Damon Paul Nelson and Matthew Young Pollard Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Years and 2020

Floor Speech

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Mr. CARSON of Indiana. Mr. Chair, first, I thank Chairman Schiff and Ranking Member Nunes for their work on the Intelligence Authorization Act this year. It is always a pleasure to serve under Chairman Schiff's leadership. Without it, the Intelligence Committee would not have been able to pass such a strong bill out of committee.

I rise today, Mr. Chair, in support of an amendment that I have offered to the underlying bill text. This amendment will help the United States protect the integrity of its economic supply chain infrastructure. I am pleased that my good friend Representative Elise Stefanik has joined me in cosponsoring this amendment.

Today, businesses and organizations in the United States face an array of distinct and stealthy threats. The American supply chain is under repeated attack from foreign intelligence services, cyber hackers, and sophisticated criminal enterprises.

Unfortunately, experienced adversaries often exploit vulnerabilities in American companies' technological infrastructure or weak links in their organizational supply chain so that they can steal their intellectual property, co-opt equipment from suppliers, damage software, or conduct surveillance. Moving forward, we must be more vigilant to stop them.

The Carson-Stefanik amendment, Mr. Chair, will guard against these grave concerns, and it will lead to stronger safeguards for the supply chain by mandating the National Counterintelligence and Security Center to produce a plan within 6 months to strengthen the supply chain intelligence function within the intelligence community.

The plan, Mr. Chair, will identify personnel with the right expertise from the intelligence community workforce, outline budgetary and resource needs, and describe the necessary authorities and governance structure for future implementation of this plan.

It will inform both the executive branch and Congress' efforts to enhance our defenses against exploitation of the supply chain.

The United States remains one of the most technologically advanced economies in the world. Throughout the past century, America has enjoyed unprecedented economic growth because of the ingenuity of our people and the technological innovation that undergirds that entrepreneurial spirit.

While that economic growth has not always been evenly distributed, and we are still wrestling with debates about economic inequality, surrendering our technological edge and innovative advantages to strategic rivals would pose a huge risk to America's future prosperity and security.

I believe, Mr. Chair, it is very important to offer this amendment, recognizing the evolving and emerging threats to our Nation's supply chain infrastructure. In a very rapidly developing global economy, the intelligence community must work to safeguard the core of what America and her competitive strength is: economic, intellectual, and technological ingenuity.

My amendment proactively works toward that goal, ensuring that we stay on top of those varying threats to our supply chain infrastructure that emanate from strategic rivals.

In addition to this amendment, Mr. Chair, I would like to highlight another important part of the base bill. This year's Intelligence Authorization Act includes an entire section on domestic terrorism. It is important that we acknowledge domestic terrorism as a very serious threat, and we must do more than just talk about it as a societal problem. We must act.

Domestic terrorism incidents in the U.S. are on the rise, fueled by hatred, stoked by fear, and inspired by dangerous rhetoric. At a time when this President is ignoring the truth about domestic terrorism, and his administration is concealing and hiding the proliferation of white supremacist-inspired incidents, Congress and the public urgently need more information to better understand and prevent domestic terrorism.

Specifically, Mr. Chair, this bill would require the FBI, Department of Homeland Security, and NCTC to produce an annual report on domestic terrorism. With the reporting that is mandated in the underlying intelligence authorization bill, we can better determine how to change the law and make the necessary adjustments to procedures and to adequately shift current practices in order to fully address the threat of domestic terrorism and its root causes.

Much of the report, Mr. Chair, would be made available to the public, increasing transparency, while the full report would be provided to oversight committees in greater detail. It would be valuable information and would require an annual strategic assessment on trends and patterns. Ultimately, it will dramatically expand the information on domestic terrorism available to Congress and the public.

I urge my colleagues to support the Carson-Stefanik amendment and the underlying bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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