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It is my pleasure to welcome a renowned group of Intelligence Community leaders.
During today’s proceedings, we will hear from:
- The Honorable Avril Haines, Director of National Intelligence;
- The Honorable William Burns, Director of the Central Intelligence Agency;
- The Honorable Christopher Wray, Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation;
- General Timothy Haugh, Director of the National Security Agency and Commander of the U.S. Cyber Command; and
- Lieutenant General Jeffrey Kruse, Director of the Defense Intelligence Agency.
Thank you all for your service and for appearing before the Committee today.
The Annual Threat Assessment hearing provides the Intelligence Community an opportunity to update Congress and the American people on serious threats to our national security.
The Intelligence Community exists to protect the American people by informing policy and decision-makers of the threats posed to national security – which includes critical infrastructure, economic security, cyber security, food security, and several other components of national security. Each year the world evolves, growing more interdependent. Our adversaries are aligning, and emerging technologies are changing the operational environment.
We are in the midst of a shifting geopolitical landscape with strategic competition at the forefront. Now, more than at any other time – at least since the Cold War – nation-state threats are dominating the United States’ national security concerns.
Beijing, Moscow, and Tehran are anti-American and working together domestically, regionally, and internationally. These common adversaries have overlapping interests and approaches. Examples include Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Hamas’ attack on Israel and continued Iranian proxy assaults in the region, and the People’s Republic of China’s regular military show of force threatening Taiwan. Also concerning is Pyongyang’s recent tests of the North Korean Intercontinental Ballistic Missile Hwasong-18 – based on the missile’s flight data, South Korea and Japan assess this North Korean capability has the potential range to strike the United States. This is a flagrant violation of U.N. Security Council resolutions.
Over the last year, the Committee has conducted numerous engagements both in and beyond the SCIF. One area that seems fragmented and vague is the foreign/domestic divide.
There are heightened threats at the border, and the homeland is under constant assault, whether it be from cyber-attacks, counterintelligence threats, or foreign malign influence. What is not clear is how the Intelligence Community communicates those threats to other federal, state, local, tribal, or private sector partners. The lack of clarity on this issue raises the question of whether the federal government is organized appropriately and prepared to defend the United States against the kinds of threats the American people face from our foreign adversaries here.
On more than one occasion, some of you have publicly warned of threats to homeland security from the People’s Republic of China (PRC). The PRC is compromising and maintaining persistent access to U.S. critical infrastructure. As stated in an unclassified cybersecurity advisory published to the public last month – the PRC is targeting and has already compromised telecommunications, energy, transportation, and water sectors. To quote this advisory – “in some cases, the cyber actors have been living inside information technology networks for years to pre-position for disruptive or destructive cyberattacks in the event of a major crisis or conflict with the United States.” I pause to note that the advisory states that this activity has been going on “For years.”
In addition to pre-positioning in critical infrastructure, China seeks to be a world power in science and technology by any means possible. This poses a significant counterintelligence threat to U.S. and allied partners. China is attempting to advance as a technology superpower by offering investment and acquiring or stealing intellectual property in fields like power and energy, artificial intelligence, biotechnology, agriculture, quantum computing, and semiconductors.
Russia continues an unjust war against Ukraine’s sovereignty, bolstering its defense production by leveraging relationships with China and Iran. And we should not forget that North Korean munitions factories are supplying Russia with weapons and artillery shells to use against Ukraine. We look forward to further insights on Russia’s nuclear posture, directed energy weapons, anti-satellite capabilities in space, and ground-based anti-satellite missiles designed to target U.S. and allied satellites.
Iran, which is also benefitting from closer ties with China and Russia, has built and funded a network of proxies to promote Iran’s regional objectives. Iran supported Hamas’ attack on Israel and continues to back Hamas. Iran provides weapons and intelligence for terrorist attacks on U.S. personnel and installations in the region and terrorist attacks on the global supply chain transiting the Red Sea.
Last year, during the Annual Threat Assessment hearing, I set forth the Committee’s plan for the reauthorization of FISA Section 702. An immense amount of Committee work has gone into our bill reforming FISA. We produced a strong bill that puts in place the appropriate compliance guardrails and provides the tools necessary to protect our country. We know the importance of this authority, and we know the danger to America and our allies if the Intelligence Community does not have the capability to produce intelligence from FISA 702 collection.
There is a perceived lack of accountability that is the most troubling aspect for Congress and the American public to trust the Intelligence Community is doing the right thing, reporting wrongdoing, taking responsibility, correcting actions, and monitoring. That is why our FISA bill aggressively reforms the FISA processes to address past abuses.
In the face of all these challenges, the Intelligence Community’s core mission stands – which is to identify foreign threats and provide warning to protect Americans. Our Committee oversight work takes this very seriously as we continually examine areas for improvement and provide bipartisan legislative solutions where needed.
Today, you will hear questions from our members on various interest areas. To be respectful of everyone’s time, I ask that you be direct and succinct in your responses.
With that, I look forward to hearing your presentation. I yield to Ranking Member Himes for his opening remarks.
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