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The provision was struck during floor consideration after passage of S.Res. 445.
Congressional Research Service ˜ The Library of Congress
CRS Report for Congress
Received through the CRS Web
Order Code RS21908
Updated October 14, 2004
Senate Select Committee on Intelligence:
Term Limits and Assignment Limitations
Judy Schneider
Specialist on the Congress
Government and Finance Division
Summary
The 2005 Intelligence Authorization bill (S. 2386) as reported by the Senate
Intelligence Committee contains a provision repealing term limits for committee
members.
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The 9/11 Commission Report recommended that the eight-year term limit
for members serving on the Intelligence Committee be abolished. S.Res. 445,
introduced by Rules and Administration Committee Chairman Trent Lott on October 1,
2004, reported from that committee by a vote of 12-0 on October 5, 2004, and agreed
to October 9, by a vote of 79-6, eliminated term limits for Intelligence Committee
members.
The 9/11 Commission also recommended that the committee be smaller, seven or
nine members (it currently has 17 voting members), and four of the members who serve
on the Intelligence Committee should also serve on the Committees on Armed Services,
Judiciary, or Foreign Relations, or the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee. The
bipartisan working group of Senators also recommended designated membership
representation from the Appropriations, Armed Services, Foreign Relations, and
Judiciary Committees. S. Res. 445 provides that the committee have no more than 15
members and designates that two members each from the Committees on
Appropriations, Armed Services, Judiciary, and Foreign Relations serve on the
Intelligence Committee..
This report addresses issues related to the impact on the Intelligence Committee if
term limits are abolished and other assignment questions addressed in S. Res. 445. This
report will be updated as events warrant.
Introduction
S. 2386, the 2005 Intelligence Authorization bill, reported by the Senate Intelligence
Committee on May 5, 2004, contains a provision (section 306) repealing the eight-year
