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U.S. Code as of:
01/19/04
Section 402. National Security Council
(a) Establishment; presiding officer; functions; composition
There is established a council to be known as the National
Security Council (hereinafter in this section referred to as the
"Council").
The President of the United States shall preside over meetings of
the Council: Provided, That in his absence he may designate a
member of the Council to preside in his place.
The function of the Council shall be to advise the President with
respect to the integration of domestic, foreign, and military
policies relating to the national security so as to enable the
military services and the other departments and agencies of the
Government to cooperate more effectively in matters involving the
national security.
The Council shall be composed of -
(1) the President;
(2) the Vice President;
(3) the Secretary of State;
(4) the Secretary of Defense;
(5) the Director for Mutual Security;
(6) the Chairman of the National Security Resources Board; and
(7) the Secretaries and Under Secretaries of other executive
departments and of the military departments, the Chairman of the
Munitions Board, and the Chairman of the Research and Development
Board, when appointed by the President by and with the advice and
consent of the Senate, to serve at his pleasure.
(b) Additional functions
In addition to performing such other functions as the President
may direct, for the purpose of more effectively coordinating the
policies and functions of the departments and agencies of the
Government relating to the national security, it shall, subject to
the direction of the President, be the duty of the Council -
(1) to assess and appraise the objectives, commitments, and
risks of the United States in relation to our actual and
potential military power, in the interest of national security,
for the purpose of making recommendations to the President in
connection therewith; and
(2) to consider policies on matters of common interest to the
departments and agencies of the Government concerned with the
national security, and to make recommendations to the President
in connection therewith.
(c) Executive secretary; appointment; staff employees
The Council shall have a staff to be headed by a civilian
executive secretary who shall be appointed by the President. The
executive secretary, subject to the direction of the Council, is
authorized, subject to the civil-service laws and chapter 51 and
subchapter III of chapter 53 of title 5, to appoint and fix the
compensation of such personnel as may be necessary to perform such
duties as may be prescribed by the Council in connection with the
performance of its functions.
(d) Recommendations and reports
The Council shall, from time to time, make such recommendations,
and such other reports to the President as it deems appropriate or
as the President may require.
(e) Participation of Chairman or Vice Chairman of Joint Chiefs of
Staff
The Chairman (or in his absence the Vice Chairman) of the Joint
Chiefs of Staff may, in his role as principal military adviser to
the National Security Council and subject to the direction of the
President, attend and participate in meetings of the National
Security Council.
(f) Participation by Director of National Drug Control Policy
The Director of National Drug Control Policy may, in the role of
the Director as principal adviser to the National Security Council
on national drug control policy, and subject to the direction of
the President, attend and participate in meetings of the National
Security Council.
(g) Board for Low Intensity Conflict
The President shall establish within the National Security
Council a board to be known as the "Board for Low Intensity
Conflict". The principal function of the board shall be to
coordinate the policies of the United States for low intensity
conflict.
(h) Committee on Foreign Intelligence
(1) There is established within the National Security Council a
committee to be known as the Committee on Foreign Intelligence (in
this subsection referred to as the "Committee").
(2) The Committee shall be composed of the following:
(A) The Director of Central Intelligence.
(B) The Secretary of State.
(C) The Secretary of Defense.
(D) The Assistant to the President for National Security
Affairs, who shall serve as the chairperson of the Committee.
(E) Such other members as the President may designate.
(3) The function of the Committee shall be to assist the Council
in its activities by -
(A) identifying the intelligence required to address the
national security interests of the United States as specified by
the President;
(B) establishing priorities (including funding priorities)
among the programs, projects, and activities that address such
interests and requirements; and
(C) establishing policies relating to the conduct of
intelligence activities of the United States, including
appropriate roles and missions for the elements of the
intelligence community and appropriate targets of intelligence
collection activities.
(4) In carrying out its function, the Committee shall -
(A) conduct an annual review of the national security interests
of the United States;
(B) identify on an annual basis, and at such other times as the
Council may require, the intelligence required to meet such
interests and establish an order of priority for the collection
and analysis of such intelligence; and
(C) conduct an annual review of the elements of the
intelligence community in order to determine the success of such
elements in collecting, analyzing, and disseminating the
intelligence identified under subparagraph (B).
(5) The Committee shall submit each year to the Council and to
the Director of Central Intelligence a comprehensive report on its
activities during the preceding year, including its activities
under paragraphs (3) and (4).
(i) (!1) Committee on Transnational Threats
(1) There is established within the National Security Council a
committee to be known as the Committee on Transnational Threats (in
this subsection referred to as the "Committee").
(2) The Committee shall include the following members:
(A) The Director of Central Intelligence.
(B) The Secretary of State.
(C) The Secretary of Defense.
(D) The Attorney General.
(E) The Assistant to the President for National Security
Affairs, who shall serve as the chairperson of the Committee.
(F) Such other members as the President may designate.
(3) The function of the Committee shall be to coordinate and
direct the activities of the United States Government relating to
combatting transnational threats.
(4) In carrying out its function, the Committee shall -
(A) identify transnational threats;
(B) develop strategies to enable the United States Government
to respond to transnational threats identified under subparagraph
(A);
(C) monitor implementation of such strategies;
(D) make recommendations as to appropriate responses to
specific transnational threats;
(E) assist in the resolution of operational and policy
differences among Federal departments and agencies in their
responses to transnational threats;
(F) develop policies and procedures to ensure the effective
sharing of information about transnational threats among Federal
departments and agencies, including law enforcement agencies and
the elements of the intelligence community; and
(G) develop guidelines to enhance and improve the coordination
of activities of Federal law enforcement agencies and elements of
the intelligence community outside the United States with respect
to transnational threats.
(5) For purposes of this subsection, the term "transnational
threat" means the following:
(A) Any transnational activity (including international
terrorism, narcotics trafficking, the proliferation of weapons of
mass destruction and the delivery systems for such weapons, and
organized crime) that threatens the national security of the
United States.
(B) Any individual or group that engages in an activity
referred to in subparagraph (A).
(j) Participation of Director of Central Intelligence
The Director of Central Intelligence (or, in the Director's
absence, the Deputy Director of Central Intelligence) may, in the
performance of the Director's duties under this Act and subject to
the direction of the President, attend and participate in meetings
of the National Security Council.
(i) (!2) Special Adviser to the President on International
Religious Freedom
It is the sense of the Congress that there should be within the
staff of the National Security Council a Special Adviser to the
President on International Religious Freedom, whose position should
be comparable to that of a director within the Executive Office of
the President. The Special Adviser should serve as a resource for
executive branch officials, compiling and maintaining information
on the facts and circumstances of violations of religious freedom
(as defined in section 6402 of title 22), and making policy
recommendations. The Special Adviser should serve as liaison with
the Ambassador at Large for International Religious Freedom, the
United States Commission on International Religious Freedom,
Congress and, as advisable, religious nongovernmental
organizations.
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