Washington, D.C. — Senate Select Committee on Intelligence Acting Chairman Marco Rubio (R-FL) and Vice Chairman Mark Warner (D-VA) applauded the passage of the Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021 (IAA) as part of the Fiscal Year (FY) 2021 National Defense Authorization Act. The bill, which was approved by the Committee on a bipartisan 14 - 1 vote on June 3, 2020, authorizes funding, provides legal authorities, and enhances Congressional oversight for the U.S. Intelligence Community.

“Last month, the Senate Intelligence Committee passed the IAA for Fiscal Year 2021 in overwhelming bipartisan fashion, and I applaud my Senate colleagues for supporting this critical legislation as part of the FY 2021 NDAA,” Acting Chairman Rubio said. “Our nation continues to face ever-expanding threats from hostile foreign actors, including China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea. It is vital that our Intelligence Community has the necessary resources, authorities, and personnel to protect America’s national security, and the Senate Intelligence Committee’s strong, bipartisan legislation does just that. Our bill also increases government efficiency and represents comprehensive Congressional oversight to ensure that these tools are executed responsibly and cost-effectively.” 

"I am proud to represent many of the men and women in the intelligence community who work every day to make our nation safer, and this bill furthers our bipartisan efforts to help them accomplish their mission,” Vice Chairman Warner said. “I am particularly pleased with the additional reforms we have made to the security clearance process, which continues a multi-year effort to bring that system into the 21st century. I would thank Acting Chairman Rubio and Senator Burr for working closely with me on this bill."

Background:

The IAA for Fiscal Year 2021 ensures that the Intelligence Community can continue its critical work for our country while Congress continues its oversight, including in the following key areas:

• Confronting our adversaries’ attempts to compromise telecommunications and cybersecurity technology;

• Development and deployment of secure 5G networks based in open-standards to compete with our adversaries;

• Identifying corruption, influence operations, and information suppression by the Chinese government, in particular in this critical time for the people of Hong Kong;

• Uncovering Russian and Eastern European oligarchs’ corruption and illegal activities;

• Protecting against foreign influence threats and election interference on social media platforms;

• Creating Intelligence Community-wide policies to facilitate sharing cleared contractor information with private companies to enhance the effectiveness of insider threat programs;

• Requiring the publication of guidelines for granting, denying, or revoking a security clearance and preventing the revocation or denial of a clearance for reasons of discrimination, political beliefs, or retaliation; and

• Advancing Intelligence Community hiring flexibilities, student loan repayment programs, and child care for IC personnel.

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