Bill Would Cap ODNI Headcount in Effort to Reshape Intelligence Community
A group of Republican Senators wants to restructure the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) as part of an effort to reform the nation’s intelligence community.
Among the proposed changes: capping ODNI’s workforce at 650 full-time employees.
The proposed changes were detailed in the Intelligence Community Efficiency and Effectiveness Act (S.2202), sponsored by Senate Select Committee on Intelligence Chairman Tom Cotton (R-AR).
The legislation is designed to slim down the agency, eliminate duplicate efforts, and return ODNI to its original size, scope, and mission.
“Created after the September 11th attacks, ODNI was intended to be a lean organization to align America’s intelligence resources and authorities, not the overstaffed and bureaucratic behemoth that it is today, where coordinators coordinate with other coordinators. These reforms will be vital to keeping our country safe from the wide range of threats that we continue to face,” said Senator Cotton.
Workforce Cap
On the job front, the legislation would cut ODNI’s workforce from about 1,600 today, to a cap of 650 full time employees. The workforce had been about 2,000 at the start of the year, but layoffs spearheaded by Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard had trimmed that number.
Contract workers would not be affected by the cap.
The principal deputy DNI position would be eliminated and folded into assistant DNI roles, while National Intelligence Managers would also be eliminated.
Some of the job cuts will be achieved by transferring various branches of ODNI.
For example, the National Counterintelligence and Security Center (NCSC) would be transferred from ODNI to the FBI while the National Counterproliferation and Biosecurity Center would be transferred to the CIA.
The legislation also redesignates the National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC) as the National Counterterrorism and Counternarcotics Center and limits its mission to foreign intelligence authorities.
It also terminates the National Intelligence University (NIU) and prohibits the use of national intelligence funds for diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs.
The legislation comes as tensions appear to rise between Trump and DNI Gabbard over her comments that Iran was not building a nuclear weapon.
However, a ODNI spokesperson tells NBC News that conversations on staff reductions and efficiency have been going on for months with members of Congress.
“All parties are interested in advancing reforms that refocus ODNI on its core, national security mission,” said the spokesperson.
Equitable Tax Treatment for Intelligence Community
There’s also another piece of legislation pending that would impact the intelligence workforce.
Senator Cotton, along with Senator Mark Warner (D-VA), Vice Chairman of the Intelligence Committee, introduced the Intelligence Community Workforce Agility Protection Act (S.2141).
The goal of the legislation is to reduce tax burdens on members of the intelligence community who are forced to relocate for their jobs. In particular, it expands eligibility for moving expense deductions, similar to members of the military.
“This commonsense legislation will ensure that these brave Americans are not forced to pay out of pocket for the costs of their relocations,” said Senator Warner.