FBI Responds to NAPA Report on FBI Transformation

The FBI responded today to release of the National Academy of Public Administration (NAPA) report entitled Transforming the FBI: Progress and Challenges.

The FBI appreciates the efforts of the NAPA Panel on FBI Reorganization, led by former Attorney General Dick Thornburgh. For more than two years, the panel has monitored the FBI's progress in adapting to new threats, and has made constructive recommendations that have contributed greatly to the success of the Bureau's reorganization and transformation efforts to date.

The findings and recommendations of this report, which focused on counterterrorism, intelligence, and security, are timely, constructive, and helpful to our efforts to improve our capabilities in these areas. We are pleased that the panel reported progress in all of the areas examined and that the panel's number one recommendation is "that the FBI continue to be the key domestic intelligence agency responsible for such national security concerns as terrorism, counterintelligence, cyber, and transnational criminal activity."

The FBI agrees that there are areas where we need to strengthen our efforts and improve our performance. As a general matter, the recommendations in the report are consistent with initiatives that are either currently underway or in the planning stages. The FBI continues to enhance processes and technologies to improve information sharing. We continue to strengthen our intelligence capabilities by standing up the Directorate of Intelligence and instituting recruitment and training initiatives to build an intelligence workforce. We also have efforts underway to strengthen management and enforcement of our security program.

Director Robert S. Mueller, III said, "NAPA's Panel on FBI Reorganization has been a valuable partner in the FBI's transformation efforts. We are gratified that the panel has endorsed our overall approach to reform the Bureau and enhance its capabilities. We intend to work closely with the House Appropriations Committee to follow up on the findings and recommendations in this report, and we look forward to working with NAPA during the upcoming year."

NAPA's report and press release are available at www.napawash.org.