FBI director grilled on use of increase in funding level

House Appropriations Committee Chairman David Obey, D-Wisc., wagged a finger at FBI Director Robert Mueller Tuesday, expressing concern with "numerous occasions on which money has been wasted and authority has been abused" at the agency, whose budget has been doubled by the panel since 2001.

He singled out the recent controversy over the FBI's improper use of national security letters as a prime example. Those administrative subpoenas, which allow agents to analyze telephone, computer and bank records without warrants, have been the subject of two Justice Department inspector general investigations and hearings in the House and Senate.

Mueller said he was very aware of congressional concerns about the abuses and said internal mechanisms are in place "to minimize the chance of future lapses." Inspector General Glenn Fine's most recent report, which was released last month, cited progress on the matter over the past year. Mueller told the House Commerce-Justice-Science Appropriations Subcommittee during his testimony on the FBI's fiscal 2009 budget request that "we're on track to make sure this does not happen again."

The FBI has requested $7.1 billion for fiscal 2009, an increase of $447.6 million.

Obey also noted that Fine was scheduled to issue an update soon on the FBI's related use of exigent letters, which are for emergencies but were sent to telecommunications firms in nonemergencies.

His initial 2007 inquiry pointed to hundreds of questionable notices being issued. Obey said that "this cavalier approach toward legal protections may have temporarily gained the agency some useful information" but that it had a long-term cost to the agency's trust and accountability.

Commerce-Justice-Science Subcommittee ranking member Rodney Frelinghuysen, R-N.J., also spoke of the agency's missteps but said he has "great faith in the work of the FBI." He lauded Mueller for having "done your level best" to keep the FBI moving forward.

Commerce-Justice-Science Subcommittee Chairman Alan Mollohan recused himself from the hearing because of to a pending investigation of earmarks steered toward nonprofits he helped start.

The $30 million requested for fiscal 2009 to handle the FBI's growing backlog of DNA evidence worried Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif. "I don't see how that will be enough," particularly with new laws taking effect soon to broaden the pool of convicts and suspects who require processing. A combination of more personnel and new technologies is helping address the buildup, Mueller said.

The FBI chief tiptoed around a question from Rep. C.A. (Dutch) Ruppersberger, D-Md., who asked about what FBI components need budget boosts that were not adequately addressed in the administration's proposal. He said aging buildings at the FBI's academy in Quantico, Va., and ratcheting up resources to improve data collection in an era of new technologies are issues that "I can assure you'll be hearing from us on."