By Joby Warrick
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, July 31, 2008 5:15 PM

The Bush administration today announced a restructuring of the nation's intelligence-gathering apparatus, approving new guidelines that bolster the authority of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (DNI) as the leader of the nation's 16 spy agencies.

The changes were part of a long-awaited overhaul of Executive Order 12333, a Reagan-era document that establishes the powers and responsibilities of U.S. intelligence services. Most of the revisions were aimed at underscoring the predominant role of the DNI, the office created by Congress three years ago in the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

The revamped order specifically places the DNI in charge of setting priorities for the 16 spy agencies as well as issuing guidelines on how intelligence is collected, analyzed and shared--including foreign intelligence, traditionally the domain of the CIA. It also gives the DNI a greater voice in the hiring and firing of senior intelligence officials.

The document calls on intelligence agencies to use "all reasonable and lawful means" to safeguard American citizens, and reaffirms the nation's "long-standing commitment to protecting civil liberties," a senior administration official said in a briefing to reporters about the changes.

The official, who spoke on the condition that he not be identified by name, called the order a "foundational document" that will clarify responsibilities and improve coordination. "The order was simply out of date, and it needed to be updated to conform with the new intelligence structure," he said.

Left essentially unchanged is a prohibition against assassinations of foreign leaders, as well as long-standing restrictions on human experimentation, the document states. It asserts that the intelligence agencies would "maintain or strengthen privacy and civil liberty protections."

Lawmakers of both major political parties immediately criticized the administration for what they said was needless secrecy in its development of the changes .

"We were only shown the document after it was complete and on its way to the president for his signature," said Rep. Silvestre Reyes (D-Tex.), chairman of the House intelligence committee. "After seven years of a go-it-alone presidency, perhaps I should expect nothing more from this White House. But this order will be binding on future administrations as well."

Rep. Pete Hoekstra, (R-Mich.), the committee's ranking Republican, said: "Given the impact that this order will have on America's intelligence community, and this committee's responsibility to oversee intelligence activities, this cannot be seen as anything other than an attempt to undercut congressional oversight.

The original Executive Order 12333, which was signed by President Ronald Regan in 1981, has been revised numerous times, but the new changes are the most sweeping in more than a decade, administration officials said.

Administration officials have been quietly negotiating the overhaul for more than a year, seeking to modernize the law to reflect the DNI's new role. Critics have charged that the authorizing statutes that created the DNI failed to give it the budgetary and policy-setting authorities it need to lead the intelligence agencies.