Floor Remarks by Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa
Senate President Pro Tempore
“Update on Intelligence Community Coordination with HHS Office of National Security”
Thursday, March 26, 2026

VIDEO

We remember the tragic loss of life of about 3,000 Americans as a result of the [attacks] we had in New York and in Washington, D.C. on 9/11.

One of the conclusions we came to afterwards of how drastic things like that can happen in America is that there wasn’t cooperation and communication between the FBI and the CIA. In fact, it was prohibited by law.

Now, that’s changed, so, there’s supposed to be that communication going on between the two agencies so 9/11 never happens again.

I’m here to talk about a couple other agencies that need to cooperate to make sure that [the] policy of our federal government’s carried out properly.

So, last December, I spoke about one of my long-running oversight projects.

That oversight project is ensuring maximum coordination [between] the Department of Health and [Human] Services’ (HHS) agency, entitled “Office of National Security,” or ONS, for short, and the Intelligence Community.

By coordination, at the very least, we ought to have dialogue and cooperation.

Part of ONS’s responsibility is to protect against foreign threats that undermine tax-funded research.

Now, to be effective, ONS must collaborate closely with national security partners.

So, as part of my oversight, I wrote to HHS Secretary Kennedy and Director of National Intelligence Gabbard to learn about their recent efforts to ensure robust information sharing and that it is done in an effective way.

Last week, my investigative staff hosted a classified briefing with both ONS and the Intelligence Community staff.

I’m told that the meeting was very productive, that both parties have a like-minded approach to information sharing and that improvements have been made.

I’ve also been told that more can be done to enhance information-sharing capabilities between ONS and the Intelligence Community. So, today, I urge the administration to make that cooperation and coordination and information-sharing…enhanced.

Doing so will further help detect and deter adversaries trying to take advantage of American research and innovation.

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