H. Res. 895
In the House of Representatives, U.S., 
June 29, 2006.
Whereas the United States is currently engaged in a global 
war on terrorism to prevent future attacks against Amer-
ican civilian and military interests at home and abroad; 
Whereas intelligence programs are essential to gathering crit-
ical information necessary for identifying, disrupting, and 
capturing terrorists before they carry out further attacks; 
Whereas there is a national security imperative for maintain-
ing the secrecy of our intelligence capabilities from our 
potential enemies; 
Whereas effective intelligence depends on cooperation with 
foreign governments and individuals who trust the United 
States to protect their confidences; 
Whereas the Commission on the Intelligence Capabilities of 
the United States Regarding Weapons of Mass Destruc-
tion found that ‘‘the scope of damage done to our collec-
tion capabilities from media disclosures of classified in-
formation is well documented. Hundreds of serious press 
leaks have significantly impaired U.S. capabilities against 
our hardest targets’’; 
Whereas the unauthorized disclosure of sensitive intelligence 
information inflicts significant damage to United States 
activities in the global war on terrorism by assisting ter-
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rorists in developing countermeasures to evade United 
States intelligence capabilities, costs the United States 
taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars in lost capabili-
ties, and ultimately endangers American lives; 
Whereas the 1998 disclosure of classified information regard-
ing efforts to monitor the communications of Usama bin 
Laden eliminated a valuable source of intelligence infor-
mation on al Qaeda’s activities, an example of the signifi-
cant damage caused by unauthorized disclosures; 
Whereas following the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, 
Congress passed the USA PATRIOT ACT, which in-
cluded anti-terrorist financing provisions that bolster 
Federal Government and law enforcement capabilities to 
find and disrupt the financiers of terrorist organizations; 
Whereas following the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, 
the President, with the support of Congress, directed the 
Federal Government to use all appropriate measures to 
identify, track, and pursue not only those persons who 
commit terrorist acts here and abroad, but also those 
who provide financial or other support for terrorist activ-
ity; 
Whereas consistent with this directive, the United States 
Government initiated a lawfully classified Terrorist Fi-
nance Tracking Program and the Secretary of the Treas-
ury issued lawful subpoenas to gather information on 
suspected international terrorists through bank trans-
action information; 
Whereas under the Terrorist Finance Tracking Program, the 
United States Government only reviews information as 
part of specific terrorism investigations and based on in-
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telligence that leads to targeted searches, such as 
searches of a specific individual or entity; 
Whereas the Terrorist Finance Tracking Program is firmly 
rooted in sound legal authority based on Executive Or-
ders and statutory mandates, including the International 
Emergency Economic Powers Act of 1977 and the 
United Nations Participation Act; 
Whereas the Terrorist Finance Tracking Program consists of 
the appropriate and limited use of transaction informa-
tion while maintaining respect for individual privacy; 
Whereas the Terrorist Finance Tracking Program has rig-
orous safeguards and protocols to protect privacy in that 
record searches must identify a terrorism-related basis, 
and regular, independent audits of the program have con-
firmed that the United States Government has consist-
ently observed the established safeguards and protocols; 
Whereas appropriate Members of Congress, including the 
members of the Committees on Intelligence of the Senate 
and House of Representatives have been briefed on the 
Terrorist Finance Tracking Program and have conducted 
oversight of the Program; 
Whereas the Terrorist Finance Tracking Program has suc-
cessfully provided vital intelligence in support of the glob-
al war on terrorism, including information leading to the 
capture of Hambali, the Operations Chief of Jemaah 
Islamiyah, an al Qaeda affiliate, who masterminded the 
2002 nightclub bombing in Indonesia that killed over 200 
people; 
Whereas the Terrorist Finance Tracking Program has helped 
authorities uncover terrorist financiers worldwide and
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find Uzair Paracha, an al Qaeda money launderer oper-
ating in the United States; 
Whereas Congress has authorized the Secretary of the Treas-
ury to explore the implementation of systems to review all 
cross-border wire transactions; 
Whereas the bipartisan 9/11 Commission recommended that 
‘‘Vigorous efforts to track terrorist financing must re-
main front and center in U.S. counterterrorism efforts’’; 
Whereas persons in positions of trust and responsibility 
granted access to highly sensitive intelligence programs 
violated their solemn obligations not to disclose classified 
information and made unauthorized disclosures regarding 
the program; 
Whereas at some point before June 23, 2006, classified infor-
mation regarding the Terrorist Finance Tracking Pro-
gram was illegally and improperly disclosed to members 
of the news media; 
Whereas beginning on June 23, 2006, certain media organi-
zations knowingly published details about a classified pro-
gram that the United States Government had legally and 
with appropriate safeguards used to track the financing 
of terrorism, including specific intelligence gathering 
methods; 
Whereas the Administration, Members of Congress, and the 
bipartisan chairmen of the 9/11 Commission requested 
that media organizations not disclose details of the Ter-
rorist Finance Tracking Program so that terrorists would 
not shift their financing to channels in the international 
financial system that are less easily observed by intel-
ligence agencies;
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Whereas the disclosure of the Terrorist Finance Tracking 
Program has unnecessarily complicated efforts by the 
United States Government to prosecute the war on terror 
and may have placed the lives of Americans in danger 
both at home and in many regions of the world, including 
active-duty armed forces in Iraq and Afghanistan; 
Whereas persons who have access to classified information, or 
who have classified information passed onto them, have 
a responsibility to the people of the United States not to 
endanger the populace through their exercise of the right 
to freedom of speech; and 
Whereas Federal statutes criminalize the unauthorized disclo-
sure and publication of sensitive intelligence information, 
regardless of the source: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the House of Representatives—
(1) supports efforts to identify, track, and pursue 
suspected foreign terrorists and their financial sup-
porters by tracking terrorist money flows and uncovering 
terrorist networks here and abroad, including through 
the use of the Terrorist Finance Tracking Program; 
(2) finds that the Terrorist Finance Tracking Pro-
gram has been conducted in accordance with all applica-
ble laws, regulations, and Executive Orders, that appro-
priate safeguards and reviews have been instituted to 
protect individual civil liberties, and that Congress has 
been appropriately informed and consulted for the dura-
tion of the Program and will continue its oversight of 
the Program;
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(3) condemns the unauthorized disclosure of classi-
fied information by those persons responsible and ex-
presses concern that the disclosure may endanger the 
lives of American citizens, including members of the 
Armed Forces, as well as individuals and organizations 
that support United States efforts; and 
(4) expects the cooperation of all news media orga-
nizations in protecting the lives of Americans and the ca-
pability of the government to identify, disrupt, and cap-
ture terrorists by not disclosing classified intelligence 
programs such as the Terrorist Finance Tracking Pro-
gram.
Attest: 
Clerk.