COMMITTEE ON THE JUDICIARY NINETY-EIGHTH CONGRESS SECOND SESSION ON OVERSIGHT AND BUDGET AUTHORIZATION ON THE OPERATIONS OF 33-289 O MARCH 14, 1984 Serial No. J-98-102 Printed for the use of the Committee on the Judiciary U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE WASHINGTON: 1984 ORRIN G. HATCH, Utah PATRICK J. LEAHY, Vermont JOEL S. LISKER, Chief Counsel and Staff Director (II) 84-603399 B442 80084 KF26 CONTENTS FBI OVERSIGHT AND BUDGET AUTHORIZATION WEDNESDAY, MARCH 14, 1984 U.S. SENATE, SUBCOMMITTEE ON SECURITY AND TERRORISM, COMMITTEE ON THE JUDICIARY, The subcommittee met at 9:45 a.m., in room SD-562, Dirksen Senate Office Building, Senator Jeremiah Denton (chairman of the subcommittee) presiding. Staff present: Joel S. Lisker, chief counsel and staff director; Thomas March Bell, counsel; John D. Podesta, minority chief counsel; Frances R. Wermuth, chief clerk; and Gerald L. Everett, congressional fellow. OPENING STATEMENT OF SENATOR JEREMIAH DENTON Senator DENTON. Good morning. This hearing will come to order. I want to welcome the Director, Bill Webster, Judge Webster, my friend and tennis partner, sometimes opponent. Today the Subcommittee on Security and Terrorism, pursuant to its mandate and responsibility, holds an open oversight and budget authorization hearing on the operations of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. A separate closed hearing on the classified portion of the FBI budget and operations is scheduled for next week, on March 20. The purpose of today's hearing is for the subcommittee and the Bureau to review together, with as much public access as is possible, consistent with classification and national security considerations, the Bureau's accomplishments and events affecting its operations during the past year, and to discuss the Bureau's forecasts and requirements for fiscal year 1985. The FBI is our Nation's premier law enforcement agency, and the reputation it enjoys today is in no small measure due to the quality of leadership provided by its current Director, Judge William Webster, who is here today to testify before our subcommittee. Judge Webster, I want to take the opportunity during this open session to publicly commend you on the Bureau's many fine accomplishments, and perhaps the most outstanding of those were your efforts at severely crippling the domestic Puerto Rican terrorist organization, FALN. As a result of those efforts, several FALN members were arrested, and a number of serious terrorist acts that the FALN had planned were never carried out. On behalf of our Nation, I humbly offer my thanks and everyone else's who would know anything about it. Tens of millions of Americans would like to thank you for a job well done. (1) |