On the recordSeptember 9, 2011
I voted against the Intelligence reauthorization act reluctantly. On the eve of the 10th anniversary of 9/11, there's still nothing more important than the security of our people. But I am troubled by a clear lack of progress in getting our arms around the sprawling intelligence bureaucracy. There are 856,000 people with top security clearance in the United States. Think about it: that's nearly the population of the entire State of Delaware. It's more than the number of people who live in San Francisco. In over 10,000 locations scattered across the country, there are 1,200 government organizations, 1,900 private companies that focus on intelligence-gathering and homeland security. But, unfortunately, we have an inability for anybody to know exactly what is going on. And the flood of information that is generated by hundreds of thousands of people with opportunities for leaks and mistakes is troubling. It can be a source of vulnerability. After all, parts of the bureaucracy were well aware of the threat from Osama bin Laden immediately prior to 9/ 11. It's time for us to give this the scrutiny it deserves. ____________________
