Lankford, Cornyn, Warner, Kelly Introduce Bill to Foster Intelligence Community Partnerships 

OKLAHOMA CITY, OK – Senators James Lankford (R-OK), John Cornyn (R-TX), Mark Warner (D-VA), and Mark Kelly (D-AZ), members of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, introduced the Enable IC Partnerships Act, which would encourage public and private partnerships with the Intelligence Community to streamline acquisitions and adoption of cutting-edge technologies and support workforce development.

“Innovation is key to protecting America’s cybersecurity and national security. As adversaries from across the globe attempt to undermine the United States, our intelligence community needs to be prepared with the technology, training, and programs to stay one step ahead,” said Lankford.

“Artificial Intelligence, machine learning, and data sciences are on pace to revolutionize intelligence gathering and analysis,” said Cornyn. “Through IC partnerships with federal lending agencies like DOD’s Office of Strategic Capital and fostering greater IC public-private partnerships, we can better equip collectors and analysts with the tools to meet workforce demand and strengthen our national security.”

“As Chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, I’m acutely aware of the challenges our Intelligence Community faces to combat the threats posed by our adversaries,” said Warner. “As our adversaries rapidly advance their technological capabilities, it’s crucial that we streamline our processes in order to keep up. This legislation would help give the IC the support, funding, and flexibility needed better protect our national security.” 

“Our intelligence community is stronger when they’re given the tools needed to anticipate national security threats,” said Kelly. “This bipartisan effort will make it easier for our intelligence agencies to leverage partnerships to secure state-of-the-art technology and talent, ensuring the U.S. maintains an edge over adversaries.”  

Background:

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

This legislation would encourage acquisition leaders to explore partnerships with federal lending agencies, such as the US Department of Defense (DOD) Office of Strategic Capital, and private capital partnerships. It would also support IC talent and workforce development in technology-related fields, including computing, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, and others.

###