Statement of
Robert S. Mueller, III
Director, Federal Bureau of Investigation
Before the
Senate Committee on the Judiciary
May 2, 2006
Good morning, Mr. Chairman, Senator Leahy, and members
of the Committee. I am pleased to appear before you
today to update you on the current state of the FBI,
as well as our plans for the near future. I would
also like to thank the Committee for your continued
oversight of the Bureau and your efforts to ensure
our success as we pursue the shared goal of making
America safer, while preserving our civil liberties.
As
this Committee knows, much of the last year has been
devoted to a national discussion about the tools that
should be afforded to the men and women engaged in
the fight against terrorism, both at home and abroad.
I want to thank the Committee for your work in producing
a balanced law reauthorizing the USA Patriot Act.
Through your efforts, our agents will retain the tools
necessary to wage an effective fight against terrorism,
within a framework that ensures important safeguards
for civil liberties and enhanced judicial and congressional
oversight.
For
the FBI, the primary tools used in our efforts to
detect, disrupt, and prevent acts of terrorism continue
to be those included in, or enhanced by, the USA Patriot
Act and related laws, including: the court-authorized
surveillance of international terrorists; the sharing
of key intelligence information; and the collection
of relevant documents pursuant to court orders or
through National Security Letters.
Of
course, as I have explained to this Committee before,
we still believe that administrative subpoenas—such
as those available in narcotics and health-care fraud
cases—would be appropriate in the counterterrorism
arena. Accordingly, it is my hope that the forthcoming
review of the FBI's use of National Security Letters—which
is being conducted by the Department of Justice Office
of Inspector General (DOJ-OIG) pursuant to the reauthorized
Patriot Act—will underscore the FBI's responsible
use of such authorities.
As
this Committee may recall, shortly after the Republican
and Democratic National conventions in the summer
of 2004, media reports stated that the FBI had questioned
political demonstrators across the country in advance
of the conventions, leading civil liberties groups
to allege that the FBI was attempting to chill protestors
from exercising their First Amendment rights. At the
request of Congress, the DOJ-OIG conducted an investigation
and, last week, released its final report on this
matter.
The
OIG did not substantiate the allegations and concluded
that all interviews conducted by the FBI of potential
convention protestors were conducted "for legitimate
law enforcement purposes" and were conducted
consistent with the Attorney General's guidelines.
I am pleased, but not surprised, by the OIG's findings.
The men and women of the FBI understand and appreciate
the power entrusted to them and are vigilant in their
efforts to protect the country while respecting civil
liberties.
I
would like to take the opportunity this morning to
update you on three areas of ongoing interest to the
Committee: our progress in establishing a vigorous
intelligence service within the FBI; developments
in our efforts to modernize the FBI's information
technology program, especially the recent award of
a contract to Lockheed Martin in connection with the
Sentinel program; and the latest results of our efforts
to reshape the FBI's human resources function.
National
Security Branch
I
last appeared before the Committee just one month
after the President approved the recommendations of
the Commission on the Intelligence Capabilities of
the United States Regarding Weapons of Mass Destruction,
commonly known as the WMD Commission. These included
a recommendation regarding the establishment of an
intelligence service within the FBI. I am pleased
to report that FBI's National Security Branch (NSB)
has been established to ensure the integration of
the FBI's primary national security programs under
the leadership of a single executive assistant director
and to implement policies and initiatives designed
to enhance the capability of the entire FBI to support
its national security mission.
Although
still relatively new, the NSB is making significant
progress in integrating the missions, capabilities,
and resources of the counterterrorism, counterintelligence,
and Directorate of Intelligence programs. The FBI
is currently working with the DOJ and the administration
to ensure that the NSB meets the directives set forth
by the President and is responsive to the Office of
the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI).
While
I am optimistic about the new NSB, I am aware that
some harbor doubts about the FBI's ability to transform
itself into a leading intelligence agency. Such critics
often cite the mistaken belief that the intelligence
mission and the law enforcement mission are inherently
incompatible. They also contend that the FBI is reluctant
to share information with its partner agencies.
I
believe it is important to note that both the 9/11
Commission and the WMD Commission found that the intelligence
and law enforcement functions should not be separated.
They understood that intelligence developed in criminal
investigations could be relevant to ongoing intelligence
matters. In addition, many of the skills necessary
to a successful criminal investigation are mirrored
in the intelligence arena: the need to cultivate confidential
informants and build rapport with cooperating witnesses,
the ability to follow complex money trails, the ability
to decipher the coded language of gang members or
drug dealers, and the know-how to extract meaning
from a collection of seemingly unrelated clues are
all skills that can be—and are—applied
to intelligence matters.
With
regard to information sharing, we have doubled the
number of intelligence analysts, and in every field
office we have established Field Intelligence Groups,
or FIGs—agents and analysts working together
with one shared mission—to leverage intelligence
to protect our nation. From January 2004 through January
2006, intelligence analyst staffing increased on the
FIGs by 61 percent, from 617 to 995. This increase
in analysts has helped to fuel our sharing of intelligence
products. Since September 11, we have disseminated
more than 20,000 intelligence reports, assessments,
and bulletins to our partners.
While
our national security efforts remain our top priority,
we continue to fulfill our crime-fighting responsibilities
as well. Public corruption is the top criminal priority
for the FBI. Over the last two years, our investigations
have led to the conviction of over 1,000 government
employees involved in corrupt activities, to include
177 federal officials, 158 state officials, 360 local
officials, and more than 365 police officers.
We
also continue to focus on implementing the National
Gang Strategy, along with ATF. This strategy is designed
to identify the prolific and violent gangs in the
United States and to aggressively investigate, disrupt,
and dismantle their criminal enterprises through prosecution
under appropriate laws.
Information
Technology
When
it comes to analyzing information, technology is crucial.
As this Committee knows, on March 16, 2006, we announced
the award of the contract for development of the Sentinel
program to Lockheed Martin. Under the terms of the
$305 million contract, Lockheed Martin and its industry
partners will use proven, commercial off-the-shelf
technologies to produce an integrated system that
supports processing, storage, and management of the
FBI's current paper-based records system. The program
includes an incremental development and delivery of
Sentinel capabilities, including $73 million for operations
and maintenance activities.
Now
that the contract has been awarded, we are moving
forward with phase one of the development process.
Each of the four phases will introduce new stand-alone
capabilities and will be user-focused. As each phase
is implemented, existing information will be transferred
to new systems and old legacy systems will be retired.
I
want to emphasize that the Sentinel program is not
a reincarnation of the Virtual Case File. Not only
will Sentinel provide greater capabilities, it will
be deployed on an incremental basis over four years.
And, to prevent any missteps, each phase of the Sentinel
contracting process is being closely scrutinized by
a team of FBI technical experts, the Government Accountability
Office, the Office of Management and Budget, and the
Department of Justice's Chief Information Office and
Inspector General. Furthermore, at the urging of Congress,
we have also engaged outside experts to help us review
and assess the implementation of Sentinel.
Significantly,
the FBI also has established contractual mechanisms
to monitor contractor performance and has structured
the program so that all, or portions, of the effort
can be terminated upon identification of poor performance,
including:
I
have met with the CEO of Lockheed Martin, and we are
committed to working together to ensure successful
deployment of each phase of Sentinel. We will also
continue to update this Committee on the progress
of Sentinel and will ensure that the Committee staff
receives briefings throughout the development process.
Without
minimizing the challenges we have had in the past,
I think it is also important to underscore the improvements
that have already been achieved in our efforts to
modernize the FBI's information technology.
Today,
when an FBI agent sits down at her desk and logs on
to the computer, she is connected at the "secret"
level to a fast, secure system that allows her to
send e-mails, photographs, and documents to any other
agent or analyst in the Bureau—across the country
and around the world. Agents also have direct access
to the FBI's internal Intranet, which can be searched
via a Google-based search engine. Through this Intranet,
agents can receive online training, watch streaming
video of meetings or conferences, download investigative
guidelines, or even review the latest congressional
testimony of FBI executives.
For
"top secret" communications, we have deployed
the Top Secret/Sensitive Compartmented Information
Operational Network, or SCION. Nearly 4,000 personnel
have been trained on the SCION and associated intelligence
community systems. This system is the backbone for
FBI personnel to coordinate, collaborate, disseminate,
and conduct research on analysis with the intelligence
community.
Additionally,
other technology initiatives, such as the Investigative
Data Warehouse (IDW), have surpassed our expectations.
As this Committee knows, the IDW is a centralized
repository for relevant counterterrorism and investigative
data that allows users to query the information using
advanced software tools. IDW now contains over 560
million FBI and other agency documents from previously
stove-piped systems. Nearly 12,000 users can access
it via the FBI's classified network from any FBI terminal
throughout the globe. And, nearly 30 percent of the
user accounts are provided to task force members from
other local, state, and federal agencies.
Finally,
we have established an interface whereby FBI field
offices can access the data mart of the Foreign Terrorist
Tracking Task Force, or FTTTF. This access allows
FTTTF analysts to use both government and commercial
data to assist those evaluating whether a foreign
individual suspected of terrorist activity or support
should be denied entry into the United States or,
if already in this country, to help them locate, detain,
prosecute, or deport these individuals, as appropriate.
We
have worked hard to build a solid foundation for the
successful implementation of major information technology
investments, and these are just a few examples of
proven success. We have instituted strong, centralized
management of IT assets, including strategic planning,
portfolio management, and enterprise architecture,
and we require compliance with disciplined policies,
procedures, and business practices that govern the
management of IT projects from Acradle to grave.@
Human
Resources
While
technology is critical to our mission, the men and
women of the FBI remain our most important asset.
Their talent, creativity, and commitment to the public
good are the true keys to our success. Accordingly,
we continue to reshape our human resources program
to recruit, hire, train, and retain quality individuals
for our expanding human capital needs.
When
I last testified before the Committee, I informed
you that we had hired an executive search firm to
identify a chief human resources officer for the FBI
with significant experience in transformation of human
resources in a large organization. At the conclusion
of this search, on October 11, 2005, we appointed
Don Packham as the FBI's chief human resources officer.
Mr. Packham has served in a number of senior human
resources roles, most recently with the British Petroleum
Corporation. In his last position with BP, Mr. Packham
was the senior vice president of human resources for
the Americas, where he oversaw human resources for
50,000 employees spread across more than 50 business
units in North and South America.
I
am confident that Don Packham is the right person
to help us continue the transformation of our workforce.
Many changes are already underway. Last year, Congress
provided the FBI with the legislative authority and
resources to help us compete with other homeland security
and intelligence community organizations which often
recruited employees away from the FBI. The funding
allowed us to provide recruitment bonuses for potential
new hires, retention and relocation bonuses to existing
employees with job offers from other government entities,
and increased funding for our University Education
Program and student loan repayments.
Of
course, human resources programs do not exist in a
vacuum. They must be integrated with our larger mission.
For this reason, we have sought to include entities
like the NSB in the process of improving our human
resources. The human resources initiatives the NSB
is undertaking include defining core national security
competencies and revising recruiting practices to
target applicants with those competencies, and implementing
a four-stage national security career path that will
result in career-long specialization for intelligence
analysts and special agents.
Finally,
I know that one area of concern for this Committee
has been the rate of turnover among the FBI's leadership
ranks. As recognized by the National Academy of Public
Administration, we have launched a number of initiatives
to address this issue. Representatives of the FBI's
Executive Development and Selection Program are working
with the RAND Corporation to develop a database designed
to assist in Senior Executive Service (SES) succession
planning. In addition, the FBI's Training and Development
Division is formulating an "FBI Leadership Training
Framework" that will provide the basis for a
comprehensive leadership development program.
Another
piece of the FBI's leadership development strategy
is the Strategic Leadership Development Plan, which
will provide techniques for identifying leadership
needs and problems, articulate a program designed
to enhance leadership knowledge, skills, and abilities
throughout an employee's career, and relate leadership
development to the FBI's strategic mission in its
top priority programs. The FBI is evaluating several
possible measures to lengthen tenure in SES positions,
particularly at FBI Headquarters, including the increased
use of retention bonuses and other incentives to encourage
SES employees to remain in these positions longer.
With strong, steady leadership, we will be better
poised to achieve our mission of protecting America.
Conclusion
Mr.
Chairman, Senator Leahy, and members of the Committee,
today's FBI is part of a vast national and international
campaign dedicated to defeating terrorism. Working
hand-in-hand with our partners in law enforcement,
intelligence, the military, and diplomatic circles,
the FBI's primary responsibility is to neutralize
terrorist cells and operatives here in the United
States and help dismantle terrorist networks worldwide.
Although protecting the United States from terrorist
attacks is our first priority, we remain committed
to the defense of America against foreign intelligence
threats as well as the enforcement of federal criminal
laws, all while respecting and defending the Constitution.
This
year will mark the five-year anniversary of September
11. The FBI has changed dramatically since the terrorist
attacks and we will continue to evolve to meet the
emerging threats to our country. We have expanded
our mission, radically overhauled our intelligence
programs and capabilities, and have undergone tremendous
personnel growth. I thank you for your consistent
support of the FBI as we continue this transformation,
and I am happy to answer any questions you may have.
