Jim Langevin: “This Nation truly owes all of them a debt of gratitude for the diligent effort they have put into reaching this…”

“This Nation truly owes all of them a debt of gratitude for the diligent effort they have put into reaching this bipartisan compromise. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased that we will implement intelligence reform before the close of the 108th Congress, and I rise in support of the underlying bill. After 9/11, we clearly approached fighting the global war on terrorism as we had the Cold War. But it became clear that we needed to adapt our intelligence community, law enforcement agencies, and military to fight the new global threats. The 9/11 Commission gave us a blueprint for that mission, and this legislation will help us to implement their vision. Cooperation among agencies and Departments will be critical, and this measure shifts the mentality of our intelligence community from 'need to know' to 'need to share.' It also makes significant improvements to homeland security while avoiding some of the controversial provisions included in earlier drafts.”