Political Quotes

“Madam Speaker, I rise in support of the Intelligence Authorization Act of 2010. This measure authorizes funding for the Office of the National Intelligence Director, the Central Intelligence Agency, and the National Security Agency, as well as the foreign intelligence activities of the Defense Department, FBI, State Department and Homeland Security Department. Further, to ensure that these and other activities are conducted in a manner that is consistent with the laws of the United States, the measure increases the levels of oversight of the intelligence community in several key ways. First, the bill modifies the processes for reporting of intelligence activities, including covert actions, to the congressional intelligence committees. The President is required by law to keep congressional intelligence committees fully and currently informed of intelligence activities, but under extraordinary circumstances, the President can limit these communications to the Chairmen and Ranking Members of the intelligence committees, the Speaker and Minority Leader of the House, and the Majority and Minority Leaders of the Senate. The bill alters this and requires the President to notify all members of the congressional intelligence committees when the `Gang of Eight' has been contacted and notified of a covert incident and to provide a general description of that briefing.…”