[inaudible conversations] good morning. This hearing will come to order. I would ask consent that my written Opening Statement be entered into the record. Without objection. I want to welcome secretary kelly. This is a hearing on the department of Homeland Securitys fiscal year 2018 budget. This is the third time that the secretary has appeared before this committee, the second time as secretary of the department. And, again, we welcome you and appreciate your service to this country, many, many years of it. In lieu of my written Opening Statement, i just want to make a couple comments. Im, by vocation, im an accountant, so ive gone through budget meetingsing many, many times meetings many, many times. First, i want to just talk about the history of the budget of the department of Homeland Security. Were not quite ready for the chart. When you take a look at total Budget Authority when the department was first stood up, the first fiscal year was 2004, and the departments budget was this is total budgetary authority, mandatory and discretionary, 36. 5 billion. Now, had that budget just grown by inflation, todays request would be a little under 50 billion, 48. 25 billion. Instead, total Budget Authority is 70. 6 billion, about a 93 increase. Now, from my standpoint that represents on a bipartisan fashion president bush, president obama and nowpresident trump realize that the threat environment that america faces has become more severe. Its growing, its evolving, its metastasizing x the Department Needs more resources to try and keep this homeland safe. And so as much as im concerned about the longterm budget situation in this country, the 20 trillion were already in debt, we cannot be penny wise and pound foolish. I mean, i dont think theres identify seen an accurate assessment of how much Economic Loss we suffered because of 9 11. We have to do everything we possibly can, and lets face it, the defense of this nation and our homeland is the top priority of government. So i want to be completely supportive of the is secretarys request. Tough budget times, but we need to allocate the resources to keep this nation and our homeland safe. Next point id want to make is just the dramatic change weve had in terms of total apprehension. We have a little chart here. What ive done, because we really only have three months worth of history under the new administration, ive just gone back and had my staff prepare a threemonth moving averageof apprehensions along the southwest border. And its incredibly revealing. Prior to the last three months, on average we were apprehending a little more than 122,000 individuals coming into this country illegal he, 122,000. The last three months total, it was just under 56,000. In other words, were 45, about 46 of the previous four or five years average. Thats a pretty remark basketball result. Ive been, you know, since taking over this chairmanship and on this committee been looking at the problem of illegal entry into our southwest border. Ive been saying repeated hi the first thing we need to do is be committed to securing our border and then eliminate the incentives for illegal immigration. I would say lack of enforcement of our immigration laws has been a huge incentive for people to come to this country. Under a new administration and new secretary, weve obviously committed to securing our border. And i was a little concerned when people were taking credit for this reduction. I think after three months, well see what happens after four months. I think just that signal alone that we are committed to securing this border and were going to enforce our laws has had a powerful effect, and i think were seeing the results right now. Again, i commend the secretary for standing strong against severe criticism and actually enforcing the laws of this nation. With that, ill turn it over to our Ranking Member, senator mccaskill. Thank you, mr. Chairman. And thank you, secretary kelly, for being here. Of you appeared for the first time a couple of months ago after being confirmed, and look at the developments where you have had to be all hands on deck for serious issues facing the national and Homeland Security. On may 11th you met with the Airline Industry executives about your concern about large electronic bans in terms of international travel. On may 12th we had a Ransomware Cyber attack that struck more than 200,000 computers in 150 countries shutting down auto production in france, Police Departments in india and closing doctors offices in britain. And then, of course, tragically on may 22nd a terror suicide bomber killed 22 innocent children and adults in manchester, england, and this past weekend terrorists killed seven in london. These are just a few examples of why we are counting on you and why we respect the job that you have to do every day and how difficult it truly is. The importance of your work also speaks to the critical responsibility this committee has in providing oversight. Ive never, ever, ever known of a Government Agency that worked better with less oversight. Asking hard questions is, of course, the way you do aggressive oversight, and im really particularly pleased that youre not afraid to answer tough questions. Its kind of who you are. Youve been that way throughout your career. In fact, i noticed to the speech you gave to the coast guards cadets, ill quote you tell the truth to your seniors each though its uncomfort, even though they may not want to hear that. Tell the truth. I know youll continue to speak truth the power, and i look forward to your honest assessment of what we can do to help you in that regard. While none of the three terrorists who did the attack over the past weekend would have been impacted by the president s proposed travel ban, a lot of discussion in the United Kingdom is now about the government, the conservative partys cuts in Police Resources over the last decade. And how many fewer resources there were actually on the ground to try to prevent those terrorist attacks. Im concerned that the president s budget plans to cut critical tsa programs at a time that we cannot afford to let up on these security measures. A large portion of this cut is taken from the viper teams, the visible, intermodal preventioning prevention and Response Teams that provide critical assistance with securing airports, subways and bus terminal, some of the most attractive soft targets for terrorists in our country. The president aims to cut them down to just 18 from 31 to cover the entire country. The urban Area Security initiative which has been a lifeline for major urban areas that have so many soft targets because of the large populations, those also have been cut. Additionally, the police the president s budget is going to completely eliminate the Law Enforcement officer Reimbursement Program which provides assistance to local Law Enforcement agencies who help secure our airports. Hundreds of airports across the country take part in this program and particularly for smaller airports this assistance is critically important. The president s budget will also slash other dhs programs that provide critical curt to our transportation security to our transportation systems. The Grant Program will be cut in half, the Port SecurityGrant Program will be cut in half. The president is calling for complete eliminate elimination of the terrorist Grant Program. These priorities are not getting the attention they deserve. I think we may be focused on a shapeny object shiny object which has come to be known as the travel ban when instead we need to be focused on how many people we have, in your terminology, general, boots on the ground in terms of being able to identify, track and prevent these terrorist attacks. Were being asked to Fund AdditionalBorder Patrol agents and air and marine officers, but theres no provision for cbp officers. And difference in terminology is very important because as you know, secretary kelly, the majority of drugs and contraband come through our country in the ports of entry, and the officers are the ones responsible for finding and stopping them. We cannot neglect our ports of entry as we try to increase resources in terms of Border Patrol and i. C. E. Agents. So im glad youre here today, secretary kelly. There are a lot of important issues before us. I have a lot of questions, i know the rest of the committee does too, and i cant tell you how much it means to all of us that youre willing to come here and answer our questions. I hope the rest of the administration follows your example, because i think youre setting a very good one. Thanks, senator mccaskill. It is the tradition of the committee to swear in our witnesses, so if youll please rise and raise your right hand. Do you swear that the testimony you will give before this committee will be the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth so help you god . I do. Please be seated. Secretary john f. Kelly is the fifth secretary of Homeland Security. Prior to joining dhs, general kelly served as commander of the u. S. Southern command where he worked closely with u. S. Law enforcement and dhs personnel a coordinated effort to combat the flow of drugs, people and other threats against the homeland from across the southern border. Secretary kellys career has included Extensive Service in the marine corps where he served as senior military assistant to two secretaries of defense, gates and panetta. Less than a year after his retirement from service, secretary kelly returned to serve the American People as secretary of Homeland Security. General kelly is a retired fourstar general, a gold star parent. America could not be more appreciative and more fortunate to have you serving in this capacity, and we thank you for your service and look forward the to your testimony. Every day the men and women of the department of Homeland Security protect americans from the threats we face. And so it is a great pleasure to appear before you today to talk about the tremendous men and women of the department and the Critical Missions they carry out in services of our america every day and night, 24 7 365. I believe as anyone who fully understands the fundamental role of our government also believes that the federal governments responsibility every day begins and ends with the protection of the homeland and the security of our people. No other mission is as important. No other consideration more pressing. None. The president s fiscal year 2018 budget request for the department will make it possible for us to continue and expand in many ways on our ability to protect our nation and its people. The world is a different place today. We can no longer think in terms of defense over there; but, rather, must think in terms of the security overall of the homeland across the numerous domains of a potential attack and defense. The department of Homeland Security is making a difference in fighting the home game while the department of defense fights the away game. And together with and because of the dedication and effective interagency integration with the dni, cia, nctc, fbi, nsa, atf and over a million state and local and tribal enforcement professionals, America Today is safe, secure and prepared in a way that most could not have envisioned the day before 9 11. But the plots to attack the nation are numerous, the perpetrators relentless. We fully we need a fullyfunded budget that matches our mission, no more continuing resolutions. And i think this budget does that. The president s fy2018 budget requests 44. 1 billion in discretion their funding for the department of Homeland Security. It also requests 7. 4 billion to finance the cost of emergencies and major disasters in the Disaster Relief fund. When youre talking about numbers like these, its easy to lose sight of whats behind each dollar. But when you get right down to it, there are hard working men and women who have dedicated their careers and. In many ways risked their lives to protect the American People. Every dollar invested in the tools, infrastructure, equipment and training they need to get the job done is an investment in prosperity, freedom and the rule of law. Above all, it is investment in the security of the American People. As far as i am concerned, recent events show you cannot invest too much in security. The terrorist attacks on innocent civilians in kabul, cairo, south asia, manchester, now london are horrific reminders of the dangers we face globally. They also illustrate the need to do everything we can to keep our people safe. That means Getting Better about verifying identity, making sure people are who they say they are and working with our International Partners to raise their awareness and raise their defenses and force them to do so, if need be, to at least operate at the levels that we work at. Domestically, one of the most important enhancements to this effort is the real id initiative, an enhancement passed into law 12 years ago by United States congress, one which most of our states and territories have taken seriously and have already adopted. Many others are working hard at compliance. In those 12 years, someone elected or appointed positions who have the fundamental and sacred responsibility to safeguard the nation have chosen to drag their feet or even ignore the law passed by congress. I will not. Real id will make americans safer. It really is. Real id will soon be enforced at our airports, land ports of entry and all federal facilities, and theres a critically important 9 11 Commission Recommendation that others have been willing to ignore for which i will insure is implemented on schedule with no extension for states that are not taking the effort seriously. For those states and territories that cannot or will not make the january 2018 deadline, they should encourage now their citizens to acquire other forms of id compliant with the real id law. Like passports available, of course, from the state department. We need to prevent bad actors regardless of religion, race or nationality from entering our country. In recent years we have witnessed an unprecedented spike in terrorist travel. There are more terrorist hot spots and foot soldiers now than almost any time in modern history. In sir ya and iraq syria and iraq, for instance, we have thousands of jihadist fighters that have converged from more than 120 countries. As our superb military machine leading many other likeminded partners, as they succeed on the battlefield in iraq and syria, these jihadi fighters are returning home to europe, south asia, southeast asia, australia and even the western hemisphere. And who knows what theyre up to, but we can guess. They are heading to what they think are safe havens to continue their plotting and otherwise advance their toxic ideology of hate, death and intolerance wherever theyre allowed to hide. We expect that some will look to travel to the United States to carry out attacks. With this context in mind, the president has issued clear direction in the form of an executive order to the entire executive branch to prevent the entry of aliens who seek to do us harm. But the Current Court injunction, of course, prevents us from taking steps to improve the security of the homeland until we see how that court action plays out. While some discuss, debate and argue the name, title or label that best describes the president s e. O. , professional men and women like me are actually in the business of implementing the president s intent to secure or the nation, and we are doing that. Well let the chattering class and critics talk about the name. I just hope the Congress Sees the wisdom in what the president is trying to do to protect the American People and its people and that the congress are willing to work with those of us in the business of securing the nation. And its been my experience in less than four months on the job that the congress is, in fact, committed to that. The courts injunction has prevented us from implementing a temporary ban on travel by aliens from six countries that are in states of civil war, are state sponsors or terrorism and are basically failed states. Theyre the same countries identified by the congress in Previous Administration in 2015 as nations of great concern. At the time the expectation was that those in the business of securing the nation lawfully would focus additional attention on these nations and others in similar circumstances for supplementary and accurate vetting. It has nothing today with religion or skin color or the way they live their lives, but all about security for the United States and nothing else. These are countries that are either unable or unwilling to help us validate the identities and backgrounds of persons within their borders. I can tell you right now because of the injunctions, i am not fully confident that were doing the best all that we can to weed out potential wrongdoers from these locations. The injunction also prevent me from actually hooking into the in