Homeland Security Committee Releases Follow-Up Report on Boston Marathon Bombings: McCaul, Keating to Discuss at Anniversary Roundtable

Press Release

Today, U.S. Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, chairman of the Committee on Homeland Security, and U.S. Rep. William Keating, D-Mass., released a report entitled, "Preventing Another Boston Marathon Bombing: Review the Lessons Learned from the 2013 Terror Attack," to review the implementation of the Committee's recommendations from its 2014 Boston Marathon Bombings investigative report.

Chairman McCaul said: "The second anniversary of the Boston Marathon Bombings is not only a day to remember everyone directly impacted when the bombs went off, it is also a day to review the steps taken, and the steps still needed, to close the gaps that allowed this tragic event to occur. We must ensure state and local entities have the information they need to be the force multipliers for our nation's counterterrorism efforts. Closing the gaps in information-sharing is especially important with the recent increase in homegrown terror and the rise of ISIS. While there is more work to be done, today America is safer because of the progress made on all the recommendations from the Committee's initial investigative report on the Boston Marathon Bombings."

Rep. Keating said: "Two years ago, Chairman McCaul and I set out on a path to identify missteps that led to the Boston Marathon Bombing and work to close those gaps. We said then that we wouldn't simply identify lessons learned from yet another tragedy and move on. Today, we stand before you to demonstrate our commitment to the people of Massachusetts and to our law enforcement professionals who work to protect us each and every day. This follow-up report builds upon the information gathered from our fact-finding trips to Russia, Boston, and other law enforcement hubs across the US. More specifically, it details follow-up interviews with the heroic first responders of Boston who noted that while great progress has been made in terms of information sharing between federal and local law enforcement, there is still more work to be done."

The Committee's 2014 investigative report targeted several areas where government coordination needed to be strengthened and improved to better protect Americans from similar attacks in the future. Those area include:

· Expand cooperation between federal and local law enforcement;

· Refine the policy surrounding the use of travel records and the screening of international travelers;

· Increase information sharing with regard to various terror/travel watch lists at the federal level; and

· Develop more sophisticated efforts to mitigate terrorist threats.

This follow-up report, released today, shows that progress has been made by key stakeholders in each of these areas and also identifies additional areas for continued improvement including:

· Increasing the sharing of closed cases and assessments between federal and local law enforcement;

· Developing better downstream flow of information support to state and local levels;

· Improving information sharing systems and analytical support; and

· Bolstering efforts to counter violent extremism for better accountability.

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