a vital step toward realizing
my vision of state-of-the-art FBI facilities across the country.
As you know, the FBI trains agents, analysts, and state, local,
and international law enforcement officials at Quantico. While
the facilities have been supporting an increased level of
training requirements, they are over 30 years old, and are
not in a condition conducive to 21st century training. We
need to address these problems now in order to prevent further
deterioration. Therefore, the FBI requests $21.3 million in
nonpersonnel funding in order to renovate the FBI Academy
and for operations and maintenance of the facility, so we
can ensure the future of law enforcement has the best possible
training environment.
Conclusion
We
have made great progress. But our work is not yet finished.
The FBI has a duty to protect the United States, secure freedom,
and preserve justice for all Americans. The FBI has always
answered-and will always answer-this call with fidelity, bravery,
and integrity. The men and women of the FBI work tirelessly
each and every day to fulfill the FBI's mandate to protect
the United States. With the support of this Subcommittee,
we can give the men and women of the FBI the resources they
need to carry out their mission.
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