H.R. 5412, the Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2022, was introduced by Rep. Adam Schiff on September 29, 2021, and authorizes funding and activities for U.S. intelligence agencies for that fiscal year. The bill covers a wide range of topics, from UAP (unidentified aerial phenomena) reporting requirements to counterintelligence reforms, health care for CIA personnel, and new rules on foreign threats. It was reported out of the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence and placed on the Union Calendar on October 28, 2021.
What does the bill do for UAP oversight?
Section 312 is the bill's dedicated UAP provision. It requires the Director of National Intelligence to make sure every intelligence community element with UAP data shares that data immediately with the Unidentified Aerial Phenomena Task Force and the National Air and Space Intelligence Center. The UAP Task Force would also be required to send quarterly reports to the congressional intelligence committees and the Armed Services committees, covering all UAP-related events from the reporting period and any older events not previously reported. Those reports would be submitted in classified form.
The bill defines the UAP Task Force as the body established by the Department of Defense on August 4, 2020, led by the Department of the Navy under the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence and Security.
What counterintelligence and workforce changes does the bill propose?
The bill would bar certain former intelligence community personnel from taking jobs that involve providing intelligence services to a foreign country for 30 months after leaving government service. It also requires the FBI's Counterintelligence Division to assess any product or service from an entity connected to China's government before the FBI can buy it. Separately, the bill would establish counterintelligence units at the Department of Agriculture.
On the workforce side, the bill authorizes the ODNI (Office of the Director of National Intelligence) to support recruitment, retention, diversity, equity, and inclusion activities within the intelligence community.
What health-related provisions are included?
Title V focuses on health care, largely in response to anomalous health incidents affecting intelligence personnel. The bill would formally establish the Office of Medical Services within the CIA and set requirements for the compensation and qualifications of CIA medical officers. It also requires the President to develop protocols for medical testing, treatment, information collection, and reporting for intelligence community employees and their dependents.
What other notable provisions are in the bill?
The bill would authorize the Air Force to establish the National Space Intelligence Center as a field operating agency of the Space Force. It requires the ODNI to produce a National Intelligence Estimate on the security situation in Afghanistan and related countries. It also launches a pilot program to identify security risks from individuals doing unclassified, Defense Department-funded research who would not otherwise go through federal personnel vetting. Additionally, the bill directs the Director of National Intelligence and the Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence and Security to jointly develop and publish standard definitions for more than 20 intelligence-related terms by September 30, 2023.