Bishop Lauds Passage of Intelligence Authorization Act

Press Release

The House of Representatives today passed the FY 2011 Intelligence Authorization Act for FY 2011, which authorizes funding for resources essential to ongoing and future U.S. Intelligence operations. Congressman Rob Bishop (R-UT) voted in support of the legislation [H.R. 754], which passed the House with overwhelming bi-partisan support by a vote of 392-15.

Congress has not passed a complete intelligence authorization bill in six years.

"The recent capture of Osama bin Laden underscores the importance of ensuring that we provide the Intelligence community with the resources necessary to conduct operations that contribute to the safety and security of our country," said Congressman Bishop. "The Intelligence community is an essential component of our national security capabilities, both at home and overseas, and I am pleased that the House took the important step today to update and address policies that have gone untouched for nearly six years."

Specifically, this legislation provides oversight and authorization for critical intelligence activities, including:

· Global counter-terrorism operations, such as the one that took out Osama bin Laden

· Tactical intelligence support to combat units in Afghanistan and Iraq

· Cyber defense by the National Security Agency

· Court-ordered wire taps against terrorists and spies

· Detecting and countering the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction

· Design, launch and operation of spy satellites

· Global monitoring of foreign militaries, weapons tests, and arms control treaties

· Real-time analysis and reporting on events such as the unrest in the Middle East

· Research and development of new technology to maintain our intelligence agencies' technological edge, including work on code breaking and spy satellites

Source