Mike Conaway: “I thank the chairman for yielding and for his dedicated work on the committee leading us through these rather tumultuous…”

“I thank the chairman for yielding and for his dedicated work on the committee leading us through these rather tumultuous times on a lot of fronts, but he has done a terrific job, and I have been proud to serve on the committee with him. Mr. Chairman, I rise today to speak in support of the 2018 Intelligence Authorization Act. Intelligence gathering is of utmost importance in our national security and is essential in keeping Americans safe here at home. It is imperative that we provide to those dedicated individuals of our intelligence community the tools, resources, and support they need to carry out missions successfully, and Mr. Chairman, this bill does just that. The successful completion of increasingly difficult missions by these consummate professionals ensures policymakers are provided the crucial information that they need to make the most informed decisions to counter our near-term threats and those peaking on the horizon. This bill addresses both challenges of a constantly changing threat environment and advances in technology to keep American cybersecurity at the forefront of global efforts and a step ahead of our adversaries. Mr. Chair, as you and others in the room know as well, our democratic elections have become the target of foreign influence campaigns, not only here at home, but across the Western world by adversaries seeking to undermine and disrupt one of our most sacred democratic institutions. Mr.…”