S.Amdt. 6574

This amendment, submitted by Mr. Cotton and Mr. Warner, adds a new division to bill S. 4784 titled the Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2027. Its purpose is to authorize funding, set operational guidelines, manage personnel, and establish strategic priorities for the United States intelligence community.

Funding and Personnel

• Authorizes fiscal year 2027 appropriations, including $568 million for the Intelligence Community Management Account and $514 million for the CIA Retirement and Disability Fund.
• Requires Senate advice and consent for the appointment of the Deputy Director of the CIA and the Deputy Director of the NSA.
• Shifts the appointment of the Director of the National Counterterrorism Center to the Director of National Intelligence.
• Redesignates and modifies leadership roles within the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.

Operational Changes and Restrictions

• Repeals the National Intelligence Management Council, the Intelligence Community Chief Data Officer, and the Joint Intelligence Community Council.
• Explicitly states the Director of National Intelligence has no law enforcement, subpoena, or police powers.
• Mandates that all-source intelligence products be objective, independent of political consideration, and follow specific tradecraft for sourcing and uncertainty.

National Security and Foreign Policy Priorities

• Focuses on countering hostile foreign cyber actors, specifically the Huione Group and Prince Group.
• Creates a China-Taiwan Strategic Warning Task Force.
• Increases intelligence cooperation with Israel, Abraham Accords countries, and the Indo-Pacific region.
• Requires intelligence support for Ukraine to continue until a political settlement or formal armistice is reached.
• Bans the operation or procurement of unmanned ground vehicle systems from "covered foreign countries," which include North Korea, Iran, Russia, and China.
• Restricts the use of certain Chinese products and services, specifically the DeepSeek application.

Technology and Artificial Intelligence

• Establishes the Ben Sasse Intelligence Community Technology Fellowship Program for training at nongovernmental tech entities.
• Creates a pilot program to share information with covered persons (U.S. citizens developing AI) about foreign exploitation of AI systems.
• Defines "agentic artificial intelligence" as systems capable of executing actions on information systems without only providing advisory output, requiring new policy guidance and access management reviews.
• Requires the Director of National Intelligence to review AI in targeting decisions with lethal effects to prevent civilian harm and requires clear labeling of AI outputs used in those workflows.
• Mandates the identification of AI-generated or modified intelligence and the tracking of incidents where AI systems are compromised.
• Requires reports to Congress on "novel uses" of AI and reviews of AI testing benchmarks.
• Prohibits "covered applications" (AI models generating non-consensual intimate images or child pornography) on national security systems unless a national security waiver or specific safeguards are certified.
• Creates a subsidized research test-bed for academic and private sector researchers with rules ensuring access regardless of ideological or political viewpoints.
• Launches research into how adversarial AI interacts with intelligence systems and how AI could lead to "inadvertent escalation" with foreign actors.
• Evaluates if the "Vulnerabilities Equities Process" is sufficient for AI security vulnerabilities.
• Defines and regulates biological intelligence activities to attribute and detect foreign biological threats.

Accountability and Oversight

• Requires Congress to be notified if intelligence support to countries of significant importance, such as Ukraine or Israel, is restricted or paused.
• Mandates notification to Congress regarding criminal referrals for former or current intelligence community employees.
• Prohibits individuals with security clearances from using nonpublic information in prediction markets.

Administrative Updates

• Updates the definition of "Armed Forces" to include the Space Force.
• Expands notification requirements for authorized departures to include more congressional committees.
• Permits intelligence support for the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation.