A Look Ahead: House Committee on Homeland Security

Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Rep. Peter T. King (R-NY), Chairman of the Committee on Homeland Security, announced the following upcoming Committee events:

Wednesday, May 16

Subcommittee Hearing: Access Control Point Breaches at Our Nation's Airports: Anomalies or Systemic Failures?

10:00 a.m. on Wednesday, May 16, in 311 Cannon House Office Building

Subcommittee on Transportation Security

Rep. Mike Rogers (R-AL), Chairman

Invited Witnesses Include:

Panel I

Mr. John P. Sammon
Assistant Administrator
Transportation Sector Network Management
Transportation Security Administration

Mr. Charles K. Edwards
Acting Inspector General
U.S. Department of Homeland Security

Panel II

Mr. Mark Crosby
Chief of Public Safety & Security
Portland International Airport
Testifying on behalf of the American Association of Airport Executives

Mr. Sean P. Cassidy
First Vice President
Air Line Pilots Association, International

Chairman Rogers on the hearing:

"Securing our Nation’s aviation system requires 100% accuracy.  Any weaknesses in the system could be exploited by our enemies and lead to an attack.  The many reports of security breaches and unauthorized access to the tarmac continue to underscore the need to strengthen access controls.  We must make certain that the billions of taxpayer dollars we spend screening passengers is not in vain if systemic vulnerabilities exist through the back doors of our airports.  This hearing will provide an opportunity to question TSA and its partners about the measures in place to not only physically protect airports, but also to ensure that employees with sterile area access have been thoroughly vetted and do not pose a threat." 

Thursday, May 17

Subcommittee Hearing: Department of Homeland Security: An Examination of Ethical Standards

9:30 a.m. on Thursday, May 17, in 311 Cannon House Office Building

Subcommittee on Oversight, Investigations, and Management

Rep. Michael McCaul (R-TX), Chairman

Witnesses To Be Announced

Chairman McCaul on the hearing: 

“Big government wastes taxpayer dollars.  A prime example of this is the General Services Administration’s Las Vegas conference.  Another example is the Secure Border Initiative Network where the Department of Homeland Security spent nearly one billion taxpayer dollars with little return on investment.  Equally important is how our Government employees conduct themselves.  We have seen a rash of corrupt employees in Customs and Border Protection collaborating with drug smugglers, Immigration and Customs Enforcement personnel filing fraudulent travel claims and Transportation Security Administration personnel stealing the personal belongings of passengers.  Even though there are stacks of Government manuals, training materials and yearly briefings about ethics, lapses continue.  They not only waste taxpayer dollars, they are a threat to the security of our nation.  While the majority of bureaucratic personnel are law abiding, this hearing will examine the ethical policies and procedures of selected components of the Department of Homeland and attempt to understand why these ethical lapses continue, and what is being done to prevent them from happening.”

Friday, May 18

Subcommittee Hearing: Terrorist Financing Since 9/11: Assessing an Evolving al Qaeda and State Sponsors of Terrorism

9:30 a.m. on Friday, May 18, in 311 Cannon House Office Building

Subcommittee on Counterterrorism and Intelligence

Rep. Patrick Meehan (R-PA), Chairman

Witnesses To Be Announced

Chairman Meehan on the hearing:

“Since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, significant U.S. Government resources have been devoted to identifying links between terrorist group’s intent on attacking the U.S. Homeland and their financial benefactors here at home and abroad. The U.S. Intelligence Community, led by the Department of the Treasury Office of Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, has been a model in effectively using financial intelligence to identify funding streams to terrorist networks and state sponsors of terrorism.

“This Subcommittee on Counterterrorism and Intelligence hearing, ‘Terrorist Financing Since 9/11: Assessing an Evolving al Qaeda and State Sponsors of Terrorism,’ will examine the current status of our fight against terrorist financing, especially as we face an evolving al-Qaeda with multiple affiliates worldwide, and an emboldened Iran, the world's largest state sponsor of terrorism.”

Monday, May 21

Subcommittee Field Hearing: Stopping the Flow of Illicit Drugs in Arizona by Leveraging State, Local and Federal Information Sharing

1:00 p.m. EDT (10:00 a.m. MDT) on Monday, May 21, in the Russell Auditorium, Building M5101, Arizona National Guard, 5636 E. McDowell Road, Phoenix, AZ, 85008

Subcommittee on Border and Maritime Security

Rep. Candice Miller (R-MI), Chairman

**Hearing will be chaired by Rep. Ben Quayle (R-AZ), Vice Chair of the Subcommittee on Border and Maritime Security**

Witnesses To Be Announced

***See www.homeland.house.gov for updates.

***Coverage note:  All Committee on Homeland Security proceedings are webcast live at www.homeland.house.gov/live-video-feed.

 

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