As the Ranking Member, or top Democrat, on the House Intelligence Committee, I believe our government’s highest responsibility is to ensure the security of our nation. In today’s dangerous world, it’s not enough to have the world’s strongest military or most capable national security apparatus. One of my goals in Congress is to articulate and pursue a smart, progressive course on national security and foreign policy which keeps us secure, while staying true to our core values as a nation.

We must expand cooperation among our allies and partners across the world to fight terrorism and defeat ISIS. That’s why I have supported our military efforts in Iraq and Syria, our efforts to counter ISIS propaganda by empowering the voices of our Muslim allies, stronger efforts to counter violent extremism at home, and efforts to improve Homeland security. That’s why I also believe America must speak with a clear voice about human rights – including all genocides, like the Armenian Genocide and the one ISIS is waging against Christians and other religious minorities in Iraq and Syria.

We face threats from terrorist organizations including ISIS and al Qaeda, as well as from nations like Iran, North Korea, and a newly aggressive Russia. We must confront these threats using all the tools in our arsenal — diplomatic, economic, and military. I supported strong sanctions on Russia for its invasion of Ukraine, freedom of the sea exercises in the South China Sea, an international coalition to constrain North Korea’s dangerous and provocative actions, and the Iran Nuclear Deal which dramatically lengthened Iran’s potential breakout time, required vigorous inspections and required Iran to export most of its highly enriched uranium and pour concrete into the core of their plutonium reactor.

As Ranking Member of the Intelligence Committee, I have helped strengthen our efforts to gather information on those who would attack us, even while I have helped lead the way on issues like privacy and civil liberties, pushing to end the bulk collection of American’s phone records while also maintaining the capabilities we need to keep Americans safe. I also helped write and pass the Cybersecurity Act, which will help to secure public and private networks from attacks by hackers by improving information sharing