KEATING MARATHON PROVISION TO STRENGTHEN INTEL-SHARING PASSES HOUSE
Washington, DC
– Today, Rep. Bill Keating’s provision to strengthen intelligence-sharing in the wake of the Boston Marathon bombings passed the US House of Representatives as part of the Intelligence Authorization. The Keating Provision was the only bipartisan amendment that was considered to the legislation and was co-sponsored by Reps. Tom Rooney (R-FL) and Richard Hanna (R-NY).
The Keating Provision compels the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Department of Homeland Security, and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence to conduct a thorough assessment on the Memoranda of Understanding (MOU) signed between federal, state, and local law enforcement entities. MOUs serve as the foundation for Joint Terrorism Task Forces and other cooperative information-sharing structures associated with law enforcement. They assign appropriate roles and responsibilities to the officers operating within these structures, as well as provide the regulations governing the individual structures.
This provision is the most-recent step in the Congressman’s larger legislative effort to break down impediments to sharing pertinent threat information with local law enforcement. Throughout the investigation into the Marathon Bombings, the MOUs repeatedly came up as interfering with a task force officer’s ability to share information with superiors. Local task force officers feel as though they cannot share this type of information with their superiors due to language contained in the MOUs, resulting in a breakdown of communication which impedes the ability to stop criminal and terrorist activity sooner. The assessment of these MOUs required by the Keating Provision will include recommendations to remedy the breakdowns and foster a better information-sharing environment.
“My provision is the next critical step in correcting the intelligence-sharing breakdowns that have been at the heart of attacks on this country since 9/11,” said Rep. Keating. “As we know from Commissioner Davis’ testimony, local law enforcement officers were not given all of the information federal law enforcement had regarding the Boston Marathon suspects. We cannot allow this to keep happening. My amendment follows up on the information I obtained during my fact-finding trips to Russia, meetings with our local law enforcement officials, and committee hearings, and directly addresses how the Memoranda of Understanding, which are critical to effective information-sharing, can be improved. It is my intention to take the results of my amendment and move forward with additional legislation to codify specific, necessary requirements for Memoranda of Understanding into law. Breakdowns in information-sharing are not limited to Massachusetts. I was proud to have worked with my colleagues from across the aisle, Tom Rooney and Richard Hanna, to make this important provision bipartisan.”
The Keating Provision does not only apply to the investigation into the Marathon Bombings, but will also assist oversight efforts into other incidents across the country, such as the Ft. Hood attacks.
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