Lawmakers applaud progression of intelligence measure

Sens. Susan Collins (R-ME) and Angus King (I-ME), members of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, recently praised the progression of a measure designed to authorizes funding and enables comprehensive, congressional oversight for the U.S. Intelligence Community (IC).

The Committee approved the Damon Paul Nelson and Matthew Young Pollard Intelligence Authorization Act (IAA) for Fiscal Years 2018, 2019, and 2020 on a unanimous 15-0 vote.

The bill includes key provisions authored by both Collins and King and is named for Damon Nelson and Matt Pollard, two House and Senate Intelligence Committee staff members who passed away last year.

“The brave and vigilant members of our Intelligence Community never cease working to identify and neutralize threats and keep our country safe,” Collins and King wrote in a joint statement. “Our committee is known to seek consensus and foster bipartisanship. This legislation, which is the product of such cooperative efforts, will enhance our national security, increase congressional oversight and ensure the men and women of the IC have the resources and support they need to do their jobs effectively.”

The legislation ensures the security clearance process is fair, objective, transparent, and accountable by requiring decisions to grant, deny, or revoke clearances to be based on published criteria. It also includes language authored by Collins requiring semiannual reports of unauthorized disclosures of classified information.