Members of the U.S. House of Representatives yesterday criticized the recently established Terrorist Threat Intelligence Center, saying it has only created more bureaucracy, according to the Los Angeles Times (see GSN, April 30).

“There is an unclear division of responsibility and therefore no basis of accountability,” Representative Jim Turner (D-Texas) said during a joint hearing held by the House judiciary and homeland security committees.  “The robust intelligence unit envisioned by the Homeland Security Act does not exist today,” Turner said.

Representative Loretta Sanchez (D-Calif.) said the center appeared to needlessly duplicate intelligence efforts.  “What this looks like is the intelligence community's jobs-forever program,” she said.

Center Director John Brennan sought to defend his agency during yesterday’s hearing, saying it was an “innovative joint venture.”

“We’ve already witnessed the force-multiplier effect of having agents from partner agencies sharing information, insight, analysis,” Brennan said.  “No single agency has the authority or capability to deal with the terrorist threat,” he said (Susannah Rosenblatt, Los Angeles Times, July 23).

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