Intelligence oversight, or lack thereof

FYI, my fellow Americans, your Senate committee of theoretical overseers of the NSA, CIA and U.S. intelligence gathering in general are these folks currently:

	REPUBLICANS		DEMOCRATS
	Pat Roberts, Kansas Chairman		John D. Rockefeller IV West Virginia, Vice Chairman
	Orrin G. Hatch, Utah		Carl Levin, Michigan
	Mike Dewine, Ohio		Dianne Feinstein, California
	Christopher S. Bond, Missouri		Ron Wyden, Oregon
	Trent Lott, Mississippi		Evan Bayh, Indiana
	Olympia J. Snowe, Maine		Barbara A. Mikulski, Maryland
	Chuck Hagel, Nebraska		Russell D. Feingold, Wisconsin
	Saxby Chambliss, Georgia

whereas your House committee of theoretical overseers of the NSA, CIA and U.S. intelligence gathering in general are these folks currently:

Name	Party	State
Peter Hoekstra	Republican	Michigan
Ray LaHood	Republican	Illinois
Terry Everett	Republican	Alabama
Elton Gallegly	Republican	California
Heather Wilson	Republican	New Mexico
Jo Ann Davis	Republican	Virginia
Mac Thornberry	Republican	Texas
John McHugh	Republican	New York
Todd Tiahrt	Republican	Kansas
Mike Rogers	Republican	Michigan
Rick Renzi	Republican	Arizona
Darrell Issa	Republican	California
Jane Harman	Democrat	California
Alcee L. Hastings	Democrat	Florida
Silvestre Reyes	Democrat	Texas
Leonard L. Boswell	Democrat	Iowa
Robert E. (Bud) Cramer, Jr	Democrat	Alabama
Anna G. Eshoo	Democrat	California
Rush D. Holt	Democrat	New Jersey
C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger	Democrat	Maryland
John Tierney	Democrat	Massachusetts

And here are a few words from Democratic House leader Nancy Pelosi on Jan. 17, 2006 in the Washington Post after the first leaks of NSA domestic spying.

In the 17 months since the Sept. 11 commission called on Congress to review the adequacy of its intelligence oversight system, I have written to House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.)four times to urge that we proceed in a bipartisan fashion to get that job done. In the letters, I have proposed that the House create a bipartisan, bicameral working group to recommend improvements to the oversight process. Its goal would be to find ways for Congress to more effectively carry out our statutory requirement to specifically authorize all intelligence activities; to make sure that all information provided to the chairs and ranking minority-party members of the intelligence committees is made available to every committee member, and to better ensure that information provided to Congress by intelligence agencies is complete and candid.

Rep. Ike Skelton (D-Mo.) and other members with intelligence expertise have made similar requests. So far no action has been taken.