Thursday in the Senate Intelligence Committee, I held the first open hearing of 2015 as Chairman. Nicolas Rasmussen, Director of the National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC), testified at an unclassified hearing on current terror threats. When questioned by Senator Rubio, Director Rasmussen explained that the Islamic State has newly expanded into Algeria and Afghanistan, greatly expanding its influence throughout North Africa and the Middle East. You can watch the hearing in full by clicking below.
Senate Intelligence Hearing with Director Rasmussen
Analysis from yesterday’s hearing can be found here and here.
This hearing is not a one-off – as Chairman, I plan to hold these regularly during the year to allow the American people to hear directly from our Intelligence Community on different issues and threats. You can read more about my plans for open hearings here.
This past Sunday, North Carolina legend, Dean Smith passed away. To celebrate his life and extraordinary contributions to North Carolina, Senator Tillis and I passed a resolution for Coach Smith in his honor.
Coach Smith was a leader on and off the court. A fantastic coach, he will be remembered for his success at the helm of the Tar Heels team, and his memory will continue to live on through the hundreds of students he encouraged to succeed in the classroom. I’m happy for the opportunity to further honor his life with this resolution.
On Thursday, I joined a group of bipartisan Senators on the Senate education committee in releasing a report detailing ways Congress and the Department of Education could streamline and reduce federal regulations for America’s 6,000 colleges and universities, while protecting students and taxpayers.
Over a year ago when this task force began its work, I noted the ‘tidal wave’ of regulations facing institutions of higher education and the resulting higher tuition costs to students. Not only has this report confirmed, with specificity, the extent of these problems, it shows that every day the situation worsens as a result of the Department of Education’s never-ending addiction to regulating colleges and universities. My hope is Congress can put the report’s recommendations to action as soon as possible. I also want to thank the members of the task force, but am especially appreciative of President Tom Ross and Chancellor Harold Martin for accepting my invitation to advocate for North Carolina’s views on the task force.
Click here to access the report. There will be a hearing on the report on February 24th, so be on the look out for more information.
Tuesday, I had the honor of speaking about the ABLE Act at the White House with Senator Casey, Congressman Crenshaw, Congresswoman McMorris Rodgers, and other disability advocates who fought so hard for the ABLE Act’s passage into law. The ABLE Act took 8 years of hard work but it was well worth the labor. I am pleased that thousands of disabled individuals and their loved ones will be able to save for their future.
The National Down Syndrome Society snapped this picture while at the White House
This week, the Clay Hunt Suicide Prevention for American Veterans Act was signed into law by the President. Our veterans have made countless sacrifices on behalf of this country and they deserve better. The Clay Hunt SAV Act will provide much-needed resources to combat the epidemic of veteran suicide. I could not be more pleased to see my legislation signed into law today and I will continue to support efforts to provide care for our nation’s heroes. You can read about the Clay Hunt SAV Act here and here.
This week, I joined both WCNC and WGPH to discuss my legislation, the Military Sexual Offender Reporting Act. Click below to watch.
Finally, this week tragedy struck in Chapel Hill, leaving three dead and our community in mourning. My prayers are with their families. I have faith that law enforcement will assemble the facts and ensure that justice is carried out on behalf of those murdered. I have also extended an offer to assist law enforcement so that the victims’ families can quickly get answers about the deaths of their loved ones.
Sincerely,
Richard Burr
