C. Ruppersberger

Mr. RUPPERSBERGER

Mr. RUPPERSBERGER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to my distinguished colleague from the State of California (Mr. Thompson).

Mr. RUPPERSBERGER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I think we really need to discuss the issue of cybersecurity. Cyberthreat is the one thing I think that keeps a lot of us on the Intelligence Committee up at night, how serious a threat it is to our country--we're being attacked on a regular basis. And we as a country need to do what we have to do to go forward and deal with the issue of cyber. Cyber poses one of the greatest threats to Americans from both an economic and national security perspective. We are losing millions of dollars because of cyberattacks. Our intellectual property is being stolen daily just as we speak. Our Pentagon is being attacked as we speak. We have seen countless examples of cutting-edge U.S. ideas being stolen and used for foreign products. Cyber is also a major national security concern. We only have to look at the attack on South Korea's banking system to realize the impact an attack can have on critical infrastructure. In South Korea, depositors lost access to their money and critical investment. Data was lost. An attack like this could happen in the United States if we do not prepare and focus on the issue of cybersecurity. This bill strengthens U.S. cyberdefenses, again, a very important part of this bill. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. RUPPERSBERGER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I think another major issue that we've addressed in this bill is the issue of space. Years ago, when we went to the Moon, the whole country understood how important space was to the national defense of our country, and, in those days, everyone knew the names of the astronauts the same as they know the names of NFL quarterbacks today. And yet, because of the fact that there hasn't been as much in space, we as a country need to educate our constituents how important space is. We are the strongest country in the world, and one of the main reasons is because we are active and control the skies. Yet, right now, our space program has to be reinvigorated, and we have to refocus on that. America, again, controls the world because we control the skies. Our investment in space keeps us safe. If we fail to make that investment, other countries will move ahead and edge us out. As an example, China is going to the Moon. They are spending time, research, and development to go to the Moon. Currently, we rely on the Russians to get to the international space station. We must reinvest in the capabilities to give us the edge in space. We also need to think about different ways to get ahead. The bill breaks down barriers of our launch industry. All options need to be on the table as we talk about keeping America's edge in space. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. RUPPERSBERGER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I think it's extremely important that we look back where we've come from since 9/11. During 9/11, or before 9/11, we had agencies, intelligence agencies that just were not working together. There was not a teamwork approach. And, as a result of not working together, the attack of 9/11 occurred. The 9/11 Commission made numerous recommendations, and a lot of those recommendations were very positive and were implemented. As a result of the bin Laden raid and bringing him to justice, I think it showed the teamwork that is needed, especially in the intelligence community, to work together, whether or not it's NSA, the NRO, it's the military, all those different agencies coming together and working as a team. And we would not have had the success that we had with bin Laden if it weren't for that teamwork approach. I think now we have to learn about the teamwork approach and working together in Congress, also. We as Members of Congress need to do our job and come together and do the people's work, and the partisan politics has to stop. What I'm leading to is that I think that this bill, and the previous bills that we've passed, and the leadership of Chairman Rogers and the open minds of every member, whether Democrat or Republican, on the Intelligence Committee has allowed us to come together and have a bipartisan bill. And we would hope that what is happening here today in the bills that we've passed will be looked at as an example for the future. Again, Chairman Rogers, thank you for that commitment. We made a commitment when we first came that the stakes are too high, national security is too high, and we must work together. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. RUPPERSBERGER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to a member of the Intelligence Committee, the gentleman from California (Mr. Schiff).

Mr. RUPPERSBERGER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I do want to acknowledge the Technical and Tactical Subcommittee and the work done by Mr. Heck and also Mr. Schiff. I have served with Mr. Schiff for years on the Intelligence Committee, and he has been very focused on the technical area, which is extremely important to our national security. Mr. Speaker, in closing, it took a long time for us to get to this point here today. We spent days in important hearings analyzing the intelligence community, making sure that we focused on what the intelligence community needed. We knew, as this country has an issue with respect to the deficit, that we had to do some cutting. It's not about cutting; it was what to cut. And we wanted to make sure that the cuts that we made in this intelligence bill, working as Republicans and Democrats, would not affect the mission for the national security of our country. We spent time before the bill passed, hours and hours, working, staff working, coming together. And what's very unique, also, about this committee is that both the Democrat and the Republican staff worked very closely together, and I hadn't seen that in the past as a member of this committee for over 9 years right now. And that's one of the main reasons that we have such a great, effective staff that work together as a team, to come together to make sure that we did what we had to do. Now we are here today to finish the job. Republicans and Democrats have come together to make important choices and to do what is right for the intelligence community and our country. This bill makes America safer. Again, I commend everyone who participated in this effort, especially the bipartisan leadership of Chairman Rogers, the other members of the Intelligence Committee, and the leadership of Senators Feinstein and Chambliss in the Senate Intelligence Committee, again working together. We can do our work here, but we need the Senate to come together, and we did and we now have the product here today. I would like to thank again both the Democrat and Republican staff for the countless hours they spent. I fully support the fiscal year 2012 Intelligence Authorization Act and urge my colleagues to do the same. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. RUPPERSBERGER

Mr. RUPPERSBERGER. Mr. Speaker, I rise before you today to honor Mrs. Patricia Nicklow, a resident of Essex, Maryland, on the occasion of her retirement from the U.S. Navy's Program Executive Office for Aircraft Carriers after more than 37 years of dedicated service to the federal government. Patricia Nicklow was born in Baltimore and attended Our Lady of Mount Carmel and Kenwood Senior High Schools in Essex. She is Level III certified in Acquisition Logistics with Level II certifications in both Program Management and Business Financial Management from the Defense Acquisition University. Over the course of her 37-year career with the federal government, Mrs. Nicklow has developed an extensive background in acquisitions and logistics. She spent 13 years with the General Service Administration throughout the Washington, DC, metropolitan area. She then served 23 years at the Naval Sea Systems Command, including her final nine years at PEO Carriers. During this time, she became the In-Service Logistician for Mine Sweepers and Hunters before finally coming to Aircraft Carriers to work in new construction, mid-life Refueling and Complex Overhauls, and supporting the Navy's in-service Aircraft Carriers. Mrs. Nicklow's current duties include ensuring that in-service Aircraft Carriers are logistically supported so that sailors are trained properly to perform and maintain their equipment. Her well-deserved plans post retirement include more traveling, spending time with family, partaking in health classes, and bowling. Mrs. Nicklow currently lives with her husband and mother. Mr. Speaker, I ask that you join with me today to honor Mrs. Nicklow. Her long and dedicated service to the United States of America is an inspiration to all of us. It is with great pride that I congratulate Mrs. Nicklow on her retirement and wish her the best of luck in the future.

Mr. RUPPERSBERGER

Mr. RUPPERSBERGER. Mr. Speaker, I rise before you today to honor the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Baltimore District, on the successful completion of a record military construction and Base Realignment and Closure mission. The Baltimore District worked on this complex mission for six years in the State of Maryland and throughout the mid-Atlantic region. In 2005, the U.S. Department of Defense was given the difficult task to reorganize itself to more efficiently and effectively support our forces, increase operational readiness and facilitate new ways of doing business. The Baltimore District was tasked with managing more than $4.2 billion in construction projects--more than any other in the Nation. Their work has provided our service members, their families and our civilian workforce with cutting-edge facilities that will allow the Department of Defense to continue its mission of protecting our Nation for years to come. These include the U.S. Army Test and Evaluation Command at Aberdeen Proving Ground and the Defense Information Systems Agency Headquarters at Fort Meade, among others. I am proud to welcome these distinguished agencies to the State of Maryland. The Baltimore District's work extends beyond Maryland's boundaries. In Pennsylvania, the Defense Distribution Depot Susquehanna, Letterkenny Army Depot and Tobyhanna Army Depot are now better prepared to meet the needs of our service members. Fort Belvoir in Virginia has expanded exponentially and is now home to the National Geospatial- Intelligence Agency, the U.S. Army Legal Services Agency and the Northern Regional Medical Command. Their new proximity to Washington, D.C. is critical for the continued security of our Nation. The Baltimore District also contributed significantly to the economic stability of the region when we needed it most. The mission was executed with the help of many small businesses, including some owned by veterans, and created thousands of new jobs. Mr. Speaker, the Department of Defense set high expectations and aggressive schedules for this round of BRAC and expected them to be met. I applaud the Baltimore District, the North Atlantic Division and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for their hard work, dedication, and persistence. I ask that you join me in thanking them for their excellent construction, design and engineering services.

Mr. RUPPERSBERGER

Mr. RUPPERSBERGER. I claim time in opposition to the amendment, although I do not intend to oppose it.

Mr. RUPPERSBERGER. I just want to thank my friend, the gentleman from Virginia, for his involvement in all national security issues. We serve together on the Commerce-Justice Subcommittee in Appropriations and we work together on gangs. So I appreciate your focus on this area to protect the citizens of our country and our district. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. RUPPERSBERGER. Madam Chair, I rise today in favor of the Intelligence Authorization Act for FY 2012, and I yield myself such time as I may consume. When Chairman Rogers and I took over leadership of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, we made a commitment to getting back into the practice of passing intelligence budgets. We made a commitment to the men and women of the intelligence community to do what is right--to give our intelligence professionals the resources, capabilities, and authorities they need to keep us safe. We on the Intelligence Committee have a responsibility to provide effective oversight; to help build up the community, not to tear it down; to hold the community accountable for performance while upholding the Constitution and protecting civil liberties. This is even more important today as we approach the 10th anniversary of 9/11, where close to 3,000 innocent Americans lost their lives. The bill makes smart choices by trimming where possible, eliminating duplicative efforts, and ensuring we do not affect the current critical capabilities that protect our Nation now and in the future. The bill aligns our resources with our current threats in a fiscally responsible manner. After the debt debate this last summer, our committee trimmed our budget even further to keep its costs in check. The bill curbs personal growth when appropriate, never affecting the core mission. It invests in new positions for select high-priority needs, such as FBI surveillance officers to keep watch on terrorists, NSA cyber professionals to protect computers from malicious intrusions, and Treasury financial analysts to unravel terrorist plots. We found major savings in operating costs, pushed down the price of programs through intense oversight, required acquisitions to come in on budget and on schedule, and invested in research and technology to keep our competitive edge. We fully funded the President's major satellite program as well as commercial imagery to ensure our intelligence professionals, the warfighters and our allies have the information they need on the front lines around the world. Right now, this bill includes two controversial provisions relating to Guantanamo Bay detainees and another making the Director of the National Security Agency a Senate-confirmed position. These provisions garnered a veto threat from the White House. Chairman Rogers and I worked together to come up with a solution. Today's manager's amendment withdraws the Gitmo and the NSA Director provisions. I encourage all Members to vote in favor of the manager's amendment. If these provisions can be successfully eliminated, I will support this bill and look forward to seeing it become law. This bill will make great investments in space, cyber, and the warfighter. Republicans and Democrats have worked together with our Senate counterparts to make this a good bipartisan bill. Intelligence is clearly the best defense against terrorism. This is even more important as we approach the 10-year anniversary of the September 11 attacks. If this bill is signed into law, it will be the third time in 3 years that the Intelligence Committee passed an Intel authorization act. For the 5 years before that, we did not have an Intelligence bill. With this bill, we are giving the intelligence community guidance and critical direction. We are doing our job. With the passage of the manager's amendment, I believe this is a good bipartisan bill that makes important decisions to protect our families and communities. I urge my colleagues to support it. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. RUPPERSBERGER. I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. Thompson), the vice chair on the Democratic side of the Intelligence Committee.

Mr. RUPPERSBERGER. Madam Chair, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Kucinich).

Mr. RUPPERSBERGER. I yield the gentleman 1 additional minute.

Mr. RUPPERSBERGER. I yield 30 seconds to the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Kucinich).

Mr. RUPPERSBERGER. Will the gentleman yield?

Mr. RUPPERSBERGER. I just want to confirm, Mr. Kucinich, I do respect your comments and your point of view, but our role on the Intelligence Committee is oversight. When we can pass bills, we work and oversee all these agencies. And if we find out where there are allegations of a concern, let me know, and we will try to do what we can do to get information. But I know of no situation that we have not been told in the last couple of years, when Mr. Rogers and I have been working together. I think it's important for the United States of America to remember this. In my opinion, the best defense against terrorism is intelligence, but it's got to be done the right way and protect civil liberties.

Mr. RUPPERSBERGER. I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from New York (Mrs. Maloney).

Mr. RUPPERSBERGER. Madam Chair, I yield 3 minutes to my good friend from Rhode Island, Jim Langevin. (Mr. LANGEVIN asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. RUPPERSBERGER. I yield myself the balance of my time. It took a long time for us to get here today: days of important hearings, analyzing the intelligence community, hours of critical meetings, making important decisions of what to include and not to include in the bill and lots of time pulling it together. Republicans and Democrats came together to make important choices to do what's right for the intelligence community and for our country. I commend everyone who participated in this effort, especially the bipartisan leadership of Chairman Rogers and other members of the Intelligence Committee. I would like to thank both Democrat and Republican staff for the countless hours they spent helping us make this happen. With the passage of the manager's amendment, I fully support this bill and urge my colleagues to do the same. The stakes are too high not to. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. RUPPERSBERGER. I claim time in opposition to the amendment, although I am not opposed.

Mr. RUPPERSBERGER. Madam Chair, I strongly support the manager's amendment. The manager's amendment deals with the issues that the chairman talked about. Also, it was our negotiation to resolve certain issues, and that has been done. So I fully support it. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. RUPPERSBERGER. Madam Chair, I claim time in opposition, although I am not opposed to the amendment.

Mr. RUPPERSBERGER. First, I just want to acknowledge the gentleman's service. You have been on the field. I think IEDs are one of the biggest threats that we have to our men and women in theater, and I strongly support that we move forward with your amendment. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. RUPPERSBERGER. First, I support this amendment. The amendment would include a sense of Congress language to encourage the Director of National Intelligence and the Secretary of Homeland Security to integrate the intelligence-sharing capability of fusion centers and leverage participation from all intelligence, law enforcement, and homeland security agencies to prevent acts of terrorism against the United States. I thank the gentleman for this amendment, which is very timely as we approach the 10th anniversary of September 11. The Intelligence Committee is holding a series of open hearings in order to acknowledge the progress made in the intelligence and national security community since 9/11 and to identify areas that will need improvement. One area we will explore is Federal collaboration with first responders at State and local levels. The Bipartisan Policy Center and the former cochairman of the 9/11 Commission, Lee Hamilton, recently issued a report about our national response to 9/11 over the last 10 years. They found that Federal and local information sharing is still not as good as it could be. The proposed sense of Congress is consistent with the findings of numerous organizations, but our Nation still requires better integration of intelligence. I therefore urge a ``yes'' vote on the amendment. Also, I acknowledge the fact you are a former prosecutor. I am a former prosecutor. Our chairman is a former FBI agent.