WASHINGTON, D.C. – Lake County's congressman has received a key appointment in the House of Representatives.

On Thursday Congressman Mike Thompson (D-St. Helena), a senior member of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence (HPSCI), was selected to serve as ranking member of the Subcommittee on Terrorism, Human Intelligence, Analysis, and Counterintelligence (THACI).

As the top-ranking Democrat on the subcommittee, Rep. Thompson will help oversee the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), National Security Agency (NSA), and other intelligence agencies and departments.

Specifically, Rep. Thompson will provide oversight for key intelligence activities, including identifying and counteracting security threats posed by espionage or terrorism; analyzing and assessing intelligence related to nuclear proliferation, narcotics smuggling, human trafficking, and other potential threats; and acquiring sensitive information from human sources, either covertly or by debriefing.

“I am honored to have been selected to serve as the top Democrat on this extremely important subcommittee,” said Thompson. “Strong, viable intelligence is the most effective way to keep America safe. I look forward to working with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to ensure our intelligence community has the resources it needs. Nothing could be more important to the security of our country and our people.”

In addition to serving as the ranking member of THACI, Rep. Thompson also will be a member of the Subcommittee on Oversight, which conducts studies and investigations across the jurisdiction of HPSCI. These include inquiries into allegations of waste, fraud, abuse, and other wrongdoings and inefficiencies within the intelligence community.

Thompson was first selected to serve on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence in 2007.

The committee has jurisdiction over the intelligence community and intelligence-related activities by the CIA, DIA, NSA, and other agencies of the Department of Defense and the Departments of State, Justice and Treasury.

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