McCaul Introduces Legislation to Establish Full Review of US Secret Service

Press Release

Today, U.S. Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, chairman of the Committee on Homeland Security, introduced H.R. 5698, the "United States Secret Service Accountability and Improvement Act of 2014" to establish an independent panel to conduct a top-to-bottom review of the United States Secret Service (USSS).

"Several high-profile incidents have caused Americans to question the leadership and management of the U.S. Secret Service," said McCaul. "The men and women of the Secret Service deserve an organization that is efficient and effective, and the American people deserve confidence that the Service can effectively perform its vital missions. My legislation will create a panel to conduct a truly independent, bipartisan, top-to-bottom review. Rather than investigating one specific incident, this independent panel will take a hard look at the Secret Service as a whole, and make specific recommendations to ensure the Secret Service has the best possible leadership structure, internal policies, tools, and resources to meet its mission."

Unlike the panel Sec. Johnson established in October to review only the September 19th incident, the independent advisory panel created by H.R. 5698 will conduct a comprehensive review of the entire agency. The panel will examine:

-the leadership structure, protocols, training, tools, and capabilities of the United States Secret Service;

- the unity of effort between the divisions of the Service and others;

-the effectiveness of communications;

-the impact of culture on the effectiveness and efficiency of the organization;

-the impact any deficiencies have on the threat from acts of terrorism or other security incidents;

-identification of security breaches at locations under Secret Service protection in the past five years; and

-the extent to which current resources provide for accomplishing the mission.

The panel will have the authority to hold hearings, subpoena and obtain administrative items and must report its findings to Congress within 18 months.

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