The U.S. intelligence community is “inadequate” when it comes to providing the president and Congress with the information they need to protect the country, Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) said in opening remarks at the Senate’s annual worldwide threat assessment hearing.

Cotton, chair of the Senate intelligence panel, railed against what he described a bureaucratic bloat, drift and “social engineering” in the intelligence communities distracting from their mission of gathering information on threats to the nation.

“After years of drift the intelligence community must return to its core mission,” he said.