US Senate honors intelligence professionals for service to the nation

The U.S. Senate is honoring the courage and sacrifice of the men and women of the U.S. intelligence community by designating July 26, 2015 as “United States Intelligence Professionals Day.”

U.S. Sen. Mark Warner (D- VA), a member of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, introduced a joint resolution that was unanimously approved by the Senate, acknowledging intelligence officers, past and present, for their service and professionalism in protecting the United States from those who wish to do us harm.

“Our nation’s intelligence professionals are quiet heroes who work every day to keep America safe, but we seldom hear about their successes or their sacrifices,” said Sen. Warner in a press release.

“These men and women work in silence to protect the nation and they deploy to war zones and dangerous regions of the world. They cannot discuss their work even with their families. But as a member of the Intelligence Committee, I see how they keep our country safe every day, and I thank them for their service to our nation.”

This bill comes 68 years after President Harry Truman signed the National Security Act of 1947, which laid the foundation for today’s intelligence community and continues to govern its activities.

The legislation to establish Intelligence Professionals Day was co-sponsored by Sens. Barbara Mikulski (D-MD), Richard Burr (R-NC), Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Roy Blunt (R-MO), Jim Risch (R-ID), Dick Durbin (D-IL),  Tim Kaine (D-VA), Angus King (I-ME), Marco Rubio (R-FL), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), James Lankford (R-OK), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), Tom Cotton (R-AR), and Mazie Hirono (D-HI).