Mr. SMART (reading): COMMITTEE RESOLUTION No. 5 Resolved, That the House Committee on Armed Services shall have a special investigating subcommittee, the size and membership of which shall be determined by the chairman. The members chosen from the majority shall be selected by the chairman; and those from the minority shall be upon recommendation of the ranking minority member of the full committee; be it further Resolved, That the committee endorses the action of the chairman in introducing House Resolution 78, for the accomplishment of this purpose; be it further Resolved, That the House having passed House Resolution 78, the chairman of the full committee is authorized to designate a special counsel to direct and coordinate professional activities of the special investigating subcommittee; and that the chairman is authorized to select such additional staff personnel as may be required by the special investigating subcommittee, the salaries of each to be determined by the chairman of the full committee; be it further Resolved, That the authority of said subcommittee to conduct hearings and take testimony (authorized by H. Res. 78) may be delegated by the chairman of the subcommittee to one member of the majority and one member of the minority of said subcommittee who shall constitute a quorum of the subcommittee at all times; be it further Resolved, That should the need therefor be required, alternate members may be chosen in the same manner as permanent members, for a limited time or for a specific subject; be it further Resolved, That the chairman of the full committee, at such times and for such purposes as he may deem advisable in the interest of committee business, is authorized to appoint additional specific subcommittees for the purpose of investigating specific subjects or considering legislation and that such special subcommittees, when appointed by the chairman, shall have such rights, prerogatives, and authority as the chairman of the full committee shall deem advisable, including the authority set forth in House Resolution 78 authorizing the committee to investigate, and the use of such funds as may be made available through House Resolution 79 in support of the committee's investigations. The CHAIRMAN. Now, members of the committee, this is the same type of resolution that was agreed to by the committee during the last Congress. This authorizes the creation of a special committee to consider matters that are referred to it, and also confers upon the chairman the authority to appoint subcommittees and to handle legislative matters or to make investigations. The resolution giving the subpena power to the committee has already passed. And yesterday I appeared before the proper committee to obtain the financial assistance necessary for the committee to properly function. I asked for $150,000 for this term of the Congress. The same amount was received last year; that is, for the last Congress, and we turned back in the last Congress some $30,000. Now is there any objection Mr. ARENDS. Mr. Chairman, could I just say a word? This reconstitutes the so-called Hébert committee. I think in fairness I should tell the members on this side what I had hoped. As I understand, the committee has been reduced to three of the majority and two of the minority. The CHAIRMAN. That is correct. Mr. ARENDS. I spoke not only to the chairman, but likewise to Mr. Hébert, expressing the hope that it might be increased to four and three. What motivated me in doing that, more than anything else, was the fact that with just two minority members it does on occasions happen when one or possibly two can't attend, and I thought by increasing it to three on our side it did develop a position where at least two members could be present most of the time. I thought it would be helpful. But apparently it didn't work out that way. But I wanted the membership to know that I tried to get another member on the subcommittee. The CHAIRMAN. I will say to the minority members, Mr. Arends was very insistent that it be enlarged as he just stated, but I think that the setup of it will be just as efficient with the group that is going to be designated as it would have been if it had been larger. So it it ever happens where we can't get any minority member, you and me are ex officio members and we will do it ourselves. [Laughter.] Without objection, the resolution is agreed to. And I designate, under the authority of the resolution, Mr. Hébert, chairman; Mr. Hardy, Mr. Kitchin, Mr. Gavin, and Mr. Norblad. And in accordance with the resolution, I appoint the following members on the staff, which I will say are the same personnel that are there now. Mr. SMART. Mr. John J. Courtney, special counsel. William H. Sandweg, counsel. The CHAIRMAN. Now, the activity of the Central Intelligence Agency comes within the jurisdiction of this committee. For a number of years the committee has had a special subcommittee which meets with the representatives of the Central Intelligence Agency in order to keep abreast of important developments in the intelligence field. This subcommittee must be continued. Therefore, pursuant to the authority conferred upon me in the Committee Resolution No. 5, I herewith reconstitute the Special Subcommittee on Central Intelligence, and appoint the following members for the committee, after consultation with the ranking minority member: Mr. Kilday, chairman; Mr. Price, Mr. Bennett, Mr. Huddleston, Mr. Van Zandt, Mr. Wilson, and Mr. Osmers. Now, members of the committee, you will recall that two National Security Agency employees defected to the Communists last year after the Congress adjourned. I appointed a special subcommittee, consisting of Mr. Kilday, chairman; Mr. Hardy, and Mr. Arends, to make prompt inquiry into the matter. This subcommittee had several hearings in executive session. At this time I would like for Mr. Kilday to report to the committee the status of this matter. Mr. KILDAY. Mr. Chairman, on September 6, 1960, you addressed a letter to me directing the establishment of a special subcommittee to investigate the administration and operation of the intelligencegathering agencies within the Department of Defense and the Central Intelligence Agency. You appointed a three-man subcommittee consisting of myself, as chairman, Mr. Hardy representing the majority, and Mr. Arends representing the minority. You pointed out that special emphasis should be placed on determining the method and manner by which such agencies recruit, screen, and rescreen their personnel for employment within these agencies. The establishment of this special subcommittee was the direct result of the public disclosure of the defection of two NSA employees, Mr. Vernon Ferguson Mitchell and Mr. William Hamilton Martin. It is a matter of public knowledge that these two former employees of NSA defected to the Communists and publicly denounced the intelligence-gathering activities of the United States. Subsequent speculation in the press exhibited great concern over the possible damage which may have resulted to our intelligence activities as the result of the defection of these two individuals. Also, considerable doubt was expressed in many quarters as to the effectiveness of the security measures employed by the National Security Agency and other intelligence-gathering agencies in the Government in the recruiting and screening of employees permitted access to sensitive information. As a consequence of this general public concern and because of the jurisdiction and responsibility of this committee over activities of the Department of Defense, the requirement for an investigation by the legislative branch of this matter was obvious. I wish to point out here that the intelligence community of our country embraces the Central Intelligence Agency, the National Security Agency, G-2 of the Army, the Office of Naval Intelligence, the Office of Special Investigations in the Air Force, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the State Department. It is particularly pertinent that the first five of these agencies named are directly within the primary jurisdiction of the House Committee on Armed Services. In accordance with the directive of the chairman, the subcommittee. initiated hearings into this general problem with special emphasis on the defection of Mr. Mitchell and Mr. Martin. Because of the sensitive nature of the subject, the subcommittee directed that the testimony be received in executive session. The subcommittee received testimony in executive session on the 15th, 16th, and 19th of September 1960, then adjourned subject to the call of the Chair. The subcommittee staff was directed to explore certain areas of interest and be prepared to submit their findings to the subcommittee. These staff findings were submitted to the subcommittee at a meeting held on December 19, 1960. The subcommittee, after careful consideration of the preliminary studies made by the staff in connection with the testimony previously received from responsible witnesses from the National Security Agency, the Army, Navy, and Air Force, and also the Central Intelligence Agency, decided that the information developed by the subcommittee did not lend itself to final conclusions without additional investigation. Therefore, the subcommittee agreed unanimously that it would be in the public interest to continue the investigation of this matter during the 87th Congress. Unfortunately, because of the nature and subject matter of the subcommittee's inquiry, the subcommittee is precluded from pursuing the major portion of its inquiry in public hearings. Consequently, the subcommittee must develop the bulk of its inquiry through the exercise of intensive staff work and frequent executive sessions. In view of these circumstances, Mr. Chairman, I am requesting that you reconstitute this special investigating subcommittee with the same membership and also provide the subcommittee, through House resolution, with appropriate funds and authority to enable it to perform the most through and complete investigation possible. In this manner we can then assure ourselves, and our Nation, that no effort has been spared in scruitinizing this most critical problem. We cannot afford the luxury of anything less than this scrupulous exercise of our responsibility. The CHAIRMAN. Thank you, Mr. Kilday, for that statement. And I think the facts and circumstances fully warrant the reestablishment of the subcommittee. And I am glad to note that you are willing to continue to serve as chairman. And as I just stated Mr. KILDAY. As if I had any choice. [Laughter.] The CHAIRMAN. I designate Mr. Kilday, Mr. Hardy, and Mr. Arends as members of the subcommittee. Now, members of the committee, having adopted the resolutions, I officially declare that the House Armed Services Committee now organized and is ready for business in the 87th Congress. And the first business we are going to take up is next Monday. Next Monday, February 20, at 10 o'clock, I am going to call up the military construction authorization bill. And we will have the proper witnesses here from the Department of Defense and the Army and take that phase of the bill up first. Just as soon as we finish with that portion of the bill we will call in the Navy. Then we will call in the Air Force. Now this is the 20th day of February, and as a rule we have finished a considerable amount of work by that time. We are a little later this year. So we have to get down to business. We are going to start Monday morning. And I hope every member will be here. It will be a public hearing, but there might be some occasions where we will have to go into executive session. The books are available in the office, including the items in the bill. Now, I have had the privilege of examining the Army portion. I am examing the Navy portion now. If any members want to look them over, just stop in the committee room and read them and get familiar with them. And that will be in the interest of time. Mr. ARENDS. Mr. Chairman, are you going to follow the pattern of going into and reading the line items? The CHAIRMAN. Yes. Having already read all of the Army, I hope the other members will do likewise. And there is a new course in reading, that you do not have to read every line to know what is in the subject matter. [Laughter.] So that is the way I am reading this bill. Mr. HARDY. Mr. Chairman, if you don't do your homework you don't get a chance to do it in committee. The CHAIRMAN. That is right, exactly. I am glad you brought that up in such an effective manner. Now members of the committee, again I want to thank you. I consider this is one of the most important committees in the Čongress, because we have more work to do, we are charged with great responsibility, and we have made a great record. And we make it because we sit in here as a team. We do not sit here as members of the majority or members of the minority. We sit here as Americans to do what is best and proper for the country. Mr. VAN ZANDT. Mr. Chairman Mr. ARENDS. Just a minute. Could I ask the chairman if he cares to give us the pattern of the posture hearings, about when they are to be held, and so on, and so forth? The CHAIRMAN. Well, we have set that down for the 23d. But I don't want to lose 3 days. I am getting restless. I have to do something all the time. And with this on our shoulders, we will do something Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. And next Thursday-isn't that it? Mr. ARENDS. Yes, sir. The CHAIRMAN. We have invited the new Secretary of Defense to come in here and to talk to us, probably about the missile gap or anything else. [Laughter.] Mr. VAN ZANDT. Mr. Chairman, before we adjourn, would you give us a report on the cotton crop last year and the prospects for this coming year? The CHAIRMAN. Well, it is in such situation that I can devote my full time to see that you and every member of the committee gets in here and help get out this legislation. The committee will stand adjourned. (Whereupon, at 11:18 a.m., the committee adjourned, to reconvene at 10 a.m., Monday, February 20, 1961.) |