The U.S. intelligence budget rose sharply following the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, and so has the use of private contractors. Figures recently revealed by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence indicate that about 70 percent of the U.S. intelligence budget is now spent on private contractors.

Private contractors may sometimes offer more refined expertise than government employees. This can be attributed to greater competition in the private sector. As a result, legislators are faced with providing increased oversight.

"The more work is farmed out, the harder oversight becomes ... because contractors are one step removed from the government chain of command," said Steven Aftergood, director of the Project on Government Secrecy at the Federation of American Scientists.

In comments concerning the 2008 Intelligence Authorization Act, members of the Senate Intelligence Committee last week expressed their concerns about the "increasing reliance on contractors to meet (the intelligence community's) mission requirements."

The committee cited concerns about the additional cost of employing contractors. It cited official U.S. statistics that estimated the average annual cost of a U.S. government civilian employee was $126,500, compared with a "fully loaded" core contractor for $250,000.

The senators also sought to remedy their concerns about the difficulty overseeing the work of private contractors by requiring the DNI to conduct an annual assessment of government and private personnel, including a written statement justifying the requested amount of funding.

"The annual personnel assessment tool will assist the Director of National Intelligence and the congressional intelligence committees in arriving at an appropriate balance of contractors and permanent government employees," the Senate committee wrote.

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Laura Heaton, UPI Intelligence Correspondent