Rep. Harman to Hold Hearing on DHS Office of Intelligence & Analysis June 24

Rep. Jane Harman (D-CA), chair of the House Homeland Security Committee’s Subcommittee on Intelligence, Information Sharing and Terrorism Risk Assessment, will hold a hearing on the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS’s) Office of Intelligence and Analysis on June 24 at 10:00 am in 311 Cannon House Office Building. The witness will be Bart Johnson, Acting Under Secretary of DHS for that office.

The office is responsible, inter alia, for the National Applications Office (NAO). NAO is controversial because of its authority to facilitate the use of Intelligence Community capabilities (such as satellite imagery) for domestic law enforcement and homeland security purposes. Rep. Harman introduced two bills on June 6 to prohibit DHS from spending any money for the office (H.R. 2703) and to eliminate the office entirely (H.R. 2704). In her introductory remarks she cited concerns that DHS has not established a proper legal framework to protect the privacy of individuals with regard to the use of such capabilities. An archived fact sheet about the NAO that was last updated on August 15, 2007 is available here. Its charter is posted on George Washington University’s National Security Archive website.