Source: United States Senator for Nebraska Ben Sasse
Unclassified Section of Intelligence Bill Contains Multiple Sasse Provisions
U.S. Senator Ben Sasse, a member of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, issued the following statement praising the Intelligence Authorization Act.
“Our tech race with the Chinese Communist Party will define the 21st century. The world is going to be led by Americans and our freedom-loving allies, or it’s going to be run by Chairman Xi and his dystopian surveillance state. America’s intelligence community does critical work and I’m proud that this legislation takes some important steps to counter Beijing.”
“One of the most important, common-sense provisions in this year’s bill is my ban on working in the intelligence community if you’ve worked for the People’s Republic of China. We know that the CCP has hired an army of American lobbyists, so this isn’t hard: If you worked for the People’s Republic of China you can’t get a job in the intelligence community.”
“Another critical element of this legislation is a net tech assessment that will give us a clear look at our capabilities and vulnerabilities. We can’t be late to the game in emerging technology and a tech assessment will help avoid another 5G surprise. Nobody out-thinks, out-hustles, or out-works the American people. America’s private and public sectors can win the coming conflict with Beijing’s tyrant – to do that we need to get a level set of where we are and what we’re under-investing in.”
Background
The following provisions introduced by Senator Sasse are included in the bill:
- Banning employment in the U.S. intelligence community for individuals who have also worked for the PRC, or Russia, Iran, DPRK, and state sponsors of terror.
- Undertaking tech net assessments of U.S. public, private, and government capabilities, especially compared to foreign adversaries’ capabilities in order to prevent surprises.
- Chartering the Historical Advisory Panel at CIA to ensure the HAP can continue its excellent work of advising the CIA Director on declassification, transparency, and academic engagement.
- Expanding and streamlining the human capital pipeline at the CIA by mandating a timeline that the CIA move an applicant from date of application to selecting an entry date in no more than 180 days by end of 2023.
- Providing that officers at the National Intelligence University have rights to their IP.