Steve Daines: “I want to thank the Senator from Utah, my good friend, for his leadership on the USA FREEDOM Act. I recently returned…”

“I want to thank the Senator from Utah, my good friend, for his leadership on the USA FREEDOM Act. I recently returned from an official trip to the Middle East with leader McConnell and several of my fellow first-term Senators. We met with leaders in Israel, Jordan, Iraq, Kuwait, and Afghanistan to discuss the political and security issues facing Middle Eastern nations. We also met with a number of American servicemembers who are bravely securing our country in these crisis-stricken regions and working every day to keep our Nation safe from the extreme forces that wish to destroy us. These meetings painted a very clear picture; that terror imposed by extreme forces such as ISIS and the threats facing our allies in the Middle East are real and they are growing every single day. But the growing presence of ISIS in the Middle East is not just affecting the long-term security of nations such as Iraq and Syria, it is no longer a risk isolated geographically to the Middle East. These extreme Islamic forces are working every day to harm the American people within our borders and on our soil. It is critical our law enforcement officials and our intelligence agencies have the tools they need to find terrorists in the United States and abroad, identify potential terror attacks, and eradicate these risks.…”