John Spratt: “I offer an amendment that would strike the provisions of section 1224 in the bill. It would replace those provisions…”

“I offer an amendment that would strike the provisions of section 1224 in the bill. It would replace those provisions with language requiring the Director of National Intelligence to submit to Congress regular updates of the National Intelligence Estimate with respect to Iran's nuclear capabilities, present and prospective. Rather than proliferate reporting requirements, my amendment cuts to the heart of the matter, Iran's nuclear capabilities, and calls for regular, periodic reports. What it seeks is basic: a sober analysis of a gravely serious matter in a proven format, the National Intelligence Estimate. This report is gleaned from all 16 parts of our intelligence community, and the job of fusing that data, and drawing the right conclusions, is assigned to the National Intelligence Director, a position created by Congress by the unanimous recommendation of the 9/11 Commission. We need an assessment, but we need an assessment that is rigorous and objective, pulling no punches, analyzing seriously all issues surrounding nuclear weapons and fissile materials in Iran.”