Keep confirmation hearings for spy agencies

As an actively engaged and deeply concerned constituent, I urge you to keep spy agencies accountable to the public. Top intelligence officials should be just as accountable to the people as any other governmental office. But as you know, right now Congress is weighing a provision that would end Senate confirmation for the chief lawyers at both the CIA and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. These lawyers are responsible for secretly shaping policies on issues like surveillance, detention, and interrogation at U.S. intelligence agencies. Confirmation hearings are one of the only ways that the American public gets any insight into our intelligence community. To no longer require these confirmations would remove one of the only transparency and public accountability points that these offices face. We cannot let that happen. The process is important – and has produced real discoveries in the past. Tell the Senate they must keep spy agencies accountable to the American people.