H.Res. 481

Mr. Speaker, by direction of the Committee on Rules, I call up House Resolution 481 and ask for its immediate consideration.

Mr. Speaker, for the purpose of debate only, I yield the customary 30 minutes to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Hastings), pending which I yield myself such time as I may consume. During consideration of this resolution, all time yielded is for the purpose of debate only.

General Leave

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of House Resolution 481, which provides a closed rule for consideration of H.R. 3180, the Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2018.

Mr. Speaker, there is nothing we do in this body that is more important than actions we take for the defense of our Nation. We now face a more complex array of threats than we have at any time since the end of World War II.

North Korea continues to test ballistic missiles, has successfully tested an ICBM, and is continuing to move rapidly towards achieving the capability to strike U.S. soil.

A resurgent Russia is imposing its will across Europe, occupies Crimea, and is now using its military to support the Assad regime in Syria.

China is increasingly belligerent, continues to expand the size of its military and create bases on artificial islands in the South China Sea.

And Iran, Mr. Speaker, continues to work on its ballistic missile program and expand its influence as it supports terror across the Mediterranean and the larger Middle East.

Terrorist groups like al-Qaida and ISIS continue to carry out attacks across the West and threaten the United States.

We have seen a dramatic increase in tensions on the Temple Mount, Mr. Speaker, in just the last few weeks, and we have men and women in uniform deployed around the globe fighting to defend our Nation.

Our intelligence community plays a crucial role in ensuring our decision-makers and our warfighters have the information they need to keep our Nation secure.

H.R. 3180 provides the intelligence community with the authorization it needs to continue working to protect and defend the United States, supports critical national security programs, such as those protecting Americans against terrorism, cyber attacks, and hostile foreign nations. The bill maintains critical congressional oversight of the activities of the intelligence community, and the bill makes no changes to any surveillance authorities, including those set to expire, which we will take up later this year in legislation separate from this bill.

Mr. Speaker, as you know, earlier this week, H.R. 3180 was considered under suspension of the rules, which is not at all uncommon for bills, like this one, that receive unanimous bipartisan support in committee.

While the bill received well over 50 percent of the votes of the House, it did not achieve the required two-thirds majority to pass under suspension, which is why we are here today debating this rule.

A large portion of this bill, Mr. Speaker, is understandably, as it should be, classified, which requires Members of this body to review the bill in the SCIF.

I want to personally thank members of the Intelligence Committee and their staff for facilitating that process and making it so easy for Members of this House to undertake. A bipartisan notice was sent out, provided to Members, informing us of the availability of the text for review. And the text, Mr. Speaker, was available for 10 days, twice as long as last year's bill.

My staff simply had to call and inform the committee that I would like to review the bill, and the committee asked when I would be available, and they made sure that a member of the committee staff was also there to answer any questions I had.

The process itself was seamless, was very easy, and was facilitated by the members of the Intelligence Committee staff.

Mr. Speaker, this is a good and important bill. It supports the men and women in our intelligence community and the work they do to keep us safe. This is not an issue we should politicize or subject to partisan debate.

The intelligence community plays a critical role in the defense of our Nation, and we need to support them, Mr. Speaker, by supporting this bill. Therefore, I urge support for the rule to allow consideration of H.R. 3180.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

My colleague from Florida, with whom I have had the privilege of spending many hours in the Rules Committee debating this and a range of other issues, raised a number of points I think that are important to clarify.

First of all on the issue of minority recruitment, last night, in the Rules Committee, in open session, Chairman Nunes was asked about this, and he testified very clearly and directly that diversity is very important, that it is mission-critical for the reasons that my colleague from Florida stated.

I can report that there are several provisions in the classified annex--I won't go into the details about them--with which my colleague may or may not be familiar that support the whole notion of Centers of Academic Excellence, which are particularly focused on recruiting young people, recruiting minorities and young people across the board for service in the intelligence community.

We tend, in these rule discussions, Mr. Speaker, to have a lot of arguments and criticism of procedure. The Democrats this morning seem to be particularly concerned about our same-day authority. But I would just note, Mr. Speaker, I am certainly confident that my constituents who are watching this--and, I would say, probably most Americans watching--would understand the importance of the House of Representatives getting its work done in a timely manner. And certainly, when it comes to healthcare, the arguments and the criticism from the other side of the aisle lose a little bit of their credibility when they simultaneously attack the Republicans for moving too slowly and then also for moving too quickly.

What I can tell you is we are debating hugely important issues and hugely important topics. We are absolutely committed to repealing and replacing ObamaCare. It is a system that is collapsing. It is a system that has devastated the lives of people across this country. It is a system that has driven premiums and deductibles through the roof. It has absolutely limited people's choice in terms of insurance plans, in terms of healthcare providers. It is a system that is failing.

We have seen the Democrats' fundamental approach was a government mandate and their attempt to force people across this Nation to buy health insurance. They thought that, through a government mandate, they would be able to force young people into these insurance pools and, therefore, drive the cost down. That is not what happened. It didn't work.

We know we have got to put in place a system that will be able to provide people the kind of care that they need, access, as well as lowering the cost and increasing availability. So there are a whole range of very important substantive efforts going on.

I think that it is clear that the folks on the other side of the aisle don't support the direction we are going in, may

not support the policy, but the people across this Nation--certainly, in my home State of Wyoming--spoke very clearly last November that they wanted a change, that they wanted to see the government reduce its role in their lives, and that they wanted to see us begin the process of building our military, rebuilding what has been lost over the course of the last 8 years, as well as rebuilding the facilities and the capabilities of our intelligence community, and that is exactly what this bill does. That is exactly what we are here doing this morning.

Mr. Speaker, I think that is why it is so important that my colleagues support this rule, that we provide the authority that the intelligence community needs through this bill to continue to do its important work to keep us safe.

I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, House Resolution 481 and the underlying bill, H.R. 3180, ensure the men and women of our intelligence community have the tools and the resources they need to continue the vital role they play in helping us address the threats facing our Nation.

I do want to point out, Mr. Speaker, my colleague is accusing the Republicans of being brazen and reckless because of our same-day rulemaking authority. I would only note that in the 111th Congress, when they were in the majority, they enacted this process 26 times; in the 110th Congress, 17 times.

It is an important ability for us to have when we know we might need to move quickly on something. As a member of the Rules Committee, I am committed to ensuring we do everything possible to make sure that we are able to bring bills to this floor that carry out the kind of changes and improvements that the people of this Nation sent us all here to undertake.

I was really disappointed, Mr. Speaker, earlier this week when this bill was defeated under suspension of the rules. There are many things that are partisan issues in this body, and it is too bad when the minority uses the Intelligence Authorization bill as part of a political stunt to make what should be a bipartisan process and a bipartisan committee appear partisan.

The bill, H.R. 3108, received unanimous support in committee, and I certainly hope today, Mr. Speaker, that the minority members of that committee, and frankly all on the minority side who understand the importance of the intelligence community in keeping our Nation safe, will put aside the partisanship, will put aside the games that the American people are so tired of, and will join me in supporting a good, effective, and important bill, that, frankly, the minority members in the Intelligence Committee worked very hard to help craft.

Mr. Speaker, I urge adoption of both the rule and H.R. 3180.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time, and I move the previous question on the resolution.

The previous question was ordered.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from Wyoming (Ms. Cheney) for yielding me the customary 30 minutes for debate, and I rise to debate the rule for H.R. 3180, the Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2018.

I was somewhat dismayed earlier this week when my friends across the aisle attempted to jam today's bill through this body by jettisoning regular order and bringing the bill up under suspension.

Luckily, we can add this shortsighted attempt at governing to their long list of legislative failures. And although I may be pleased that their suspension shenanigans failed, my frustration was born anew when we were informed that the bill would come to the floor under yet another closed rule.

This is all bad enough, and I will come back to it in a moment, but first we need to discuss the blanket martial law provision that my friends on the other side put into this rule.

This move, especially when considered in the context of those mentioned

above, truly elevated poor governing to an art form.

I want the American people, Republican and Democrat and Independents alike, to be crystal clear on what is happening here today. By putting a blanket martial law provision into this rule, my friends across the aisle were trying to make it as easy as possible for them to pass a healthcare bill that they had never seen. The bill would have surely ripped healthcare away from millions of Americans and unceremoniously upended one-sixth of our economy.

Thankfully, Senators Collins, Murkowski, and McCain, and tens of thousands of regular Americans-turned-activists ensured that this effort failed.

Since day one, the approach of my colleagues on the other side of the aisle on healthcare or, for that matter, any number of other important issues has been horrendous. It has been rushed; it has been secretive; it has been chaotic; and it has been inspired by the desire for a cheap win rather than the desire to make our healthcare system stronger and more widely available to all Americans.

Truly, whether it is healthcare, veterans, or the authorization of funding for something as important as our intelligence community, the approach leaves some of us bewildered, dismayed, and gravely concerned for the well-being of our country.

Indeed, when discussing something as important as the authorization for funding for the intelligence community, we ought to proceed in a manner that allows all Members of this body the opportunity to weigh in with their concerns. This closed process does a disservice not only to those of us who do not sit on the committee of jurisdiction, but also the intelligence community and the American people.

As an example, when I did sit on this committee, I was vice chair of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, and I worked diligently to ensure that minorities were given equal opportunity to break into the upper ranks of the intelligence community.

Since leaving that committee, I have continued this important work and introduced an amendment to a previous iteration of the underlying bill that called for the Director of National Intelligence to put forth a plan that would encourage diversity hires throughout the intelligence community. Frustratingly, I am stripped of such an opportunity today because of the Republican leadership's unyielding devotion to perpetuating a closed process.

Additionally, the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson Lee), my friend, has also offered amendments to the underlying bill in the past that call for an increase in the recruitment and training of minorities as officers and employees of the Central Intelligence Agency. She, like the majority of our colleagues, will not be afforded a similar opportunity this time around.

This is troublesome because diversity is a mission imperative for the intelligence community. Not only do we need to see minorities have more opportunities to climb the ranks, but we also need to recruit Americans who will be able to blend in, speak foreign languages, and understand the cultures in countries that are now central to our foreign policy interests.

At the end of the day, such diversity is achieved through the hiring process, and, therefore, we need to ensure that we are hiring Arab Americans, Iranian Americans, Pakistani Americans, Chinese Americans, Korean Americans, women, gays, and many other Americans from diverse backgrounds as we confront a myriad of threats and work harder to better understand our adversaries, wherever they may lurk. We do not seek this diversity in the name of political correctness but, rather, in the name of national security. As I have said before, if the intelligence community is to succeed in its global mission, it must have a global face.

I have no doubt that scores of Members would like to have offered amendments addressing the issues I have just mentioned as well as many other issues that are of particular concern to them and their constituents. Unfortunately, under this rule, they will not be afforded such an opportunity today.

Those who work in the intelligence community serve our country faithfully and bravely, knowing that they will never receive the public recognition they so richly deserve. In fact, they have served and continue to serve knowing that not only will they not receive well- earned accolades, but that they will, upon occasion, have to endure unfounded and offensive statements from this administration. These statements began before the current administration even moved in down Pennsylvania Avenue.

I quote the following from the administration's, President's, Twitter account: ``Intelligence agencies should never have allowed this fake news to `leak' into the public. One last shot at me. Are we living in Nazi Germany?''

I find that shameful and absolutely unfounded in making such a statement. Comparing these brave and patriotic Americans to Nazis? You really have to be kidding me.

As a former member of HPSCI, I will not sit idly by while anyone maligns the honorable work these proud Americans do day in and day out to protect our country. But it seems that, with this closed process and their continued support of President Donald John Trump, even as he slowly erodes the foundation of our democracy one tweet at a time, is exactly what my friends and the Republican Congress are doing.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

The brazen and reckless manner in which this bill was first brought to the floor is evidence that my friends across the aisle have still not figured out how to govern. The learning curve may be steep, but it is not that steep.

Quite simply, my friends, it is time for you to start governing responsibly, not with closed rules and martial law, without hearings, and without CBO scores, but through regular order, with an opportunity for all Members and, through them, their constituents to take part in legislating. The White House may be in chaos, but that is no reason for the House to legislate in a similar manner.

For the good of the country, we must return to regular order. We must work to ensure that those serving in the intelligence community are able to do their best work, to do it as safely as possible, and to do it knowing that they will receive the respect they deserve from all branches of their government. I worry that they, increasingly, do not receive this respect, and that this disrespect, should it continue, will make it more difficult for us to retain and recruit the talent we so desperately need to protect our national security.

Of course, the intelligence community is only one part of our national security apparatus. The men and women in our military are an equally important part of maintaining our national security. And, unfortunately, we learned just yesterday that these brave servicemembers are not immune from baseless attacks from the administration.

It was announced, on the 69th anniversary of President Truman's issuing an executive order that desegregated the Armed Forces, that transgender servicemembers would no longer be able to serve in the military. Were these individuals, numbering between 10,000 and 15,000, banned because they are not brave, because they are not patriotic, because they are incapable of meeting the rigorous requirements of being in the military? No, they have been banned because bigotry defeated decency yesterday, and they have been banned because of who they are.

As I mentioned the other evening, I had three uncles who were in the Army. They served proudly. They served bravely. They served in a segregated Army. Two of them received purple hearts.

It was a great offense that they had to serve in a segregated Army in which they were made to feel that somehow their bravery, their patriotism, and their devotion to their brothers in arms was somehow less because of the color of their skin.

President Truman knew this was wrong, and he ended it. Simply put, President Truman knew then what our current President is incapable of understanding today: the strength of our military is not found in the race or the religion or the creed or the sex or the gender identity of its servicemembers, but rather in the bravery and honor exhibited by these individuals on a daily basis. They, like all of us here today, are proud citizens of this country. They, like all of us here today, are God's children. I thank them for their service to our Nation.

Mr. Speaker, I urge a ``no'' vote on the rule, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

The Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2018 is a solid, bipartisan bill, one that garnered unanimous approval in the committee by voice vote.

I thank my committee colleagues and the entire HPSCI staff for their collaborative efforts in crafting the measure that we consider here today.

In the 114th Congress, this committee worked in a similar bipartisan fashion to pass into law four key pieces of national security legislation. I am proud of our past legislative accomplishments, which testify to the virtues of substantive deliberation and reasoned compromise without needing to compromise the security of the American people or of our brave servicemembers.

Reflecting on the past year, on Russia's assault on Western democracies, and on other challenges as well, from everything to include North Korea's unrelenting pursuit of a strategic nuclear capability, we owe the American people a deliberate process.

I wish the bill had come to the floor with a rule that allowed Members to offer amendments. That opportunity is commensurate with the importance of the intelligence bill and the need for vigorous oversight of the IC by the whole Congress.

Nonetheless, the manifest shortcomings in the process cannot take precedence over the imperative of discharging our duty and authorizing the operations of the intelligence community. On its merits, I urge all Members to vote ``yes'' on H.R. 3180 today.

The Intelligence Committee oversees some of the most sensitive and highly classified aspects of U.S. intelligence operations and programs. The annual Intelligence Authorization Act is the primary means by which we can guarantee an appropriate balance between our Nation's national security imperatives and the civil liberties and privacy rights enshrined in the Constitution.

H.R. 3180 does just that by funding, equipping, and giving policy direction to the intelligence community and military intelligence elements of the Defense Department. It sustains support for key national security priorities and programs, and represents a slight decrease from the President's budget request from 2018.

This bill features a number of provisions championed by my Democratic colleagues, some of which redouble the IC's focus on the scope and nature of the threat, both overt and covert, that Russia poses to our interests and American political institutions.

H.R. 3180 also mandates public reporting about counterintelligence and cyber threats against future U.S. elections; bolsters oversight of our policy guiding counterterrorism actions outside of declared areas of hostilities; and seeks more information about the executive branch's process for determining when and to whom to reveal information about vulnerabilities in computers and networks.

At the same time, and unlike IAAs of years past, this bill omits problematic language regarding Guantanamo detentions and the role of the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board.

I am less supportive of some elements in this legislation, but the bill's merits outweigh any misgivings I may have, and I was proud to cosponsor the bill along with the chairman. Through it, our committee and the Congress as a whole serves as a guardrail against any excesses, transgressions or abuses. That has always been a solemn obligation, but at this uncertain and unprecedented moment in our national life, it carries even more responsibility for all of us.

So, again, I urge my colleagues today to vote with me to advance the Intelligence Authorization Act and see that it is enacted into law.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from Connecticut (Mr. Himes), one of our subcommittee ranking members.

Madam Speaker, I yield such time as she may consume to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Pelosi.)

Madam Speaker, I want to express my agreement with Leader Pelosi's comments on the continuing need for the appointment of an independent commission. An independent commission would have the dedicated focus, the distance from any potential political interference, and the resources to prepare a report of the caliber that we saw of the 9/11 Commission. I think that would be a very sound and important complement to what we are doing in Congress and what Special Counsel Mueller is doing.

Madam Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Washington (Mr. Heck), my wonderful colleague on the Intelligence Committee.

Madam Speaker, happy birthday.

Madam Speaker, I am pleased to yield to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Castro), who will now sing Happy Birthday for you.

Madam Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from Florida (Mrs. Murphy).

Madam Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. Swalwell).

Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

This year's Intelligence Authorization Act was a bipartisan effort, and I am pleased to vote for it today. With this legislation, we reaffirm that all of our government's activities, including ones that are, by necessity, classified, must be maximally effective and bound by law. I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on this year's IAA.

I do want to take this opportunity, also, to commend our committee's outgoing fellow from the Los Alamos National Lab, Phil Tubesing. For 2 years, Phil has worked alongside the entire HPSCI staff, imparting his scientific expertise about nuclear weapons and the other significant national security work that our national labs undertake.

Phil, we thank you for your service to the committee and wish you every success in the future.

Finally, I want to extend a closing word to all of the men and women of the intelligence community. The work that you do keeps us safe. Your mission is to speak truth to power, to give policymakers objective, rigorously vetted and diligently produced intelligence, and you do that in magnificent fashion. Thank you for your commitment and resolve in the face of a challenging global threat landscape. With this legislation, we believe that we provide you with the adequate tools, authorities, and funding, while making sure that our congressional oversight remains robust.

Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, as a senior member of the Homeland Security Committee and vigilant defender of our national security, I rise in support of H.R. 3180, the ``Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2018,'' which will provide the Intelligence Community (IC) with the necessary resources and authorities to ensure they remain capable of protecting and defending the United States.

Our intelligence community is facing unprecedented threats from our adversaries around the world as this Administration struggles with the basics of leading this great nation.

The Obama Administration left the nation with a stable and growing economy; several important international coalition wins that include the Iranian Nuclear Arms Deal; the Russia Sanctions; and the Paris Climate Agreement.

The work of our intelligence community is a key asset in our efforts to thwart our adversaries when they seek to do Americans or our interests harm.

Following the Election, President-elect Trump was critical of the intelligence community.

In December 2016, he attacked the CIA over its assessment that Russian hacks on Democratic political targets were intended to help him win the White House.

In January of this year just prior to his inauguration, he compared our intelligence community to Nazi Germany, while making an unfounded accusation that the intelligence community leaked an unconfirmed dossier of sensitive information regarding him compiled by a private investigator.

President Trump's disclosure of highly sensitive intelligence to Russian officials during a visit they had in the oval office raises grave concerns among our allies regarding sharing information with our intelligence community and the disclosure threatened to fracture his already-delicate relationship with the intelligence community.

The revelation that President Trump met a second time in secret with Russian President Putin was not disclosed to the public, but came to light due to investigative journalism.

The New York Times reported that lawyers and aides to President Trump are investigating the investigators hired by special counsel Robert Mueller, by scouring their records for potential conflicts of interest in an attempt to discredit their work.

There is a pressing need for not only funding the work of the intelligence community, but to also provide additional protections to guard this national asset from undue interference from an Administration with too many entanglements with the Russian government that are under investigation.

This bill authorizes appropriations for Fiscal Year 2018 for vital intelligence activities of the U.S. Government, the Community Management Account, and the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) Retirement and Disability System, and for other purposes.

H.R. 3180 comes at a critical time in the status of our national security and the IC's ability to protect it.

As we continue to face a diverse and growing array of threats from terrorist groups, hostile nation states, and questionable or incompetent figures in the Trump administration, it is crucial that the IC receive all the resources it needs to do its job while Congress has the necessary tools to carry out rigorous oversight of its work.

This bill seeks to meet these challenges by supporting critical national security programs, particularly those focused on countering terrorism and cyberattacks.

Under H.R. 3180, the Director of National Intelligence will be required to electronically publish an unclassified advisory report on foreign counterintelligence and cybersecurity threats to federal elections.

It also bolsters intelligence oversight by ensuring that IC contractors can meet freely with Congress.

Lastly, this bill improves IC accountability to Congress by requiring the IC to provide reports on:

Investigations of leaks of classified information;

Security clearance processing timelines;

The process for reviewing information about computer vulnerabilities for retention or potential release;

And Russian influence campaigns directed at foreign elections and threat finance activities.

Madam Speaker, H.R. 3180 is a necessary response to the overwhelming evidence pointing to a carefully planned and executed infiltration of our 2016 Presidential Election by the Russian government and its operatives.

The issue of cybersecurity, particularly with regards to our federal election computer system infrastructure, has been of great concern to me and the American public as more and more reports of Russian hacking efforts have come to light.

In addition, the provision requiring reports on security clearance processing timelines should shed light on the highly dubious and inscrutable security clearances of Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner.

Donald Trump's blatant and irresponsible nepotism towards his daughter and son-in-law have made us all vulnerable to Russian and other foreign influence at the highest levels of our federal government.

H.R. 3180 will give the American people what they crave and deserve: clarity and transparency to pierce through the haze of cover-ups and distractions surrounding the Trump Administration.

This bill also takes significant, much-needed steps to improve benefits for members of the IC, such as increasing employee compensation and authorizing $514 million in appropriations for the CIA's Retirement and Disability System.

Congress must do its part to adequately recompense the patriotic Americans who serve our nation through their work in the IC, especially employees with disabilities, who make up 9 percent of the intelligence workforce.

At the same time, we must continue to ensure that Congress can exercise oversight over and maintain transparency for the 17 agencies that comprise the IC.

I am heartened that my Republican colleagues in the Intelligence Committee are starting to see the light in recognizing the sinister threat of Russian infiltration and White House collusion, both of which endanger our nation's ability to practice and protect its core democratic values.

I look forward to working with all Members of Congress to strengthen our IC, and I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this important legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I thank both the chairman and ranking member for the strong bill that has been offered up today and for the bipartisan manner in which it was developed and enacted and, hopefully, will be passed.

I rise in strong support of this bill, but would note for my colleagues that this authorization bill is an odd one. To fully understand it, you need to go deep into the basement of this Capitol and review it behind heavy metal doors.

The bill is full of acronyms and code words and classified information. As such, it can be hard to understand, and things that are hard to understand sometimes cause anxiety and fear. Let me take a moment to describe what this bill does.

This bill has the strong bipartisan support of my fellow committee members, liberal Democrats and conservative Republicans alike, because it provides the lifeblood to a truly remarkable group of people who work behind the scenes and in the dark to keep us safe and to keep us free.

The unheralded and unacknowledged warriors of the intelligence community never stop in the work that they do around the world. As we speak, North Korea is feverishly working to develop the ability to deliver a nuclear bomb to American shores. Our intelligence community is watching, evaluating, and planning against this mortal threat.

As we speak, for the first time in a generation, Iran is not feverishly working to develop the ability to deliver a nuclear bomb to our shores. Our intelligence community is making sure that that stays true.

As we speak, Mr. Speaker, for the umpteenth time, terrorists in places like Afghanistan and Libya and Syria are spending their time desperately trying to stay alive instead of spending their time planning to attack our airlines, our cities, and our people.

As we speak, Mr. Speaker, Russia lurks, seeking advantage, promoting instability, and working to erode international norms and instability. We should make no mistake about Russia as an adversary, because there is a lot of noise about this. Russia is a country that invades neighboring sovereign countries, it murders political opponents, it bombs Syrian hospitals, and, yes, it conducted an unprecedented attack on the very core of our Democratic system: our free and fair elections.

This bill funds the warriors who are watching that, who are standing up against that, in order to keep our system what we all like it to be.

Mr. Speaker, because these activities are carried out secretly in the dark of night and usually unacknowledged, there is always the possibility for abuse. These activities, by their nature, run up against the lines of those values that make us Americans. This is surveillance. It is other things that are worthy of debate. The members of this committee spend their days in good argument about what the limits of those

activities should be, and we will have additional arguments around things like the reauthorization of the section 702 surveillance programs. These are terrific arguments that we have in a constructive way. These are not arguments that are present in this bill. Just as we did on section 215, we will have a robust discussion of the section 702 international authorities. These are authorities that raise questions and that should be subject to the debate of this Chamber.

But this bill, this bill today, is about the lifeblood of a remarkable group of people who don't always get it right any more than we do, but who are patriots, who respect the Constitution, and who need our support in the work that they do to keep us safe and keep us free.

I would like to, again, thank the majority, the chairman, the ranking member, and especially the staff who worked diligently to make this a bill that we would unanimously support and suggest to my colleagues in this Chamber that we don't see a lot of bills like this one, but this one is worthy of their support.