EPIC, Coalition Urge Congressional Leaders to Maintain Key Public Oversight of Intelligence Community

In a letter to Congressional leadership, EPIC joined a coalition of civil rights and privacy organizations to urge Congress to maintain public oversight of the intelligence community. Specifically, the letter opposes provisions in the Senate Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2027 that would eliminate Senate confirmation for the general counsels of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI). The letter explained that, “the general counsels of the CIA and ODNI wield extraordinary influence, and they do so entirely in secret, shaping policies on surveillance, detention, interrogation, and other highly consequential national security matters… The scope of this power and the fact that it occurs outside of public view is why Senate confirmation is so important.”

This letter is the latest example of EPIC’s longstanding advocacy for stronger oversight and regulation of government surveillance. EPIC has also worked to curtail the intelligence community’s mass surveillance ecosystem, notably engaging in the effort to reform FISA Section 702.