Political Quotes

“I am proud to support the Intelligence Authorization Act. As a member of the Armed Services and Intelligence Committees, I know these Authorization bills provide the necessary accountability, direction, and resources for those who keep our nation safe. Today's bill reflects the continuation of the Committee's bipartisan and bicameral work, and I want to thank Chairman Rogers and Ranking Member Ruppersberger for their strong and consistent leadership on these critical issues. Today I want to highlight two areas of specific interest to me. First, this legislation strikes a careful balance between ensuring that our nation's secrets are kept safe and providing appropriate transparency with the American people. There are lawful ways to raise concerns of wrongdoing and procedures to declassify information when appropriate. In the past, Congress has strengthened these avenues, including by enhancing whistleblower protections and the role of Inspectors General. As it has each year, this bill adds to the mission of counterintelligence to ensure that information is protected and that the tools utilized by security professionals are handled lawfully and with full consideration for the privacy and civil liberties of our intelligence professionals. This bill continues this important direction, asking the DNI to establish appropriate guidelines to govern how publicly available information can be utilized.…”