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| Sometimes Things Happen for a Reason |
February 11, 2005 |
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Dear Friends,
Since coming to Congress in 1998 I have served on the Energy and Commerce Committee.
In the House more than the Senate, the real work is done in Committee and Energy and Commerce has jurisdiction over a lot of things important to New Mexico -- public health, Medicaid, energy, telecommunications, and environmental protection. It`s a good committee on which to serve for New Mexico, and I continue to enjoy the work we do.
But everyone who comes to the House has a story. We are cotton farmers and insurance agents and more than a few lawyers. We are short on national security expertise in the House. It is in that realm where I have felt most needed by the House as a whole.
Some of the things I`ve done have been quite visible -- like playing a leading role in expanding the Army over the next few years or asking tough questions about Abu Ghraib. Increasingly, my contributions will not be visible at all.
About two weeks ago I moved back to the House Intelligence Committee and have assumed a leadership position as Chair of the Subcommittee on Technical and Tactical Intelligence.
I did not expect to go back to Intelligence, nor did I expect a leadership position. But sometimes things happen for a reason.
The Committee is very small -- 12 Republicans and 9 Democrats. Our work is done in closed sessions, as it must be.
Last week we had an important witness come testify. I was one of the last to ask questions. It seemed to me there was one central, pretty simple and very important question. I asked it.
It was one of those moments when you could see people sit forward in their chairs and things got real still. The answer was not what I expected and it got people thinking.
If we are going to win the war on terrorism, we need exceptional intelligence. The stewardship and oversight of American intelligence is challenging and time consuming. It is the responsibility of a handful of people.
Sometimes, things happen for a reason.
Wish you were here,
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