Bob Kerrey: “I rise to join my chairman, the distinguished Senator from Alabama, in offering this year's intelligence authorization…”

“I rise to join my chairman, the distinguished Senator from Alabama, in offering this year's intelligence authorization bill. It is designed to focus the national intelligence agencies of the United States on today's and tomorrow's threats. The bill is the product of the open, bipartisan process that has long been the hallmark of the Select Committee on Intelligence. It was voted unanimously out of the committee and in accordance with Senate Resolution 400, the founding document of the Intelligence Committee, the bill was reviewed by the Committee on Armed Services. Before I discuss the bill, I want to say a word about the bipartisan process which created this legislation under Chairman Shelby's leadership. Unlike many other topics which we consider here each day, there is no Republican agenda or Democratic agenda with regard to intelligence, or at least none apparent to me. Intelligence is simply the best informed estimate of the truth about something. It knows no party. Every member of our committee seeks the most effective and most efficient methods for the collection, processing, analysis, production, and dissemination of intelligence. Every member of our committee seeks intelligence collection and operations to be conducted in accordance with American law and American values. We certainly often disagree on which approach to take in a particular situation, but our disagreements are not based on party agendas.”