Dutch Ruppersberger: “Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Madam Speaker, as a member of the House Intelligence Committee, as chairman of the Technical…”

“Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Madam Speaker, as a member of the House Intelligence Committee, as chairman of the Technical and Tactical Intelligence Subcommittee and as a proud representative of the National Security Agency, which is in my district, I rise in support of H.R. 2701. It has been nearly 6 years since an intelligence authorization bill has been enacted into law. These bills help ensure that the intelligence community has the tools it needs to keep us safe and that Congress has the tools it needs to be effective in its oversight capacity. The bill before us today does both, and I would like to highlight two provisions. First, the bill includes significant reforms to the way the intelligence community makes major purchases. Our subcommittee has focused much of our time on helping to ensure that we buy the right kind of satellites at the right price. Just like recent reforms to our defense procurement process, this bill helps us protect tax dollars while keeping our country safe and secure. The Nunn-McCurdy provision requires congressional notification when costs run significantly over budget and cancels programs that run 25 percent or more over budget unless we get a reasonable explanation.”