Saxby Chambliss: “earlier today, we were successful in passing H.R. 5949, the FISA Amendments Act Reauthorization Act of 2012, with strong…”

“earlier today, we were successful in passing H.R. 5949, the FISA Amendments Act Reauthorization Act of 2012, with strong bipartisan support. I am pleased that we are now in a position to pass the Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2013, again with strong bipartisan support. These two bills are the result of Chairman Feinstein's exceptional bipartisan leadership of the Select Committee on Intelligence. It has been my privilege and honor to work with her these past two years during my tenure as Vice Chairman of the Committee. This bill looks a little different than the version we passed out of Committee back in July, by a vote of 14-1. The final product is the result of our extensive efforts to successfully address the concerns raised by the Executive branch, the House of Representatives, and, of course, our own membership. It is a good bill. It contains a number of provisions requested by the administration that will provide the intelligence community with certain authorities necessary to perform its vital mission for our country. Most important, it authorizes the funds appropriated for the intelligence and intelligence-related activities of our government. This congressional budgetary oversight is crucial to our national security.…”