Foley To Head Oversight Panel That Reviews Cia

Former House Speaker Tom Foley will head a panel that advises President Clinton on how well the nation’s spy systems are working.

Foley was named chairman of the President’s Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board, a 15-member panel that regularly reviews the Central Intelligence Agency and other government agencies involved in gathering such data.

The board - which includes military leaders, former members of Congress, corporate executives and legal experts - reports directly to the president.

It offers advice on how the intelligence agencies are working, whether they are properly managed and coordinated, and recommends improvements.

Foley will replace Adm. William Crowe, a former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Other board members include former Sen. Warren Rudman, R-N.H., former Sen. Tom Eagleton, D-Mo., and retired Adm. Elmo Zumwalt.

Foley and other board members serve without pay. They are forbidden by law to reveal any information they receive from the nation’s top intelligence officers to anyone but the president or people he specifically designates.

Foley served in Congress for 30 years, the last five as speaker of the House, until 1994, when he lost the election to Spokane attorney George Nethercutt. Foley now works for a large Washington, D.C., law firm, specializing in international law.

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