February 1st, Representative Rick Larsen is/was scheduled to introduce a bill which would make the Director of National Intelligence and the Joint Chiefs of Staff permanent members of the National Security Council. This is exactly the kind of bold leadership we want from our legislators!
Call Rick Larsen’s office:
Bellingham 360-733-4500
Everett 425-252-3188
DC (202) 225-2605
Talking Points:
1) You support Larsen’s bill to make the Director of National Intelligence and the Joint Chiefs of Staff permanent members of the National Security Council.
2) You do not agree with Bannon’s appointment to the National Security Council.
3) Thank Rick Larsen for his leadership in this issue.
Alternatively, if you cannot call, you can email his office on the contact us page here: https://larsen.house.gov/contact-rick
Background:
The bill does not have a name or a number yet. Representative Larsen tweeted about the bill:
https://twitter.com/RepRickLarsen/status/826973417224228864
https://twitter.com/RepRickLarsen/status/825792726796947456
This bill would make the Director of National Intelligence and the Joint Chief’s of Staff permanent members of the National Security Council.
Why this is important: Over the weekend, Donald Trump elevated Steve Bannon, a non-elected official with no military experience, to the National Security Council and made the Director of National Intelligence and Joint Chief’s of Staff optional to attend meetings.
The impact of this is to make the National Security Council more political and removes experienced voices of reason from this group.
Representative Larsen has released his ‘Dear Colleague’ letter to ask for support from his fellow House Representatives. Currently Representative Murphy is writing a similar bill. Both bills will go to committee – most likely the House Armed Services Committee which Larsen serves on. We will be able to see what the bill does tomorrow on this page: http://clerk.house.gov/floorsummary/floor.aspx
The National Security Council is committee is a Cabinet-level group of agencies focused on national security that was established by President George H. W. Bush in 1989. To date, every version of the Committee has included the Joint Chiefs chairman and the director of the CIA or, once it was established, the head of the Director of National Intelligence. Bannon’s appointment is a major break with tradition and makes a traditionally a-political committee extremely political. The National Security Council is run by National Security Adviser Michael Flynn who himself has had plenty of controversy of late, mostly involving ill-advised comments his son has made and his close ties with Russia and specifically Putin.