In this letter to the President, Zoe Baird and James Barksdale offer the following suggestions for the his report to Congress: make clear that the Director of National Intelligence has responsibility for the creation of the ISE; emphasize the development of government-wide policies and guidelines as the foundation for the adoption of information sharing capabilities and procedures; develop policies addressing key issues; immediately give the PM the necessary resources to get the job done; and engage quickly as policies and guidelines are developed. Baird and Barksdale urge the President to reiterate to his Cabinet officers and all United States Government officers that “they should interpret all applicable laws and regulations to enable information sharing rather than use ambiguities between the Act and prior law which Congress left unresolved as an excuse to protect prior approaches. They need to embrace rather than resist the change.”
