HUNTSVILLE, ALABAMA— As part of the Committee’s ongoing efforts to bring the U.S. counterintelligence (CI) threat conversation to the state level, House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence Chairman Rick Crawford (AR-01) hosted an event at the University of Alabama in Huntsville, with over 130 federal, state, and private-sector partners. Congressman Dale Strong (AL-05) joined Chairman Crawford in co-hosting the event examining the growing counterintelligence threats from the Chinese Communist Party to the state of Alabama. Chairman Crawford chose Alabama for the fourth state-level counterintelligence conversation because of its importance to America’s national security, defense industrial base, aerospace enterprise, advanced manufacturing research, and critical infrastructure.

Roundtable briefers included Wes Street, Director of the National Counterintelligence and Security Center at the Office of the Director of National Intelligence and senior leaders from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), the Alabama National Guard, the National Guard Bureau, NASA, the U.S. Army, the U.S. Air Force, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, U.S Coast Guard, Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency, the United States Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS), and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).

The event consisted of a classified and an unclassified portion focused on the importance of the collective effort at the federal, state, and local levels to detect, deter, and disrupt the counterintelligence threats posed by the Chinese Communist Party in the U.S. homeland, and specifically in Alabama.

This is the fourth roundtable event that Chairman Crawford has hosted across the country, focused on convening federal, state, and local officials with private-sector partners to discuss a renewed response to counterintelligence threats. This effort is part of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence’s aggressive work to reform the U.S. counterintelligence apparatus that is failing to take an offensive posture to combat the pervasive threats we face in the homeland today.

“It’s no secret the significant value that Huntsville provides to the U.S. national security apparatus and why any of our adversaries would view Alabama as the ultimate target for operations,” said Chairman Crawford. “From Huntsville to communities across the state, Alabama is a growing target for the Chinese Communist Party due to its booming defense industrial base, aerospace and advanced manufacturing industry, research institutions, and critical infrastructure, including as the new home to SPACECOM and its key role in the development of America’s Golden Dome. Alabama has exactly what the People’s Republic of China wants—technology, talent, and access. I thank Congressman Strong for joining me for this important conversation and for his tireless advocacy for the people, institutions, and industries that make northern Alabama vital to our nation’s security.”

“North Alabama sits at the heart of our nation’s missile defense and space capabilities, which makes it exactly the kind of target the Chinese Communist Party is working to exploit,” said Representative Dale Strong (AL-05). “This roundtable brought the right people into one room – federal, state, local, and industry partners – to talk plainly about the counterintelligence threats we’re facing in our own backyard. I applaud Chairman Crawford for convening this important discussion, and I appreciate the engagement of our Alabama partners to ensure we stay ahead of the evolving threats we face as a nation.”  

“No single organization in the United States government has all of the authorities, resources and expertise to counter adversarial intelligence activities exploiting the American people,” said NCSC Director Wes Street. “Chairman Crawford and Representative Strong clearly understand this and convened interagency counterintelligence elements this past week in Huntsville to discuss the foreign intelligence threats facing Alabama. Traditionally, counterintelligence has been the purview of federal agencies, but state, local, territorial, tribal, public and private sector leaders play a key role in the modern ‘counterintelligence fight,’ particularly in light of the growing national security footprint across Alabama. NCSC welcomed the opportunity to support this critical interagency event!”

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