Mike Thompson: “I am pleased to stand in strong support of this authorization bill tonight. I believe that this bill strengthens our…”

“I am pleased to stand in strong support of this authorization bill tonight. I believe that this bill strengthens our capabilities to recognize and counter threats to the United States, both terrorist threats from groups like al Qaeda and the strategic challenges present in regions all over the world, including the Middle East, Asia and Latin America. This bill ensures that U.S. troops in Iraq and Afghanistan will continue to receive the intelligence support they need to conduct their missions. The bill authorizes the largest intelligence budget ever. It also provides full funding for the intelligence programs related to Afghanistan and for U.S. efforts to counter terrorist threats. Madam Chairman, terrorism and the war in Iraq are critical issues, and they have required intelligence agencies to divert resources away from other strategic challenges. This bill funds initiatives to collect better intelligence on those that pose threats to our country. It also adds funds to enhance coverage of other challenges, such as emerging threats in Africa and Latin America, and to ensure that America is not caught by surprise in the future. The bill makes significant investments to improve the quality of intelligence analysts.”