Richard Burr: “the U.S. Senate has just done the right thing. In a matter of hours, hopefully, the decision to fund the government and…”

“the U.S. Senate has just done the right thing. In a matter of hours, hopefully, the decision to fund the government and to put people back to work will find its way to the House of Representatives. I am sure that it will find a quick agreement there, and tomorrow everyone will be back in place, and both the House and the Senate can work aggressively between now and February 8 to make sure that this doesn't happen again and that we bring permanency and certainty to the funding. The vice chairman of the Intelligence Committee and I were notified when the House CR appeared that there was language in it that was different than in the past. The language in section 148 of the CR is of concern to the Intelligence Committee. Let me just read the language: Sec. 148. Funds appropriated by the Department of Defense Missile Defeat and Defense Enhancements Appropriation Act, 2018 (division B of Public Law 115-96) may be obligated and expended notwithstanding section 504(a)(1) of the National Security Act of 1947. This language is troublesome for the committee because it would authorize the intelligence community to spend funds ``notwithstanding'' the law that requires prior authorization by the Senate Intelligence Committee or by the House Intelligence Committee. The vice chairman and I were on the floor, I think, last week, and we had a 65-to-34 vote to reauthorize the most significant intelligence tool to keep America safe.…”