Transcripts For CSPAN3 Department Of Homeland Security Fisca

CSPAN3 Department Of Homeland Security Fiscal Year 2016 Budget March 26, 2015

Extent there is a free sample you would get, and we know from interviewing travelers that many of them that have had the opportunity to experience expedited screening through management inclusion and Risk Assessment rules have subsequent subsequently applied for the program. So its all subjective, its not negative. We are going to leave the rest of this hearing at this point to go live to capitol hill where Homeland Security secretary jeh johnson will be testifying on the 2016 budget address fwr brbefore the subcommittee. California democrat lucille reybald allard is ranking chair. An increase of 1. 7 billion above fiscal year 2015. Mr. Secretary there is a lot to like in this request. And i have some concerns, too but for the First Time Since ive been chairman, im pleased with many of the recommendations in your request. The request prioritizes dhss front lines and personnel. It doesnt include unauthorized fees as an offset and complies with the law of funding 34,040 detention beds. With a focus on preventing terrorism, securing the border administering immigration laws safeguarding cyberspace and strengthening national preparedness, i believe the request is a very constructive first step in the appropriations process. I would like to include 1. 1 billion for cps position of protecting americas borders while still allowing the flow of free trade and travel is vital to our economy. 3. 3 billion to deter legal entry into the United States with full funding for the 34,040 detention beds 129 fugitive operation teams and the increased use of alternatives to detention. 4. 4 billion for tsa to Fund Screening personnel, training equipment and other resources in support of more efficient and more travelerfriendly screening methods. And 1. 9 billion for the United States secret service, a 273 million increase to improve Perimeter Security of the white house or better training, and to cover the costs of several Upcoming Events including the 2016 president ial campaign. Its worth noting that the budget propose this proposal mayors recommendations made by the United States secret Service Protection panel. And 1. 18 million to protect and ability to counter cyberattacks on critical Information Technology systems and infrastructures infrastructures. Funds are included to care for at least 150,000 unaccompanied children, and i look forward to hearing from you on the latest apprehension trends for whether the 162 million Retention Fund is required. I want to commend you for making management reform a top priority. Improving decisionmaking processes and strengthening back ofgs Office Functions is never easy, yet the department is making progress under your leadership. I am pleased to see many senior level vacancies have been filled. Even gao gives dhs positive marks in their latest highrisk report. So thank you and keep up the good work. For all thats good in this request, there are some problems. To begin with 1. 5 billion increase absorbs almost 75 of the nondefense Discretionary Spending available under the limits of the budget control act of 2013. Mr. Secretary, the congress intends to live within the confines of the law even if the administration does not. As a result, i doubt dhss budget will rise as steeply as the request proposes. Within fema, a 38 million Climate Change is proposed as well as state and local Grant Programs. Across all dhs components hiring front line personnel is not happening in a timely manner resulting in large carryover balances. Ice and secret service arent keeping up attrition. Nppd has major staff shortages, cbp continues to struggle. To hire the 2,000 officers funded in fy14 i understand only 700 are currently on board. Hiring problems doesnt just have doesnt have just budgetary implications. At dhs, an inadequate floor structure could lead to Public Safety concerns. Mr. Secretary this is a problem we need to fix and i think youre the man to do it. However, i would be remiss if i did not mention two major frustrations. Last week in the press, i read that ice released 30,000 criminal aliens into the United States in communities in 2014. Once again, the releases were made without notice to congress and we dont know whether the releases endanger Public Safety. What really annoy me sees me, however, is that many criminals in their country of origin would not repatty repattyre repatriate them, and thats a problem. We need to fix it. They were surprised by the release of approximately 36,000 criminal aliens. We had a pretty good discussion about that at the time. And 2014 dhs appropriations bill, we had language requiring the department to notify this subcommittee prior to the implementation of further releases. We had the same language in the 2015 dhs appropriations bill, yet your Department Gave us no notice until after the fact. This committee is concerned about the departments failure to inform us as required. Quite honestly as ive told you already, im getting real tired of learning about these releases in the press rather than from the department as required. And so for that reason, im very concerned about that. Lastly, mr. Secretary you know that im completely opposed to the executive actions issued by a memo under your signature last december. Those memos jeopardized the fy15 conference agreement and transformed it from a Law Enforcement and Public Safety measure into a battleground for a fight between the executive and legislative branches of government. Though the legitimate use of legislative process the actions caused unnecessary decision and partisanship, and it is damaging dhss mission to protect americans from terrorist threats and securing the border. I directed this subcommittee staff to report to me on departmental actions that appear to violate the injunction issued by the Federal District court in brownville texas. Im telling this to barbara, and as an attorney you know and i will that you will respect the authority of the court and that you will demand the same from your staff. With that i would like to recognize ms. Roybalallard, our distinguished member for any comments she might make. Good morning, mr. Secretary and welcome. I would like to commend you for your efforts of making the Homeland Security more cohesive with better practices. Those kinds of capabilities are sometimes overlooked but we understand they are ultimately the foundation for almost everything the department does and that you need to get them right. Your efforts are all the more compelling because they are the beginning of longterm endeavors, the full payoff which will likely be enjoyed not by you but as your successor as secretary. We have just come through a very difficult appropriations cycle for the department. Frankly, congress is not doing its job when an agencys funding remains in legislative limbo for the first five months of a fiscal year. I know the basis for that delay was the disagreement over the legality of your Immigration Enforcement approach, even though the federal courts are the appropriate place to sort that out. And i hope we can avoid any repeat of unnecessary delays to appropriating your funding for fy16. Fiscal year 2016 net discretionary budget requests for the department of Homeland Security is 41. 4 billion as scored by the congressional budget oflsfice. This does not count funding building that does not count towards the cap. The total is 1. 7 billion above the current level. A significant portion of that increase is needed for secondyear funding and step increases for cbc personnel, addressing Mission Panel recommendations and other needs of the secret service and for federal cybersecurity enhancements. Much of the budget requests for the department seems well justified, but there are some areas where i am concerned about cuts particularly for the Grant Programs. If the committee is forced to do its work within the constraints of the budgetary cap, we will be hard pressed to address the departments needs funding grants and other purposes for the coming year. Before i close i want to try and frame the discussion we may have this morning about immigration. Mr. Secretary we know you have a tough job to do. And perhaps the toughest part is the enforcement of our immigration laws. It is tough because it exposes a tension between values we as americans hold dear. We are a country of laws and respect for the law is paramount to our democracy and our way of life. However, we are also a country that values human life, humane treatment of every individual and due process. We value keeping Families Together protecting children, and we believe in second chances. While it is essential that we protect our borders and enforce our immigration laws we must grant all people due process and treat them with fundamental Human Dignity and respect. And i hope in our discussion this morning, we can keep these American Values in mind. Mr. Secretary, i look forward to your testimony and our discussion today, and i look forward to continuing to work with you this year in support of the departments important missions. At this time ill allow and yield to mr. Rogers, chairman of the full committee for an opening statement. Thank you mr. Chairman. Mr. Secretary, welcome again to these premises. Im pleased we finally managed to pass a full Year Spending bill for your department to support our men and women on the front lines and bolster our critical security agencies and fund vigilant antiterrorism and Law Enforcement efforts on our home turf. Im absolutely committed to moving all 12 of our Appropriations Bills through the regular order process to ensure that we responsibly fund all federal agencies, including homeland. Mr. Secretary, in years past my colleagues and i have expressed disappointment in budget submissions from dhs that were political in nature not reflective of the security needs of the country and chock full of budget gimmicks that made our job on the Appropriations Committee needlessly difficult. With a few exceptions that i will highlight later, i am happy to say that i cannot make those criticisms about this budget submission after cbo scoring. The requests has a 1. 7 billion increase of active levels, it includes active motions including a 9. 8 million increase to support Border Patrol agents and essentially level funding for coast guard appropriations. Request for ice includes sufficient funds for the 34,040 detention bids required under law, and youve done away with many of the unauthorized fees the department previously proposed to offset critical security spending. While this budget submission is indeed a vast improvement over those weve seen in the past, it does not mean that i am left without concerns. First, and probably most important, i question whether this request constitutes a realistic funding level. Unfortunately, the president s budget request governmentwide is billions of dollars above the level of our committee that we will ultimately beal allocated to support spending. The president knows our doa here in congress. Thats not responsible budgeting. And i question whether your recommended level is possible given all of the domestic priorities at stake. Second the president s executive order on immigration remains, as the chairman has said, the elephant in the room. The president s unilateral action demonstrates intentional disregard for the legislative authority of the congress under the constitution jeopardizes the ability of this committee to move forward with appropriations for the department, poisons the well for any meaningful Immigration Reform package and even jeopardizes your very wellintentioned agenda to better unify dhs practices and policies. Youve unfortunately become the poster child for this illthoughtout immigration policy because your department is charged with implementing it. Mr. Secretary, there are separation of powers in this country. And you simply cannot expect the congress to stand idly by when the president circumvents this entire branch of government. Mr. Secretary ive been involved with funding for this Department Since it started. Actually before it started. And we take seriously our responsibilities to support our men and women on the front lines as they protect our homeland. Because of the importance of the dhs mission to our countrys security, we on both sides of the aisle on the Appropriations Committee have worked earnestly to cast politics aside and focus on the critical task at hand. Its supremely disappointing to me that the president s egregious convention of congress has shifted the conversation away from where it ought to be on keeping this country safe from threats, domestic and foreign. And making sure the men and women who protect us all stay safe. We look forward to hearing your testimony. We welcome you to the hill, sir. I yield. Thank you mr. Rogers. Its now my pleasure to recognize ms. Lowey for an opening statement. Thank you mr. Chairman. And id like to thank chairman carter Ranking Member roybalallard for holding this here today and join them in welcoming you, secretary johnson. Thank you for joining us. The department of Homeland Security is tasked with the mission of securing our nation from consistent threat. And this is no easy feat. To keep us safe, 16 different agencies and offices have to operate on a co heeshesive and cooperative basis. I do hope that today, and for the next few weeks and months, we can focus on that mission, get to work on a comprehensive immigration bill. Lets do it, lets do it now. And while were focusing on Homeland Security lets focus like a laser on the important work that you have ahead. Last week at the Louis Armstrong new Orleans International airport, a man attacked tsa agents with wasp spray and a ma machete after being questioned about his boarding pass. These are the risks tsa agents take every day to keep us safe. On any given day dhs personnel will process nearly 1 million travelers entering the u. S. , provide 3. 7 million in federal disaster grants to individuals and households, patrol 3. 4 million square miles of u. S. Waterways, conducting 54 search and rescue missions, and seize approximately 300,000 in undetected or listed currency. Yet last month, republicans took the department of Homeland Security to the brink of a shutdown. Secretary johnson, despite what your department accomplishes for more than five months you were forced to operate under a continuing resolution instead of having a full year funding bill. Im very pleased that eventually we passed a clean bill, fully funding dhs, and it is my hope we will move forward on a bipartisan basis and not hold the nations security hostage over partisan games. The fy16 request is 41. 2 billion in net discretionary budget authority, a 3. 8 increase from fy15. This includes 11. 2 billion for fema with 6. 7 billion for the Disaster Relief fund cap adjustment. It also includes 8. 183 million for cybersecurity advancements a 65. 1 million increase from fy15. I was particularly pleased to see that given the growing threat and the importance of our focusing like a laser on the cyber threat. I just want to mention one other thing in closing. While its still too early to know what actually occurred the chief french prosecutor handling the investigation said today that the german wings plane was deliberately crashed by the copilot. This should be a reminder that as Global Threats persist, dhs mission must remain the same keep us safe. Now more than ever, we must support the department in fulfilling this most essential yet complex goal. I look forward to a productive discussion this morning and thank you very much. Thank you ms. Lowey. At this time mr. Secretary, were going to recognize you and ask tuckedif you could to summarize what youve presented in five minutes if5 have your entire testimony entered into the record. At this time i recognize you. Thank you chairman carter chairman rogers Ranking Member roybalallard, congresswoman lowey, other members of the committee, nice to see you again. Let me begin by saying that you do have my full statement, and ill skbrusjust say a few things in my five minutes. First of all as sincerely as i can, i want to thank the members of this committee who i know worked very hard to get us a full year appropriation for fy15 and the leadership that you showed to get us there. The possibility of a shutdown of my department was very personal to me. I know people in our department who would have been affected very dramatically had we gone into shutdown. For example there is a person in our administration who is in stage 4 cancer who depended upon her paycheck to make her copayments for her cancer treatment. I was going to have to furlough her if we went into shutdown. And so on behalf of the 225,000 men and women of my department, thank you for your leadership in getting us a full year appropriation. Like members of this committee, i am very pleased by our fy16 budget submission of 41. 2 billion yet Discretionary Spending. I think it meets our vital Homeland Security mis

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