Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017
Floor Speech
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Mr. HIMES. Mr. Speaker, I would like to start by thanking the chairman and the ranking member of the committee for the terrific, open, and bipartisan process that led to the adoption of this bill in committee, and urge my colleagues here in this room to support it.
I would also like to add my plaudits and thanks to staff on both sides of the aisle without whom this would never have been possible.
I support this bill because, most importantly, it well funds the remarkable work of our intelligence community in all that they do against the ongoing and all-too-present threats of terrorism and all that they do in keeping us apprised and keeping our options available to address the many threats that face, or could face, this Nation coming out of places like Russia, North Korea, Iran, and plenty of other locales around the world.
At the same time, and critical for my own support, this bill is supportive of the essential activities that the intelligence community and that we must do to preserve and defend the civil liberties that are so important to us and, even more importantly, the values, the values embodied in this country that, at the end of the day, are the qualitative difference between this country and our adversaries.
Mr. Speaker, I would note, in particular, some conversation came up, as the ranking member alluded to, with respect to the President's Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board. In committee, I stressed that this is one of a couple of groups that provide oversight for these terribly important activities. When you think about it, internally there are the inspector generals and the checks within the executive agency; there are a couple of dozen Members and Senators of Congress who provide some oversight; and then there is this outside group which produces opinions, which have been cited in FISA court opinions, which have been cited by the amicus that was set up as a result of the good work of this body in doing the USA Freedom Act. I will continue to say that it is an important part of the overall intelligence community.
Maintaining this balance between our national security, which is critical, and, again, those values, which are the qualitative difference that we have with our adversaries, is important. It is enshrined in this bill, and I am delighted to offer my support.
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