Tipton Questions Obama’s Decision to Appoint Rice WASHINGTON—Congressman Scott Tipton (R-CO) issued this statement following the announcement that President Obama is appointing embattled U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice to be national security advisor. Rice is a central figure in the ongoing investigation into the terrorist attack on the U.S. embassy in Benghazi and subsequent cover-up by the Administration.
“In the midst of the ongoing investigation into the security failure in Benghazi and subsequent attempts by the Administration to cover-up the nature of the attack, the President is appointing Susan Rice to national security advisor when she was at the forefront of misrepresenting the attacks to the American people on multiple cable news interviews. I am disappointed by the President’s judgment in this appointment, which unfortunately circumvents any oversight as it does not require Senate confirmation. I will continue to push for accountability and a full investigation into all who were involved with misleading the American peopl
Tipton: NSA Seizure of Americans’ Phone Records Deeply Troubling WASHINGTON—Today, Congressman Scott Tipton (R-CO) issued the below statement following reports that the National Security Agency (NSA) has obtained the phone records of millions of American Verizon customers. Tipton has joined a number of his House colleagues in a letter to of Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Director Robert Mueller and NSA Director Gen. Keith Alexander to determine the scope of the agencies’ data collection activities.
“The news that the NSA has seized the phone records of millions of Americans is deeply troubling. While we must ensure that our nation is secure from terrorist threats and has the tools needed to stop such threats, gathering millions of phone records of American citizens, not under investigation for any crime, is an overreach of power, violation of rights and infringement of privacy. This is unacceptable and we deserve answers from the Administration.”
In the letter, Tipton and his colleagues write:
“As Representatives of Americans possi
House Adopts Tipton Amendment to Reduce Delays at Rural Airports WASHINGTON - Today, the U.S. House of Representatives unanimously approved an amendment offered by Congressman Scott Tipton (R-CO) to reduce delays at rural airports.
The amendment would cut $4 million from the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) budget, and redirect those resources to replace equipment at small and rural airports that have had important passenger screening devices removed as a result of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Modernization Act resulting in unnecessary delays and intrusions. The funds being redirected from TSA to improve passenger screening at small airports are from its administrative budget, and as such do not impact passenger security.
“Passengers into rural airports in my district including Yampa Valley, Montrose, Gunnison and Durango, have been impacted by unnecessary delays and intrusions because of the removal of security screening devices that were sent to larger airports,” said Tipton. “TSA’s implication that security check
House Passes Tipton, Polis Amendment to Increase Funding for Wildfire Prevention WASHINGTON - Today, the U.S. House of Representatives unanimously approved an amendment offered by Congressman Scott Tipton (R-CO) and Congressman Jared Polis (D-CO) that would direct $7,655,000 to the National Predisaster Mitigation Fund. This amendment would increase funds for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to minimize the damage and costs of extreme weather events, like wildfires, by mitigating the threat prior to a disaster. The amendment is offset by decreasing the same amount of funding in the Automation Modernization account of the Department of Homeland Security which received an increase of $7,655,000 this year.
Last year was an unusually devastating year for wildfires. Colorado experienced two of the most destructive fires in its history. In 2012, Colorado wildfires destroyed nearly 650 structures, killed six Coloradans, burned more than 384,000 acres of land, and caused over $538 million in property losses.
“Forests are vital for the Western United State
