Originally published Senate intel bill takes on Salt Typhoon, ODNI reorganization on by https://federalnewsnetwork.com/intelligence-community/2025/07/senate-intel-bill-takes-on-salt-typhoon-odni-reorganization/ at Federal News Network
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Senate lawmakers that oversee the intelligence community are advancing a bill that seeks to thwart China-connected hackers, reorganize the IC’s lead office and more.
The Senate Select Committee on Intelligence passed its version of the fiscal 2026 intelligence authorization bill on Tuesday by a vote of 15-2. The committee typically takes a few weeks to post the full text of the bill, but a summary released by Chairman Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) and Vice Chairman Mark Warner (D-Va.) details some critical provisions in their bill.
They said the legislation would “significantly reform and improve efficiencies and effectiveness” at the Office of the Director of National Intelligence and the broader intelligence community.
Last month, Cotton announced plans to introduce the “Intelligence Community Efficiency and Effectiveness Act.” The bill would cap the size of ODNI at 650 staff. At the start of the Trump administration, Cotton said ODNI’s workforce constituted nearly 2,000 employees. Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard has endorsed plans to reduce the size of ODNI.
Cotton’s bill would also terminate the National Counterintelligence and Security Center, the National Counterproliferation and Biosecurity Center, and the National Intelligence University, among other reforms.
The Senate intel committee’s authorization bill also touches on the intelligence community’ use of artificial intelligence. The bill would establish “guidelines for the IC’s procurement and use of artificial intelligence.”
Internally, ODNI officials last year initiated an effort to develop enterprise AI guidance for spy agencies. It’s unclear whether that guidance has been finalized or rescinded under the Trump administration.
Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), a member of the intelligence committee, said the bill also includes his “Intelligence Community Technology Bridge Act.”
That legislation would establish a bridge fund administered by the director of national intelligence and made available to IC elements to “provide assistance to a business or nonprofit organization that is transitioning a product or service to the prototype or production phase as a means of advancing government acquisitions of the product or service.”
Small businesses and nontraditional contractors would be prioritized under the legislation.
Salt Typhoon provisions
Cotton and Warner highlighted how the bill also addresses “Salt Typhoon,” a hacking group believed to be operated by the China’s Ministry of State Security.
The group has been connected to high-profile hacks into U.S. telecommunications networks. A bulletin shared by Department of Homeland Security last month details how Salt Typhoon infiltrated an Army National Guard network and went undetected for months starting last March.
The Senate Committee bill “shores up counter-intelligence risks posed by Salt Typhoon compromises of U.S. telecommunications infrastructure by leveraging IC procurement power,” Cotton and Warner said.
The bill would “strengthen the security of telecommunications networks by establishing baseline cybersecurity requirements for vendors of telecommunications services to the IC.”
Intelligence community workforce issues
Meanwhile, Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) said he voted against the Senate committee’s bill because it eliminates the requirement for the general counsels at ODNI and the CIA to be Senate-confirmed. Wyden said the bill also “excludes congressional oversight of intelligence community firings,” despite a similar provision making into law last year.
“These represent a serious setback for oversight,” Wyden said. “I also have serious concerns about classified matters that are either in the classified annex, or that the annex fails to address.”
The legislation would also ban intelligence community contractors from collecting or selling the location data of IC personnel. Counterintelligence experts are concerned foreign adversaries could use commercially available location data to expose IC officers and operations.
Multiple lawmakers said the bill would also strengthen whistleblower protections for IC personnel.
The bill would “support the intelligence community workforce by requiring the director of national intelligence to issue standard guidelines for Intelligence Community personnel to document and report Anomalous Health Incidents,” according to Cotton and Warner.
The House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence has yet to release details of its intelligence authorization bill mark up.
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Originally published Senate intel bill takes on Salt Typhoon, ODNI reorganization on by https://federalnewsnetwork.com/intelligence-community/2025/07/senate-intel-bill-takes-on-salt-typhoon-odni-reorganization/ at Federal News Network
Originally published Federal News Network
