WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator John Cornyn (R-TX), Senate Select Committee on Intelligence Vice Chairman Mark Warner (D-VA), and Senators James Lankford (R-OK) and Mark Kelly (D-AZ) released the following statements after the Intelligence Community Technology Bridge Act, which would enable the Intelligence Community (IC) to streamline acquisition processes and prioritize small business and nontraditional defense contractor solutions, passed the Senate as part of the Intelligence Authorization Act (IAA) included in the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA):

“There are important advancements in intelligence products being made in the private sector, but our intelligence agencies and private sector partners must fight bureaucratic delays throughout the acquisition process,” said Sen. Cornyn. “This legislation would give our Intelligence Community the flexibility and agility it needs to speed up the acquisition of cutting-edge technologies and leverage American innovation across the country to get the most capable tools into the hands of our intelligence collectors and analysts.”

“Our adversaries are rapidly advancing their technological capabilities, and so must we,” said Sen. Warner. “I am pleased to see this legislation pass the Senate to help ensure that the Intelligence Community has the support, funding, and flexibility it needs to acquire and integrate the most cutting-edge emerging technologies to protect our national security.”

“Our Intelligence Community works hard every day to protect our nation without any recognition or glory, but they are also fighting our own government with the amount of time it takes to process newer technology,” said Sen. Lankford. “The bad actors and foreign adversaries who are coming after us every day are not going to wait around while our Intelligence Community waits on bureaucratic delays. Our nation must have the ability to stop whatever new technology is being used against us without unnecessary delays.”

“Bridging the gap between research and real-world use is critical to ensuring our intelligence community has timely access to the most advanced tools and technologies,” said Sen. Kelly. “By cutting unnecessary red tape and accelerating innovation, we can better support small businesses and innovators, get cutting-edge technologies into the hands of the intelligence community faster, and strengthen our national security advantage.”

Background:

In light of global threats to national security, acquisition leaders in the Intelligence Community (IC) must be able to secure technological advantages through the identification, development, and transfer of promising technologies to full-scale programs capable of meeting IC requirements.

This legislation would create a program to assist in transitioning useful IC products from the research and development phase to the contracting and production phase, with priority given to small business concerns and nontraditional defense contractors.