Sam Gibbons: “Mr. Chairman, I also rise today in support of the Intelligence Authorization Act. As a new member of this intelligence…”

“Mr. Chairman, I also rise today in support of the Intelligence Authorization Act. As a new member of this intelligence committee, I have had the unique privilege to participate in the development of this act. The gentleman from Florida [Mr. Goss], chairman, and the ranking minority member, the gentleman from Washington [Mr. Dicks], are both to be commended for their incredibly hard work and leadership. Their efforts and stewardship of the committee as a whole and especially the fine work of the committee staff have resulted in an act which provides the United States an intelligence community which is properly equipped, properly funded and properly supervised for the difficult intelligence tasks confronting this Nation well into the future. This is no easy task, Mr. Chairman. Many people think the United States no longer faces the worldwide threat that we once did during the cold war era. However, it would be foolhardy to say that the threats to this Nation have gone away. In fact, one could say that the number of threats has actually increased.”