Homeland Security

The passage of my resolution of inquiry was a critically important step forward in protecting the privacy and constitutional rights of millions of Americans who are deeply concerned about the scope and legality of the NSA's domestic surveillance program. I want to thank Chairman Sensenbrenner for his steadfast cooperation and willingness to work in a bipartisan manner to pass this resolution. Bipartisan support for this resolution sends an unequivocal message to Attorney General Gonzalez that stonewalling the Committee's request for information regarding this program is unacceptable. It is unconscionable that the Administration continues to ignore Congress' Constitutional authority to oversee legal safeguards, which were put in place to protect the civil liberties of all Americans. It appears that this Administration has assembled what news reports have called 'the largest database ever amassed in the world' from the telephone records of ordinary Americans, without the lawful supervision of FISA courts. It is clear that this Administration has arrogantly disregarded the law, and we must now immediately hear the legal justification of this program.

The nation has been in an uproar over granting amnesty to undocumented workers who cut our lawns or work in the restaurants where we eat, but it really should be outraged about plans to grant amnesty to those who murder, kidnap, or maim Americans in Iraq.

The current hue and cry over the Administration's accessing of bank records to stop funds from flowing to terrorists completely misunderstands the way the American people think about their government. As hard as it is for many to believe, most voters trust their government to keep their focus on the war on terror and not use the information it gets to invade privacy. The fundamental disconnect here is that the left cannot believe that this reservoir of trust exists, but it does.

While the President possesses the inherent authority to engage in electronic surveillance of the enemy outside the country, Congress regulates wiretapping within the United States. And Congress intended to fully occupy the field when it passed the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act requiring court approval for domestic eavesdropping.

There is no limiting principle to the Administration's argument that as commander in chief the President can do as he chooses during the war on terror. We are left solely to rely upon the good faith of the executive, and that is not good enough. When the executive shows that it is infallible, a good faith standard may be enough; but they are no more infallible than Congress. The Constitution doesn't say, as my opponents on the floor argued 'trust us.' In fact, in its system of checks and balances, the Constitution actually says, 'don't trust us,' and sets each institution as a check on the self-aggrandizing tendencies of every other.

Electronic surveillance of al Qaeda operatives and others seeking to harm our country can and will continue; it can and should be done in compliance with the law.

Troubling revelations and a historically poor track record at the Department of Homeland Security means that the Homeland Security Committee must conduct aggressive oversight and hold the Department's leadership responsible for its problems. If we don't hold the DHS leadership to account for their failures, it will look like the Department is just doing bad business as usual. I hope that we can hear directly from Secretary Chertoff and Deputy Secretary Jackson in the weeks to come on these and other issues of concern at DHS.Our Committee must conduct aggressive oversight and hold Department leaders accountable for the waste, fraud, and abuse fiascos that permeate throughout the agency. We should do this before Congress recesses for a whole week for the 4th of July. America's security cannot wait. 

 

My bill, H.R. 5595, is to ensure that homeland security allocations are based on vulnerabilities. The UASI process has been abused, leading to misallocations at the expense of places like New York City and Washington, DC.

We have tried to target things that do not belong in a defense bill. This is a bill meant to fund defense operations, and I feel to see what they have to do with each other.

For example, there is an appropriation for the Mystic Aquariam, which is in Connecticut, but the money is going to Ohio. Why should we be funding this with defense money?

There is a technology transfer center in Illinois. This may be a good thing, but why are we funding this with the defense bill.

The momentum that the National Guard empowerment issue has been gaining in the Senate and the House has several explanations, but one is the deeply personal experience of lawmakers who have personally encountered the bureaucratic cobwebs that the Guard has to contend with in order to perform its many and varied missions.

Monday morning's CongressDaily gives a glimpse of that. Writer George Wilson recaps an interview with Congressman Gene Taylor of Mississippi, who lost his own house to Katrina. Congressman Taylor recounts calling General Blum, chief of the National Guard Bureau, asking for help for his desperate constituents. If it was up to General Blum, the Guard's help would immediately have been on its way. But under the Guard's stepchild relationship with the Pentagon, General Blum had to work it through Army channels to get the Army's permission to help. Congressman Taylor contrasts that call with his appeal to the Navy, which was answered instantly.

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The mysterious appearance of this letter, which details Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham looking to secure a contract for Shirlington Limousine with the Department of Homeland Security, on the day after the hearing and after intense media scrutiny would lead even the most trusting person to wonder what else is lurking in the catacombs of the DHS. This is all a bit too convenient. I can promise that this investigation will go forward and we will hold the top leaders of this Department accountable. If we can't trust them to find a letter, how can we trust them to find a terrorist?

Once again, FEMA is a day late and a dollar short with their response to the waste, fraud and abuse that occurred post-Katrina.  Everyone agrees that we need to get emergency aid to people in times of need, but to have more than $1 billion of taxpayers dollars spent on vacations to Hawaii, trips to the casino and adult videos is unconscionable and unacceptable to me.  Unbelievably, some of the aid was sent to federal prisoners in states unaffected by the hurricane.  Yesterday's hearing hopefully made it crystal clear to FEMA that a repeat performance like this will not stand, and that we fully expect the criminals who gamed the system last year and cheated American taxpayers will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law.  Equally important is that FEMA must develop systems that will prevent fraud like this from taking place in the future.