Hearing of the House Homeland Security Committee - Markup of H.R. 1300, H.R. 1615, H.R. 1626, H.R. 1633, H.R. 1637, H.R. 1640, H.R. 1646, H.R. 1738, H.R. 2200, H.R. 2206, and H.R. 2390
Hearing
We are meeting today to markup several bills. I have a longer statement for the record, but in the interest
of time I will keep my comments very short and ask that other members keep their comments equally
short so we can move efficiently through today's business.
Several of the bills today aid our first responders and emergency management professionals, protecting
them from the dangers of biological weapons and increasing information sharing and communication
before, during and after a disaster.
As we saw after the Boston bombings and the recent train derailment in Pennsylvania, the fast and
efficient response of first responders and emergency management professionals can mean the difference
between life and death in the aftermath of a disaster. We need to continue to support our first responders
in every way we can. Several of the bills before us today do just that.
Several other bills on our markup curb waste, fraud, abuse and increase transparency at the Department
of Homeland Security. As we are all very familiar, DHS was created over a decade ago, merging all or
part of 22 Federal departments and agencies. This created a management and organizational nightmare
that is still playing out today.
I am very proud of the freshman on the Committee who worked hard in the first 100 days of the
Congress to identify issues within DHS and introduced bills to make the department run more
efficiently, enabling the department to focus and be more effective at their core mission -- protecting the
American people. In the end, we all have the same goal of protecting the homeland.
With that, I again thank the members and staff who have put the time and effort into these measures. I
look forward to having these bills approved by the Committee, passed on the House floor, and signed
into law by the President. I ask unanimous consent to insert my full statement into the record.
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