WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Senators Angus King (I-ME) and Mike Rounds (R-SD), members of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence (SSCI), have introduced legislation to better ensure access to U.S. Intelligence Community property is only available to authorized personnel. The bipartisan Intelligence Community Property Security Act would strengthen the penalty for trespassing on sensitive property under the jurisdiction of the Intelligence Community.

Currently, Title 18 of United States Code — which outlines laws pertaining to crimes and criminal procedures — does not express address criminal incursions onto U.S. intelligence sites. The bill would revise criminal penalties to address the severity of the crime, and the pointed threat repeat offenders pose to U.S. national security interests.

“The 21st century threat landscape is complicated, but there are some simple and straightforward steps we can take to protect our security and operations — like make sure that our Intelligence Community facilities are not compromised by unauthorized trespassers,” said King. “The bipartisan Intelligence Community Property Security Act would take action to strengthen the penalties for bad actors and offenders attempting to intrude on intelligence sites. It’s commonsense legislation that will help better protect American people and interests.”

“Having unauthorized personnel trespassing onto some of our nation’s most sensitive sites presents a grave national security risk. We can’t take these offenses lightly,” said Rounds. “Our legislation would strengthen the punishment for repeated offenses and, in turn, better deter those bad actors who may try to infringe on these properties. Now more than ever, it’s critical to protect our intelligence sites from foreign adversaries.”

A member of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence (SSCI) and the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC), Senator King is recognized as a thoughtful voice on national security and foreign policy issues. In addition to his committee work, Senator King serves on the Congressional-Executive Commission on China, the Senate North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Observer Group, and is co-chair of the Cyberspace Solarium Commission — which has had dozens of recommendations become law. Earlier this year, he joined fellow Senate Select Committee on Intelligence (SSCI) colleagues in writing a letter to the White House about the risks to national security by allowing unvetted Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) staff and representatives to access classified and sensitive government materials.

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