Washington, D.C. – Congressman Michael C. Burgess, M.D., chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing and Trade, today introduced legislation that would remove any authority the Central Intelligence Agency’s (CIA) has to carry out drone strikes abroad and transfer that power solely to the Department of Defense (DOD).

The legislation, H.R. 466, is in response to the intelligence community’s practice of keeping drone strike authority within their purview and thus limiting the authority of the armed forces to carry out these missions.  

Burgess, who introduced identical legislation in the 113th Congress, said the best use of our CIA is to gather intelligence for the DOD’s use and not to act as a paramilitary organization with authority to conduct its own missions.

“The emphasis that the CIA has placed on carrying out drone strikes abroad dangerously blurs the lines of jurisdiction between it and the military,” Burgess said. “Acting as an arm of the military goes against the mission statement of the CIA, but worse, it could impair the agency’s ability to conduct its most vital undertaking, which is to gather intelligence.”

To read more about this legislation, click here. 

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