Political Quotes

“I thank the gentleman for yielding. I rise in support of the Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Years 2014 and 2015. This bill provides the resources and support the intelligence community needs to accomplish their mission while enhancing oversight in several important respects. I want to commend the bipartisan leadership of Chairman Rogers and Ranking Member Ruppersberger on this bill. I congratulate them on, again, advancing an Intelligence Authorization Act. I also want to acknowledge my colleague from Nevada, Dr. Heck, for his work with me on the Technical and Tactical Subcommittee. Chairman Heck did a fabulous job supporting investments in technology and capacity that will pay dividends in years to come. In addition to funding our intelligence priority, the bill includes important new provisions to improve greater oversight of the NSA and other IC elements. It creates an independent inspector general within the NSA who will be fully empowered to investigate abuse, waste, and fraud. The bill also requires an annual report to the Intelligence Committees on violations of law and executive order, including Executive Order 12333. This provision fixes a blind spot under current law and improves the Intelligence Committee's capacity for oversight. While I support the bill, I was disappointed that an amendment I proposed with my colleague Walter Jones was not made in order.…”