democracy in real time. this is your government cap work this is c-spa giving you your democracy unfiltered. the senate voted to move forward with president trumps nominee for director of national intelligence. before the vote highlighting the military and political career. mark warner talks about the opposition to the nomination and

the pfizer surveillance collection program. it sets up a final vote on her nomination. of september 11. and after her first session in the hawaii legislature, is he enlisted in the army national guard. the following year she dropped her reelection campaign to volunteer to deploy to iraq, the first of three deployments that she's made. it was after her second deployment, now as an officer and platoon commander, that she set her sights on national and global issues, eventually being elected to the u.s. house of representatives. madam president, tulsi gabbard has worn the uniform of our country for the last 22 years, leading american soldiers in some of the most dangerous parts of the world. she also served eight years in congress, including on the homeland security, foreign affairs, and armed services committees. by her own count, she's taken an

oath to support and defend the constitution of the united states at least eight times. madam president, as both a military officer and policymaker, ms. gabbard has been a consumer of intelligence. she knows a good decision depends on the best information. she knows that the cost of bad information is measured in lives lost. madam president, in recent years, there have been some significant intelligence failures, and these failures aren't confined to one agency or one part of world. the intelligence community needs to refocus on its core mission, collecting intelligence and providing unbiased analysis of that information. that's what tulsi gabbard is committed to ensuring if she is confirmed to be dni. i believe she has the knowledge and leadership capabilities to get it done. madam president, i'm also grateful that ms. gabbard has expressed a willingness to right-size the office of the dni.

when this position was created by congress in the wake of 9/11, it was designed to be a sort of quarterback, if you will, for the intelligence community. it was designed to be a lean organization, focused on coordination and ensuring all the elements of the intelligence community are communicating and working together toward a common purpose. but it quickly became much larger than intended, and it has become a bureaucracy unto itself. so i am glad that ms. gabbard plans to focus on identifying and eliminating redundancies and inefficiencies to restore the office to what it was originally designed to be. i was also very pleased to hear ms. gabbard say at her hearing section 702 is, and i quote, essential for our national security, end the question. this foreign intelligence collection program is a tee cool used to identify -- a key tool used to identify threats to americans home and abroad.

i was also pleased that ms. gabbard intends to prosecute leakers to the full extent of the law. in an i did and -- in a day and age when anything and everything ends up on the internet, it is essential we have zero tolerance for those who deliberately compromise classified information, around we must safeguard our sensitive sources and intelligence collection methods. madam president, tulsi gabbard is a patriotic american. she believes strongsly in the -- strongly in the mission which which she'll be tasked, keeping america safe. you don't have to take my word for it. take it from americans who served alongside ms. gabbard during her 22 years in uniform, from the people who have put their lives in her hands. as one wrote, and i quote, her exceptional qualifications, coupled with a proven track record of leadership and unwavering commitment to safeguarding our national interests, renderler the un -- render her thene