A sign at the entrance to a House Armed Services Committee hearing room in Washington, D.C.

A sign at the entrance to a House Armed Services Committee hearing room in Washington, D.C. Katherine Welles / Shutterstock

House Lawmakers Split Oversight of Cyber, Intel

Seven Armed Services Committee subcommittees will help oversee the vast Defense Department.

The House Armed Services Committee separated oversight of intelligence functions from the purview of a subcommittee that has been leading on cybersecurity issues over the years, saying it will increase much-needed attention to both areas.

In a pair of statements Wednesday, the committee announced its dissolution of the Intelligence and Emerging Threats and Capabilities subcommittee and introduced two new panels: the Cyber, Innovative Technologies, and Information Systems, or CITI, subcommittee and the Intelligence and Special Operations subcommittee. The latter will be chaired by Rep. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz. 

“The scope of the Armed Services Committee is vast by necessity – it is our responsibility to oversee the entire Department of Defense, the largest agency in the federal government,” Chairman Adam Smith, D-Wash., and Gallego said in a joint statement. “To that end, it is critical that our committee structure allows each subcommittee to dedicate the time and staff resources required to perform rigorous oversight and to enact meaningful legislation that advances our national security each and every year.” 

Rep. Jim Langevin, D-R.I., will chair the CITI subcommittee, the congressman said Wednesday in another joint statement with Smith. Langevin, who is also co-chair of the Congressional Cybersecurity Caucus and a member of the Cyberspace Solarium Commission, led the intelligence and emerging threats and capabilities subcommittee last session. The panel was crucial for including several of the Solarium Commission’s recommendations, including the creation of a national cyber director’s office, in the National Defense Authorization Act.

The subcommittee’s jurisdiction will now explicitly include cybersecurity, operations, and forces; information technology, systems, and operations; science and technology programs and policy; defense-wide research and development (except missile defense and space); artificial intelligence policy and programs; electromagnetic spectrum policy; electronic warfare policy; and computer software acquisition policy.

“The Fiscal Year 2021 National Defense Authorization Act has widely been touted as the most significant piece of cybersecurity legislation ever to pass Congress,” the statement reads. “While we are proud of what has already been accomplished, we considered how a more targeted focus could help us achieve even more objectives in the domain.”

Gallego’s jurisdiction, as chair of the new intelligence and special operations subcommittee, will include military intelligence, national intelligence, special operations forces, countering chemical, biological, and radiological weapons of mass destruction, counter-proliferation, counterterrorism and sensitive military operations.    

His statement with Smith also suggested issues of disinformation, which have been a tactic of cyber adversaries and is also linked to artificial intelligence, would fall under Gallego’s oversight. 

“As the country faces unprecedented threats from our adversaries and competitors, especially the disruptive impact of disinformation attacks, we will ensure that special operations forces and the Defense Intelligence Enterprise are postured to address those threats,” the statement reads. “It is critical that these highly sensitive areas of the Committee’s jurisdiction receive the time and attention they deserve, and this new subcommittee structure will facilitate exactly that.”

X
This website uses cookies to enhance user experience and to analyze performance and traffic on our website. We also share information about your use of our site with our social media, advertising and analytics partners. Learn More / Do Not Sell My Personal Information
Accept Cookies
X
Cookie Preferences Cookie List

Do Not Sell My Personal Information

When you visit our website, we store cookies on your browser to collect information. The information collected might relate to you, your preferences or your device, and is mostly used to make the site work as you expect it to and to provide a more personalized web experience. However, you can choose not to allow certain types of cookies, which may impact your experience of the site and the services we are able to offer. Click on the different category headings to find out more and change our default settings according to your preference. You cannot opt-out of our First Party Strictly Necessary Cookies as they are deployed in order to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting the cookie banner and remembering your settings, to log into your account, to redirect you when you log out, etc.). For more information about the First and Third Party Cookies used please follow this link.

Allow All Cookies

Manage Consent Preferences

Strictly Necessary Cookies - Always Active

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Sale of Personal Data, Targeting & Social Media Cookies

Under the California Consumer Privacy Act, you have the right to opt-out of the sale of your personal information to third parties. These cookies collect information for analytics and to personalize your experience with targeted ads. You may exercise your right to opt out of the sale of personal information by using this toggle switch. If you opt out we will not be able to offer you personalised ads and will not hand over your personal information to any third parties. Additionally, you may contact our legal department for further clarification about your rights as a California consumer by using this Exercise My Rights link

If you have enabled privacy controls on your browser (such as a plugin), we have to take that as a valid request to opt-out. Therefore we would not be able to track your activity through the web. This may affect our ability to personalize ads according to your preferences.

Targeting cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.

Social media cookies are set by a range of social media services that we have added to the site to enable you to share our content with your friends and networks. They are capable of tracking your browser across other sites and building up a profile of your interests. This may impact the content and messages you see on other websites you visit. If you do not allow these cookies you may not be able to use or see these sharing tools.

If you want to opt out of all of our lead reports and lists, please submit a privacy request at our Do Not Sell page.

Save Settings
Cookie Preferences Cookie List

Cookie List

A cookie is a small piece of data (text file) that a website – when visited by a user – asks your browser to store on your device in order to remember information about you, such as your language preference or login information. Those cookies are set by us and called first-party cookies. We also use third-party cookies – which are cookies from a domain different than the domain of the website you are visiting – for our advertising and marketing efforts. More specifically, we use cookies and other tracking technologies for the following purposes:

Strictly Necessary Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Functional Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Performance Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Sale of Personal Data

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.

Social Media Cookies

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.

Targeting Cookies

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.