Jeremiah Smith: “this amendment is really quite simple. It involves the issue of whether or not a felon should get a security clearance.…”

“this amendment is really quite simple. It involves the issue of whether or not a felon should get a security clearance. That is the essence. If you favor felons having a security clearance, you would vote against my amendment. If you think it is wrong that convicted felon should have a security clearance, then you would vote with me. On April 6 there was a hearing the Armed Services Committee held that touched upon an important and urgent issue, that of the longstanding protections set in place to guard the most vital secrets of the Nation and of our national security community. But we had a virtual security meltdown in this administration, from our DOE labs to people without clearances getting White House passes, to the recent scandal of missing and highly classified State Department laptops. It goes on and on. While we couldn't possibly begin to address all our Nation's security deficiencies within this one authorization bill, I believe we can make progress in one very specific area.”