Jay Rockefeller: “I say to the distinguished ranking member of the Foreign Relations Committee, that, in fact, to get into the room space…”

“I say to the distinguished ranking member of the Foreign Relations Committee, that, in fact, to get into the room space is a problem. We do not have a single place to put a single person except in the back of the room. Now, that embarrasses me to say that, but it is a fact. Secondly, I differ with the ranking member when he says that reading does not count that much. Reading and knowing the material, whether it is WMD or whether it is predictions, or whatever it is, is the greatest part of it. The hearings are tremendously important and they are the democratic part of it so everybody has a chance to ask questions, but I know of nothing which precludes the ranking member being able to do that. For example, to staff, it is a matter of just saying, I want to know the answers. The Senator has the same privileges on Intelligence that this Senator does, I would say through the Chair.”