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Adam in the News

December 17, 2015

Early Quake Warning System for West Coast? Funding Bill Headed for Vote (West Hollywood Patch)

An early warning system that could give a few seconds or more of notice before an earthquake hits in the West Coast could receive up to $8.2 million in federal funding under a bill headed to a House vote Friday, a congressman said Thursday. The funding -- which would go the West Coast Earthquake Warning System -- will exceed last year's $6.5 million amount approved for the same program, according to Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Burbank. The proposed $8.2 million also is higher than the $5 million … Continue Reading


December 16, 2015

After four years, Congress finally appears set to pass cybersecurity legislation on data-sharing (Washington Post)

After four years of wrangling, Congress appears on the verge of approving cybersecurity legislation that the White House and lawmakers hope will help reduce the threat to the nation from foreign government and criminal hackers. It would be the first major piece of cyber legislation passed in recent years, but even backers do not pretend it is the silver bullet. Still, they say it is a start to better protecting private sector and government computer systems from costly intrusions. "It is … Continue Reading


December 16, 2015

NEWS FROM WASHINGTON D.C. (Crescenta Valley Weekly)

As this year draws to a close, I wanted to update you on some of the issues and legislation I have worked to advance this year. First, for a long time I have worked to protect the "Rim of the Valley" corridor, passing legislation to authorize the Dept. of Interior to study options for preserving these beautiful natural areas. This year, the Department released a draft report recommending that the park be more than doubled in size. This major expansion would better serve and connect our … Continue Reading


December 16, 2015

Adam Schiff’s “fierce determination to rid ourselves of ISIS’ scourge” (WeHo News)

Adam Schiff, (D-CA 28th) Ranking Member of the House Intelligence Committee ought to know of what he says when he calls ISIS a scourge - and calls for ISIS' annihilation. Yet even in the wake of President Barack Obama's call for an Authorization for Use of Military Force, he cannot convince the Congress to feel the same way, or at least vote they feel that way on the record. Congress member Schiff serves a district diverse in culture and politics. The CA 28th holds the Jewish-liberal city … Continue Reading


December 15, 2015

Threat that closed down L.A. schools appears to be hoax, congressman says (Los Angeles Times)

The threat that prompted Los Angeles Unified School officials to close all schools appears to be a hoax, a U.S. Congressman on the House Intelligence committee said. "The preliminary assessment is that it was a hoax or something designed to disrupt school districts in large cities. The investigation is ongoing as to where the threat originated from and who was responsible," Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Burbank) said in a statement. Another local congressman, Brad Sherman, said the person who sent … Continue Reading


December 15, 2015

Threat That Closed Los Angeles Schools Being Treated as Hoax (New York Times)

LOS ANGELES - After the Los Angeles public schools were shut down Tuesday in response to threats of a bomb and poison gas attack, officials determined that the threats were probably a hoax, but not before the lives of millions of Angelenos - students, parents, teachers and school staff members - were thrown into disarray. The threat came in an email sent to board members of the Los Angeles Unified School District, said Charlie Beck, chief of the Los Angeles Police Department. New York City … Continue Reading


December 15, 2015

Threat Against LAUSD, New York Schools Preliminarily Deemed a ‘Hoax,’ Rep. Schiff Says (KTLA)

The threat made against LAUSD and schools in New York City is a hoax, according to a preliminary assessment, according to a Los Angeles-area congressman who is on the U.S. House Intelligence Committee. Rep. Adam Schiff, a Democrat whose district includes a large swath of L.A., plus Glendale and Burbank, said Tuesday afternoon that the threat was a "hoax or something designed to disrupt school districts in large cities." He released the statement after a preliminary briefing. All Los … Continue Reading


December 15, 2015

Facing the same threat, schools in Los Angeles, New York take different tacks (Washington Post)

LOS ANGELES - The emails arrived overnight Monday into Tuesday. They threatened the safety of hundreds of thousands of students in the nation's two largest school districts, promising that a violent plan already had been set in motion and raising the specter of guns and bombs inside numerous classrooms. New York City officials opted to open their public schools on time Tuesday, calling the message an amateurish hoax imitating a popular television series. But across the country in Los … Continue Reading


December 15, 2015

Emailed Threat That Closed All Los Angeles Schools Was “Not Credible” (Buzzfeed News)

All Los Angeles public schools were closed Tuesday after the district received an emailed threat that officials in New York as well as California later called a "hoax," possibly from a fan of the Showtime hit Homeland. Los Angeles Unified Supt. Ramon C. Cortines did not reveal specifically what the email contained, but said the decision to close down the second largest school district in the nation was not made lightly. He also cited the recent terror attack in San Bernardino, which … Continue Reading


December 14, 2015

US looking at ways to better screen would-be immigrants (Associated Press)

WASHINGTON (AP) - The Obama administration is reviewing procedures for vetting would-be immigrants, with an eye toward examining applicants' online presence, to close security gaps in the U.S. visa system, the White House said Monday. White House spokesman Josh Earnest said the Homeland Security and State departments have been asked to review the process for screening people who apply for visas and to return with specific recommendations. The Homeland Security Department said it is … Continue Reading


December 11, 2015

The Schiff AUMF: It’s even better than that (Just Security)

I heartily concur in the praise that Jen and Steve, and Jack Goldsmith, have heaped upon the new draft AUMF proposed by Representative Adam Schiff. Indeed, my enthusiasm for the proposal is, if anything, even more unqualified than theirs, because I think (perhaps naively, but I hope not) Congress might actually enact Schiff's bill-and by an overwhelming margin, at that. I won't repeat here all of the reasons my fellow bloggers have offered for why the Schiff proposal is worthy of broad … Continue Reading


December 10, 2015

Draft AUMF Would Limit Anti-ISIS War Authority To Three Years (BuzzFeed)

WASHINGTON - House Intelligence Committee ranking member Adam Schiff has drafted a new Authorized Use of Military Force resolution granting the administration authority to wage war against ISIS, Al Qaeda, and the Taliban over the next three years. President Obama called on Congress to pass a new AUMF during his address to the nation on Sunday. Although he and other administration officials have supported passage of a new resolution in the past, they have generally insisted that the existing … Continue Reading


December 10, 2015

Schiff adds to ISIS war authorization proposals (The Hill)

Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) is circulating his own draft authorization for the use military force (AUMF) against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS), adding to a growing list of such bills. "Though there is broad agreement that we need a new AUMF, the question of what could pass the House and Senate and gain the support of the president has proved elusive," he said in a statement Thursday. "It is time to break the gridlock and for us to accept our responsibility to our men and women … Continue Reading


December 10, 2015

Rep. Schiff’s Newly-Proposed AUMF: Praise And A Caveat (Just Security)

by https://www.justsecurity.org/28237/rep-schiffs-newly-proposed-aumf-praise-caveat/

Over at Lawfare, Jack Goldsmith praises Adam Schiff's newly-proposed Consolidated Authorization to Use Military Force. With one important caveat (see below), we share in Jack's praise. The Schiff bill would repeal both the 2001 AUMF (authorizing force against those responsible for the 9/11 attacks) and the 2002 AUMF (authorizing the use of force in Iraq), and instead replace them with a single AUMF authorizing the use of force against al Qaeda, ISIL and the Afghan Taliban. Critically, it … Continue Reading


December 10, 2015

Democrat renews call for Congress to authorize war vs. Islamic State (Politico)

The top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee is trying again to get Congress to authorize the military to take on the Islamic State. But Rep. Adam Schiff's proposal is likely to meet the same fate as his last, unsuccessful push earlier this year to officially sanction military force against the extremist group. Neither Democratic nor GOP leaders have signaled support for it. Schiff's latest "authorization for use of military force," or AUMF, plan would "sunset" the military force … Continue Reading


December 10, 2015

Lawmakers: No evidence encryption used in San Bernardino (The Hill)

Lawmakers said Thursday there was no evidence yet the two suspected San Bernardino shooters used encryption to hide from authorities in the lead-up to the recent terror attack that killed 14 people. "We don't know whether it played a part in this attack," Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Richard Burr (R-N.C.) told reporters following a closed-door briefing with federal officials on the shootings. But that hasn't ruled out the possibility, Burr and others cautioned. "That's … Continue Reading


December 09, 2015

Obama’s Plans to Stop ISIS Leave Many Democrats Wanting More (New York Times)

WASHINGTON - Many of President Obama's Democratic allies in Congress say they do not believe he is being aggressive enough in confronting the terrorist threat of the Islamic State after last week's attacks in California, undermining Americans' sense of safety, especially among voters who will decide the party's fate in elections next year. The concerns began to surface last month, when senior administration officials went to Capitol Hill to urge Democrats to reject a bill to curb a Syrian … Continue Reading


December 08, 2015

Capitol Hill intel leaders: Final cyber bill is 'very close' (The Hill)

Congress's top intelligence leaders insisted on Tuesday that a final deal is imminent on the text of major cybersecurity legislation. "I think we're very close," Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), the House Intelligence Committee's top Democrat, told The Hill. "We're hoping to close in on a final product imminently." "I think it's about done," added Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), ranking member on the Senate Intelligence Committee. Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Richard Burr (R-N.C.) … Continue Reading


December 07, 2015

U.S. Lawmakers Intensify Push to Unlock Encrypted Communications (Bloomberg)

Lawmakers are intensifying their push to give U.S. law enforcement agencies access to encrypted communications after recent terror attacks but say they haven't been able to agree on legislation to balance privacy and security. "There is more that the government and industry must do," said Representative Adam Schiff of California, the top Democrat on the House intelligence committee, in an e-mailed statement Monday. "There is no consensus on what a legislative solution would look like, let … Continue Reading


December 07, 2015

Schiff Issues Statement on President’s Speech (Crescenta Valley Weekly)

Tonight, Monday, Dec. 7, Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Burbank), the Ranking Member of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, released the following statement: "The ISIS-inspired mass shooting in San Bernardino was the realization of our gravest fear after the Paris attacks - that those radicalized by ISIS propaganda here at home would choose now to act on its malicious urgings. The combination of both of these attacks demonstrate the urgency of defeating ISIS and depriving it of the … Continue Reading

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