Questions intelsummit. Org for the first preliminary. And due to the short period ofs of time for each periods of time for each of the guests, get the questions in early and nice concise ones will be much appreciated. Also the opportunities to interact with the exhibiters and also our appreciation for the sponsor of this event. At this point id like to introduce ms. Suzanne kelly, who is the c. E. O. And publisher of the sigh ofer brief, who will moderate the discussions. Ms. Kelly. Ms. Kelly thank you vutch. Appreciate being here. Welcome to everyone this morning. I hope youre geared up for a great conversation. Congressman, thank you. Mr. Schiff im delighted to be in a situation where the house gets to go first. I want to compliment insa for recognizing the proper order of things this morning. Ms. Kelly yes. Well, i wonder what went on behind the scenes. Well have to get to the bottom of that. Its fantastic to have you here. With so much going on in the , so much ce community of it showing up in sound bites on television, on a daily basis, so much politics back and forth, when you take a deep breath, and you sit back aunled look at all the things were dealing with, security clearance reform, an investigation into russia, the 702 come up for renewal later this year, how do you prioritize what you think is the most important . Mr. Schiff it is an enormous challenge this year in particular. Because in addition to all our day Job Responsibilities of oversight, weve also had the russia investigation layered on top. The not as if the other issues went away or went on hayities. When i think back, and i think all of us have felt a kind of time distorting effect of this year, where things that happened just yesterday seem like it must have been a week or a month ago. But nonetheless, you know, i think weve done a very good job of not only juggling these competing responsibilities, but also compartmentalizing our differences. And to give you a very graphic example. The chairman and i ourble have our differences other obviously have our differents over the russia investigation but we decided we were going to compartmentalize the oversight work the committee does and not let me differences we had on russia interfere with what we had to do in terms of our oversight, with our authorization responsibilities, and so we produced, after our numerous hearings and review of documents and interviews and what not, a very bipartisan intelligence authorization act that allocates the funding levels and provides the protections that we need in terms of peoples privacy. And passed it overwhelmingly, both in committee and on the house floor. That doesnt get the same attention as some of the twists and turns in the russia investigation. But obviously is quite central to our responsibility. 702 will be another challenge. Weve got a pretty good track record, though, when you look at how we accomplished the reform of the metadata program, how we passed information sharing legislation, the cyberinformation sharing legislation. So we have a history to build on. And im confident well get through the debate. Hit thatful way. Ms. Kelly are you saying it works better than it appears to on tv every day . Mr. Schiff it would have to by efinition. I think a lot of the work that needs to get done does get done, doesnt get the same attention. Of vital bviously importance. I view our committee as having perhaps the most difficult oversight job in the congress. Because when you serve one of the other committees and youre doing oversight, if youre on the Transportation Committee and the agency come in and theyre talking about high speed rail and what a great project it is and how well its going and how its on budget and on time and all the rest of that, there are any number of outside stakeholders who can hold those witnesses accountable. And can provide information to the committee and say, thats not true and this isnt right and you need to ask these questions. In our arena, where most of our hearings are in closed session, we dont have the outside stakeholders to the same degree. Able to give us input, insight, help us to ask the right questions. Or know when were not getting a complete answer. So thats a very challenging oversight responsibility. But i think were doing a pretty good job. Ms. Kelly that sounds like a very serious maybe not flaw, but default in the system that you have to overcome somehow. Because you do have such incredible responsibilities with oversight of these programs. That are constantly being judged by the American People when they hear snippets about what the program entail or what it doesnt. Its very difficult to know what to believe and to get the right information out there. How do you personally handle that when you dont have those outside people who you can go to, to kind of bring the level of expertise . Mr. Schiff one of the most important decisions we make is when we hire our staff. We bring people in often who have experience in the agencies, who do know a lot of the right questions to ask and have the background, expertise, to help us with our oversight. We also depend to a great deal, great extent, on the professionalism of the people working within the i. C. Both on the government side and on the contractor side, to be candid with us. Not just in the answer to our questions, but also to bring us problems when they occur. And i think that that has by and large happened. So we benefit from the professional work force that we deal with. At the same time human nature is human nature. People dont necessarily like to volunteer their faults or problems. And people become vested in the way theyve approached issues or programs and so we need to continue to challenge the agencies to do better, and continue to demand accountability in terms of what were paying for certain programs, whether something that weve been doing the same way for a long time continues to be justified. Whether were getting the kind of results, whether were setting the kind of metrics. So we have to be demanding. But i think that we benefit from a very capable staff and the professionalism within the i. C. Ms. Kelly you feel like youre getting the cooperation you theed from the people you are overseeing . Need from the people you are overseeing . Mr. Schiff yes. There are very few times where i felt like we were getting misinformation. There are certainly times where i have disagreed with a briefer or their conclusion or their opinion or questioned the underlying facts that are being presented. But its not a situation where i think people are deliberately rying to mislead us. There are times i think when we have a fresh perspective, not having become weded to a certain approach. That can be very helpful and constructive. And im sure from the withinss point of view from the witness point of view, they may view it differently and think that we dont have anywhere near the experience and time on task that they do, which is certainly correct. But it seems to work at the end of the day. And obviously in this kind of an era, where were dealing with new challenges in the form of terrorism, also now information wars, with very capable adversaries and a burgeoning cyberfield, we all need to Work Together to make sure that we have the capabilities we need to defend the country. Ms. Kelly what do you think the Biggest Challenges are right now . You wake up and read the same newspapers and websites and Everything Else that the rest of us do. We see whats happening with north korea, were trying to prepare and make sure things are in place for another election. Where youre dealing with federal level and state levels and possible attempts to try to manipulate messaging around those elections. How do you kind of prioritize these things . Mr. Schiff its very difficult. Because our tendency, i think like most institutionses, is to focus on the most immediate problem. Which is not necessarily the biggest problem or the most longterm problem. Or the problem that requires you to be able to allocate resources in a way that builds over time. Im astounded just with the crush of things going on, for example, that so little attention is being paid to the fact that raqqa is going to fall soon. Soon we hope. But we have the successful retaking of mosul. Raqqa is going to fall. The last major urban holdings of the socalled caliphate are about to disappear. Which is an important success on the battlefield. But its gotten almost no attention. Just because of Everything Else going on. That doesnt mean by any means the war against isis is over or even nearing conclusion. Ms. Kelly or no longer a threat. We always worry about how is it going to impact us here at home . Right. We need to see that thread drawn, that connection made. Do you think thats happening enough in the fuzz . In the news . Mr. Schiff on certain things, sure. On korea, for example, people have a very vivid sense of the threat, when they look at, ok, these missiles now can reach anywhere in the United States and maybe they can carry a nuclear pay load and if they cant today, maybe they can tomorrow. In terms of the isis threat, ok. Great news. The physical cat fate is disappearing but what about the physical caliphate is disappearing but what about the virtual caliphate which in many respects is much more dangerous to americans, in the sense of people being radicalized online and carrying out attacks in the name of isis. Ms. Kelly here in this country. Mr. Schiff exactly. But i do think that in terms of at least of the two threats that is are most in the news these days, the threat from north korea and the threat from russia. People are quite vividly aware of the nature and dimension of those threats. How were going to confront them, though, we still have a lot of work to do. Ms. Kelly let me ask you too and then im going to get to some of the questions from audience members as well in just a moment. We already have some of them coming in here. Lets talk really quickly about 702. Because i think thats also another one that really has an incredible impact on the United States ability to collect information. And protect privacy of its citizens. Both are at stake with this. What happens the day after, if it is not reauthorized . Mr. Schiff i dont think first of all, i dont think thats going to happen. That is a failure to reauthorize 702. I think the only question is, what form the reauthorization will take. I hope im not being overly optimistic about that. I think it would be irresponsible for us, and yes, weve done a lot of irresponsible thing in congress, so that doesnt recollude that. Ms. Kelly can i get you to say that one more time . [laughter] mr. Schiff weve probably done more irresponsible things by omission than by commission. But in any case. I think we will reauthorize. Its just a question of what kind of reforms we make to. It and here it wont surprise people that the old adage of where you stand depends on where you sit has resonance in the sense that members of the Judiciary Committee, which have a very important oversight role, have one perspective. Members of the Intel Committee have a slightly different perspective. Its not that we dont appreciate the Civil Liberties and civil rights issues. We certainly do. Or that the Judiciary Committee doesnt appreciate the intel benefit and significance of what the program does. But in the committee, of course, we live day to day with the understanding of how important that is to our national security. Vivid o i think having a understanding of how the Program Works is important. And what the evidence has been in terms of, have there been problems with the execution she have there been any intentional abuses of it . And also with respect to proposed reforms, whats the real down stream consequence of that . Does the criminal justice model of seeking a court approval, for example, to do a u. S. Person search of the 702 database, is that really the right model . Does that work here . What happens if the u. S. Person identity youre searching is a potential victim, not a perpetrator . Or a place, not a person . Or andreas . So having an intimate understanding of the Program Helps in terms of what we think is a viable reform. And what may not be. Ms. Kelly an abuse of power is a big question, right, for people who dont understand exactly how the Program Works and theyre hearing the headlines, abuse of power, thats where the congressional oversight comes in to play. Are you confident with the way the system is running right now, with your ability to oversee when there are cases where someone is misusing access certain access they may or may not have . Mr. Schiff i do feel pretty confident about our ability to oversee this. I hope thats not wishful thinking. But i dont think it is. And its not just because of the work were doing. Or just because of the fact that the agencies do come in and selfreport when they have problems. But also that we have the tremendous value added by the fisa court. By the fact that the fisa court itself does i think a very vigorous review of these programs and where they find problems they often will suspend an effort until they get the results they want. Or theyll change what a program can do until they get the results they want. We will have access to those opinions and the concerns raised by the fisa court. So i think the combination of what the courts do in their oversight, what we do in our oversight, what the agencies do in their selfreporting is pretty comprehensive. Ms. Kelly and working. Great. Let me keep good on my promise and get to some of these questions. A lot of what the audience is think being right now, oversight resources, 702 reauthorization, and the question about election security. Lets get to one of those questions. Do you believe the United States government is doing enough to prepare for another cyberattack against our elections . Give than elections are principally a state responsibility, what roles should the Intelligence Community play . Interesting question. Mr. Schiff i dont think were doing enough. And coming from a state with such a powerful technology industry, when i meet with tech experts and talk about the machinery of the elections, they tell me, and i have every reason to believe that they are knowledgeable on this, that these systems are not impregnant nabble. They are vulnerable. And i felt for quite some time, well before this past election, that any state or any voting jurisdiction that doesnt maintain a paper trail is negligent in this day and age. So i think theres a lot more that we need to do. Theres a lot more that we need to understand. I think the vendors of these Voting Machines need to be much more transparent with the government about their systems and their software. So that we can analyze vulnerabilities. The states have to be willing to accept the government help that is being offered. And the government and the i. C. Has to be more transparent with the states. The states still dont know if they were victims of russian hacking. We have not shared that information with the states. I think thats crazy. And i know my colleague has been very outspoken on this and properly so. I hope that we will have a hearing in our committee, an open hearing, where we can bring in some of the state elections piece to people to talk about the vulnerability that they feel in terms of their infrastructure and the need for us to be more forth coming with them. But we learned each and every day today there was a report semantech about the vulnerability of our power grid. The fact that outside hackers have been able to get into the operational parts of those systems, not just probe some of the outlying parts of those systems. And we find that those systems are far more vulnerable than people may have expected. Ms. Kelly and weve been talking about it for years but we havent really done a lot to protect critical infrastructure. A lot of studies, meetings, talking. Mr. Schiff the big area that fell out of the cyberinformation sharing bill was the effort to deal with critical infrastructure. That was one area there was simply too wide a gulf between the parties in terms of whats federal governments role in protecting critical infrastructure. So it is largely set by private industry. Now, there are obviously a lot of incentives for private industry to improve their security. But whether those incentives are sufficient or not is an open question. I will say that the fact that theres still vulnerabilities doesnt mean nothing is being done. What it means in some cases is that this is a very asimilar et rick feel where the advantages are all on the offensive. Because those on offense only need to find one open door. And those on defense need to bar every window and lock every door. Thats inherently challenging and its a particularly inviting field for adversaries because theres always going to be plausible deniability. Weve gotten very good atry bution at art bution. But our adversaries know were never going to make public the full capability we have to attribute. And so theyll always have some level of deniability. Ms. Kelly thats a good point. Id love to talk about so many issues. We have some Great Questions here on russian influence. I know were running out of time and you have another appointment you need to get to this morning. Let me ask one more question following up on that answer about the cyber work force. Thanks great question from the audience. What is congress doing to build the cyber work force . How can they pay i. T. What they can make, especially given the state where youre coming from, is a cyberreserve corps a real possibility in the near future and might that bring any benefit . Mr. Schiff first of all, we cant compete financially with Silicon Valley. Some of the bright, capable people start in the Silicon Valley with salaries higher than yours or mine. Certainly higher than mine. A lot of people in the audience. Ms. Kelly probably mine too. Mr. Schiff im sure thats true. So were benefited by the fact that a lot of People Choose to work in the i. C. Because they feel a sense of patriotism and calling. And it draws them to that. And a lot of very patriotic people feel the same call to work within the private sector that are serving the i. C. So so thats tremendously beneficial. But we do need to continually work to recruit people. We need to continue working on diversifying the i. C. Work force. We also i think do need to explore creative ways to bring people in from industry for a period of years, then have the