WASHINGTON, D.C. — This week, the House successfully passed H.R. 3494, the Intelligence Authorization Act (IAA) for FY2020, with a bipartisan vote of 397-31. This legislation ensures the U.S. Intelligence Community (IC) has the necessary resources to provide distinctive, timely insights that advance our national security priorities. Following the bill's passage, Congressman Hill released the following statement:
"When members of Congress focus on bipartisan, practical solutions, we can deliver real victories for the American people. The overwhelmingly bipartisan passage of the Intelligence Authorization Act is a reminder that the House is still capable of crafting commonsense policies that help keep Arkansans safe.
"I commend Congresswoman Elise Stefanik (R-NY) for her provision that mandates counterintelligence briefings to Intelligence Committees by the FBI relating to investigations of a federal election or campaign. This bipartisan provision is critical to ensuring proper oversight and protection of our election systems from foreign or domestic threats. I'm proud to support this bill and call on the Senate to follow the House's lead and pass this bipartisan authorization and get it to the president's desk for his signature."
Background:
(Courtesy of the House Select Committee on Intelligence)
This year’s Intelligence Authorization Act includes provisions:
- Prioritizing the IC’s collection and analytic capabilities against hard target countries, namely China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea, while sustaining critical intelligence capabilities that support counterterrorism and counterproliferation efforts;
- Adapting the IC to operate in a strategic environment of rapid technological change, while posturing it to better leverage commercial innovation;
- Securing the IC itself, through provisions intended to insulate it from supply chain risks and to mitigate insider threats, among many other things; and
Reinforcing existing hiring pipelines, broadening engagement with nontraditional communities, and reducing barriers to onboarding, such as security clearance backlogs, to ensure the IC consistently recruits, hires, retains and promotes the most highly qualified, and most highly diverse possible workforce.
