Transcripts For CSPAN3 Homeland Security Secretary Testifies

Welcome to the subcommittees first hearing on the fiscal year 2018 president ial budget request. Id like to extend a special welcome to todays witness, secretary john kelly. Mr. Secretary, we are very pleased you answered the president s call to lead dhs. Having someone with your credentials to lead this department will strengthen it and enrich it. It is good to begin the fy18 appropriations cycle, despite its late start, im confident this subcommittee will produce a bill that supports the departments mission, balances competing interests, and is affordable to the american taxpayers. Before i dive into the numbers, mr. Secretary, i have a couple of pieces of advice. First, never lose focus on the departments highest priority, to keep the nation safe and enforce the laws of the United States. With your reputation, i know you will do that. Second, stay in touch with me, with mrs. Roybalallard and let us know when you need help. Everyone on this subcommittee wants dhs to be successful meeting its mission. Besides, failure is absolutely unacceptable. I know i speak for everyone when i promise we will always listen respectfully to your suggestions and advice, and we will be reasonable and even handed in our responses. I, for one, am grateful the president directed you and the men and women of the dhs to focus on the departments Law Enforcement missions. Im tremendously pleased catch and release is a relic of the past, and as a result illegal crossings on the border are 60 lower 64 lower than in april the same time last year. This is proof that the threat of enforcing the nations immigration laws is a forceful deterrent. Im also satisfied with the 1. 5 billion Border Security package included in the fy17 omnibus bill. Simply enacting legislation that supports enhanced Border Security and territory enforcement sends a powerful message to human traffickers and drug runners that business as usual on the border is over. If you break our nations laws and cross the border illegally, you will suffer the consequences which is a guaranteed stay in detention. Fy 18 requests continue, the fy 18 requests to continue the administrations emphasis on Law Enforcement and thats important. The total discretionary funds requested is 44. 06 billion, which is increased 1. 66 billion over last year. Items im pleased to see you included are the 2. 6 billion for Border Security, which includes 74 miles of physical barriers along the southwest border and significant surveillance and technology and aviation systems. 4. 9 billion for removal operations including 3. 6 billion of the 51,379 detention beds, increase of 12,055 above the numbers provided in fiscal year 2017, as well as additional funding necessary to actively enforce the nations immigration laws. Substantial increases are proposed for additional Law Enforcement agents at Border Patrol and immigration customs enforcement. Though i support this initiative, this subcommittee will take a hard look at whether it will succeed. As im sure you know, attrition in both organizations has outpassed, outspaced hiring in the last two years despite congressional increases for incentive programs. Im not inclined to leave money on the table if dhs is unable to meet these highend goals. For the first time in many years, the United States secret Service Requests meets their requirements. I have concerns too. The cyber threat to the Nations Network and Critical Infrastructure grows daily, yet the budget for cybersecurity has not increased at all from your current level of funding. While theres funding for Border Security, there should also be corresponding increase for our ports of entry where the majority of all innocent, drugs, and currency enter our country. Physical barriers may stop Human Trafficking but our only one means of increasing Illegal Drugs and currency. Slashing funds from fema critical grants and Training Programs by 918 million is worse and shortsighted, especially for cities where they are targets of terrorism. Likewise, im surprise and disappointed that the administration chose to perpetuate the last administrations bad habit of proposing fees to increase for tsa and using it as an offset despite knowing increase is unlikely to become law because theres no authorization for that. While balancing all the competing priorities of dhs is an understandable challenge, our main concern about reliance on budget gimmicks and to cut Important National security programs. I hope fy 19 request will focus on the nations Homeland Security priorities and not rely on offsets that this subcommittee doesnt control. In conclusion, i want to restate my commitment to work with you and i also want to take a moment to commend the budget offices in every of every dhs component and at dhs headquarters. Executing under a cr, proposing and advocating for a budget amendment, and developing a new budget request over a twomonth period is a monumental undertaking. They deserve our thanks. I want you to know that im blessed to have lucille roybalallard as my Ranking Member. She and i dont always agree 100 on policy but our balance and thoughtful approach engenders collaboration which means a better bill for the men and women of dhs. For that, i want to thank her and recognize her for any remarks she wishes to make. Thank you, mr. Chairman. Good afternoon, mr. Secretary, and welcome to your first appearance before this subcommittee. Theres no doubt that you have a really hard job, and, in my opinion, among the hardest in government. The department is still quite young and still maturing in institutional terms and it has a large and diverse set of components and missions. Some of those missions, as you well know, are extremely controversial. We will disagree about some policies and priorities as we did with your predecessor, in some cases well strongly disagree. We do, however, share the common goal of protecting our country and its values. My hope is that we will have the same constructive working relationship with you that we had with secretary johnson. The members of the subcommittee have the common goal of appropriately resourcing the department to protect and to serve our country. This includes supporting the men and women who make up your department, the vast majority of whom are fully dedicated to their work and are performing admirably. Immigration enforcement will be the biggest challenge that we will face in working together. I hope you understand that, in my view, the crux of this issue is not simply a matter of enforcing the law or not, it is a manner in which that enforcement is done. It is also a question of the incremental benefit to the nation of significant new investments in Border Security and Immigration Enforcement actions and capabilities. Each additional segment of physical barrier at the border and each initiative to hire more Immigration Enforcement officers comes potentially at the expense of things like state and local preparedness, cybersecurity, investments in the coast guard fleet, and a multitude of other priorities outside of our bill. So it isnt enough to simply ask whether an investment would improve Homeland Security, we must also ask what the incremental benefit is, what the down sides are and what the tradeoffs are. We are out of step on the ground in this country. On your watch i know you see an aggressive posture as faithfully carrying out the laws currently on the books, but do you have discretion. And right now that suggests enforcement is upending the lives of millions of people, the vast majority of whom are valuable, contributing members of their communities. The vast majority of whom are guilty of no criminal acts. The vast majority of whom have been in this country for many years working jobs that others are unwilling to do. For example, ive had from growers from california, representatives from the hotel and Restaurant Industry tell me and other members of congress the devastating Economic Impact current enforcement policies will have and in some cases are already having on our state and national economy. These consequences are also a threat to national security. The ultimate answer is for congress to enact comprehensive Immigration Reform that lays out a path to legal status and eventually if one meets all the criteria for eligibility, citizenship. Many of us desperately want that to happen. While it is up to congress to pass reform legislation, you, as secretary of Homeland Security, could play an Important Role in helping that to come about. I also want to encourage you to continue an effort that was begun by your predecessor that is very important to this subcommittee. Secretary johnson made a high priority of maturing the departments planing, budgeting, and acquisition processes, including working with us to establish a common appropriation structure. I hope that you will capitalize on his accomplishments by also making it your priority to further improve and institutionalize those processes. We have a lot to discuss this afternoon and i look forward to your testimony and your responses to our questions. Thank you, mr. Chairman. Thank you, ms. Roybalallard. I now recognize the chairman of the full committee. Thank you, chairman carter for the time. I also want to welcome the secretary here to the appropriations committee. We look forward to your testimony and hearing your frank and candid views on many issues. All of us up here thank you for your Remarkable Service as a brain over 45 years and now as secretary of the department of Homeland Security, we appreciate all that you have done for our nation. Todays hearing is an important part of the oversight duties of this committee now that we have formally received the administrations budget request, the committee will undertake a thorough analysis of it. We will go through each and every budget line, question every witness, and demand credible spending justifications and only then will we make our own determinations on the best use of tax dollars. We intend to put forward a complete set of Appropriations Bills that adequately Fund Important programs while working to reduce and eliminate waste and duplication. Ill work with the Ranking Member ms. Lowey and chairman carter and ms. Roybalallard to move rapidly in the coming weeks and months to complete the fiscal year 2018 Appropriations Bills. Again, todays hearing is part of a process we follow to determine the best use of taxpayers dollars. After all, the power of the purse lies in this building. It is the constitutional duty of congress to make spending decisions on behalf of the people we represent at home. Some here on the committee may know that hundreds of families, almost 700 in new jersey and in my Congressional District lost loved oned on september 11th in those terrorist attacks. Although it took years for the nation to recover, the events of that day made us rethink how we protect the nation and allowed us to learn from prior mistakes in order to prepare for and stop the next attack. Mr. Secretary, i wholeheartedly agree with your recent assessment that the risk of a terror attack on these United States, in your own words, is as threatening today as it was on that fateful day in september, in 2001. And unfortunately, this week we witnessed another horrific attack on our british allies and we extend our greatest sympathy to these young victims and their families. That is why we must be certain to continue to invest in critical programs like the federal Emergency Management agencys urban Area Security initiatives that ensure our communities which face the greatest risk are able to respond to ever growing and more complex threats. The fiscal year 2018 budget request proposes a 25 cut to what we call uwasi and im eager to here how your department will continue to ensure the necessary resilience while absorbing such a large deduction. In large of the recent spike of antisemitic crimes which were directed at hundred of jewish schools and synagogues and temples and Community Centers in the United States, including those in my district, we must continue to generate funding to the nonprofit security Grant Program, which provides atrisk Nonprofit Institutions of all faiths critical assistance to bolster their physical security. And lastly id like to give a shout out to one of your most important urban search and rescue teams, including new jerseys Task Force One which became a federally designated team this time last year. New jersey Task Force One which was the first team to respond to the tragedy at the World Trade Center on 9 11 was activated and responded to also to Hurricane Matthew in october. These teams are essential to the entire nation. In conclusion, i welcome you and i thank the chairman for the time and yield back. Thank you, mr. Chairman. I now recognize ms. Lowey, the Ranking Member of the full committee. Thank you. And id like to thank chairman roybalallard for holding this hearing. And, of course, its always a pleasure for me to appear with chairman frelinghuysen who is a distinguished chair of the full committee. Secretary kelly, welcome and thank you for joining us. The department of Homeland Securitys mission is to secure our nation from consistent threat. Its not an easy one. It is underscored by the tragic attack in manchester earlier this week. To keep us safe, different agencies within the department of Homeland Security must effectively coordinate and cooperate while also working closely with other federal, state, and local agencies. The budget request, unfortunately, does not fully reflect the grave character of the threats we face. In new york and many other states, preparedness grants are the difference between being able to prevent, mitigate, respond to, and recover from acts of terrorism or not. Secretary kelly, put simply, your Budget Proposal would make communities like those in my district and region less safe. The state Homeland Security Grant Program which enhances local Law Enforcements ability to prevent and respond to acts of terrorism would be reduced by 118 million, or over 25 , reduced at this time of the absolute need for response as quickly as possible. That results in a nearly 20 million reduction for my home state of new york alone. The urban Area Security initiative which, as you know, assists highthreat, highdensity urban areas arguably the most vulnerable would be cut by 26 or 156 million. That is a nearly 45 million cut for new york. Maybe the people who put this budget together are not really watching the news that we all were watching just this week. The emergency food and Shelter Program is eliminated as is the flood hazard mapping and risk analysis program. State and local jurisdictions cannot effectively plan for the worst when support from their federal partner is inconsistent or insufficient. In addition to terror threats , we know that the severity and cost of natural disasters are increasing and mitigation efforts can reduce taxpayer support in response to a disaster. We cannot expect communities to realistically prepare for natural disasters with proposed cuts of 55 million to the predisaster mitigation program. As i said, while negotiating the fy 17 omnibus, i cannot support a single cent, let alone 1. 6 billion, for a boondoggle of a wall. It is an unjustified request based on a Campaign Promise and simply cannot be taken seriously by this committee. President trumps budget requests slashing 54 billion from nondefense investment would decimate the department of Homeland Security. In fact, even existing sequestration level caps are insufficient and would lead to reduced services that American Families and communities need. Including Law Enforcement and first responders. Its time, mr. Secretary, for a new budget deal to end sequestration once and for all in part to prevent disastrous cuts to critical Homeland Security Grant Programs. Now more than ever this committee must support the departments essential and complex mission but we cannot do that at the expense of state and local preparedness. So i look forward to a productive discussion today and i thank you for your service to our country. Thank you, ms. Lowey. Were going to stick to a fiveminute rule. Well probably try to warn you when youve got one minute left but keep an eye on the count. Mr. Secretary, were going to allow to you make your United States<\/a>. With your reputation, i know you will do that. Second, stay in touch with me, with mrs. Roybalallard and let us know when you need help. Everyone on this subcommittee wants dhs to be successful meeting its mission. Besides, failure is absolutely unacceptable. I know i speak for everyone when i promise we will always listen respectfully to your suggestions and advice, and we will be reasonable and even handed in our responses. I, for one, am grateful the president directed you and the men and women of the dhs to focus on the departments Law Enforcement<\/a> missions. Im tremendously pleased catch and release is a relic of the past, and as a result illegal crossings on the border are 60 lower 64 lower than in april the same time last year. This is proof that the threat of enforcing the nations immigration laws is a forceful deterrent. Im also satisfied with the 1. 5 billion Border Security<\/a> package included in the fy17 omnibus bill. Simply enacting legislation that supports enhanced Border Security<\/a> and territory enforcement sends a powerful message to human traffickers and drug runners that business as usual on the border is over. If you break our nations laws and cross the border illegally, you will suffer the consequences which is a guaranteed stay in detention. Fy 18 requests continue, the fy 18 requests to continue the administrations emphasis on Law Enforcement<\/a> and thats important. The total discretionary funds requested is 44. 06 billion, which is increased 1. 66 billion over last year. Items im pleased to see you included are the 2. 6 billion for Border Security<\/a>, which includes 74 miles of physical barriers along the southwest border and significant surveillance and technology and aviation systems. 4. 9 billion for removal operations including 3. 6 billion of the 51,379 detention beds, increase of 12,055 above the numbers provided in fiscal year 2017, as well as additional funding necessary to actively enforce the nations immigration laws. Substantial increases are proposed for additional Law Enforcement<\/a> agents at Border Patrol<\/a> and immigration customs enforcement. Though i support this initiative, this subcommittee will take a hard look at whether it will succeed. As im sure you know, attrition in both organizations has outpassed, outspaced hiring in the last two years despite congressional increases for incentive programs. Im not inclined to leave money on the table if dhs is unable to meet these highend goals. For the first time in many years, the United States<\/a> secret Service Requests<\/a> meets their requirements. I have concerns too. The cyber threat to the Nations Network<\/a> and Critical Infrastructure<\/a> grows daily, yet the budget for cybersecurity has not increased at all from your current level of funding. While theres funding for Border Security<\/a>, there should also be corresponding increase for our ports of entry where the majority of all innocent, drugs, and currency enter our country. Physical barriers may stop Human Trafficking<\/a> but our only one means of increasing Illegal Drugs<\/a> and currency. Slashing funds from fema critical grants and Training Programs<\/a> by 918 million is worse and shortsighted, especially for cities where they are targets of terrorism. Likewise, im surprise and disappointed that the administration chose to perpetuate the last administrations bad habit of proposing fees to increase for tsa and using it as an offset despite knowing increase is unlikely to become law because theres no authorization for that. While balancing all the competing priorities of dhs is an understandable challenge, our main concern about reliance on budget gimmicks and to cut Important National<\/a> security programs. I hope fy 19 request will focus on the nations Homeland Security<\/a> priorities and not rely on offsets that this subcommittee doesnt control. In conclusion, i want to restate my commitment to work with you and i also want to take a moment to commend the budget offices in every of every dhs component and at dhs headquarters. Executing under a cr, proposing and advocating for a budget amendment, and developing a new budget request over a twomonth period is a monumental undertaking. They deserve our thanks. I want you to know that im blessed to have lucille roybalallard as my Ranking Member<\/a>. She and i dont always agree 100 on policy but our balance and thoughtful approach engenders collaboration which means a better bill for the men and women of dhs. For that, i want to thank her and recognize her for any remarks she wishes to make. Thank you, mr. Chairman. Good afternoon, mr. Secretary, and welcome to your first appearance before this subcommittee. Theres no doubt that you have a really hard job, and, in my opinion, among the hardest in government. The department is still quite young and still maturing in institutional terms and it has a large and diverse set of components and missions. Some of those missions, as you well know, are extremely controversial. We will disagree about some policies and priorities as we did with your predecessor, in some cases well strongly disagree. We do, however, share the common goal of protecting our country and its values. My hope is that we will have the same constructive working relationship with you that we had with secretary johnson. The members of the subcommittee have the common goal of appropriately resourcing the department to protect and to serve our country. This includes supporting the men and women who make up your department, the vast majority of whom are fully dedicated to their work and are performing admirably. Immigration enforcement will be the biggest challenge that we will face in working together. I hope you understand that, in my view, the crux of this issue is not simply a matter of enforcing the law or not, it is a manner in which that enforcement is done. It is also a question of the incremental benefit to the nation of significant new investments in Border Security<\/a> and Immigration Enforcement<\/a> actions and capabilities. Each additional segment of physical barrier at the border and each initiative to hire more Immigration Enforcement<\/a> officers comes potentially at the expense of things like state and local preparedness, cybersecurity, investments in the coast guard fleet, and a multitude of other priorities outside of our bill. So it isnt enough to simply ask whether an investment would improve Homeland Security<\/a>, we must also ask what the incremental benefit is, what the down sides are and what the tradeoffs are. We are out of step on the ground in this country. On your watch i know you see an aggressive posture as faithfully carrying out the laws currently on the books, but do you have discretion. And right now that suggests enforcement is upending the lives of millions of people, the vast majority of whom are valuable, contributing members of their communities. The vast majority of whom are guilty of no criminal acts. The vast majority of whom have been in this country for many years working jobs that others are unwilling to do. For example, ive had from growers from california, representatives from the hotel and Restaurant Industry<\/a> tell me and other members of congress the devastating Economic Impact<\/a> current enforcement policies will have and in some cases are already having on our state and national economy. These consequences are also a threat to national security. The ultimate answer is for congress to enact comprehensive Immigration Reform<\/a> that lays out a path to legal status and eventually if one meets all the criteria for eligibility, citizenship. Many of us desperately want that to happen. While it is up to congress to pass reform legislation, you, as secretary of Homeland Security<\/a>, could play an Important Role<\/a> in helping that to come about. I also want to encourage you to continue an effort that was begun by your predecessor that is very important to this subcommittee. Secretary johnson made a high priority of maturing the departments planing, budgeting, and acquisition processes, including working with us to establish a common appropriation structure. I hope that you will capitalize on his accomplishments by also making it your priority to further improve and institutionalize those processes. We have a lot to discuss this afternoon and i look forward to your testimony and your responses to our questions. Thank you, mr. Chairman. Thank you, ms. Roybalallard. I now recognize the chairman of the full committee. Thank you, chairman carter for the time. I also want to welcome the secretary here to the appropriations committee. We look forward to your testimony and hearing your frank and candid views on many issues. All of us up here thank you for your Remarkable Service<\/a> as a brain over 45 years and now as secretary of the department of Homeland Security<\/a>, we appreciate all that you have done for our nation. Todays hearing is an important part of the oversight duties of this committee now that we have formally received the administrations budget request, the committee will undertake a thorough analysis of it. We will go through each and every budget line, question every witness, and demand credible spending justifications and only then will we make our own determinations on the best use of tax dollars. We intend to put forward a complete set of Appropriations Bills<\/a> that adequately Fund Important<\/a> programs while working to reduce and eliminate waste and duplication. Ill work with the Ranking Member<\/a> ms. Lowey and chairman carter and ms. Roybalallard to move rapidly in the coming weeks and months to complete the fiscal year 2018 Appropriations Bills<\/a>. Again, todays hearing is part of a process we follow to determine the best use of taxpayers dollars. After all, the power of the purse lies in this building. It is the constitutional duty of congress to make spending decisions on behalf of the people we represent at home. Some here on the committee may know that hundreds of families, almost 700 in new jersey and in my Congressional District<\/a> lost loved oned on september 11th in those terrorist attacks. Although it took years for the nation to recover, the events of that day made us rethink how we protect the nation and allowed us to learn from prior mistakes in order to prepare for and stop the next attack. Mr. Secretary, i wholeheartedly agree with your recent assessment that the risk of a terror attack on these United States<\/a>, in your own words, is as threatening today as it was on that fateful day in september, in 2001. And unfortunately, this week we witnessed another horrific attack on our british allies and we extend our greatest sympathy to these young victims and their families. That is why we must be certain to continue to invest in critical programs like the federal Emergency Management<\/a> agencys urban Area Security<\/a> initiatives that ensure our communities which face the greatest risk are able to respond to ever growing and more complex threats. The fiscal year 2018 budget request proposes a 25 cut to what we call uwasi and im eager to here how your department will continue to ensure the necessary resilience while absorbing such a large deduction. In large of the recent spike of antisemitic crimes which were directed at hundred of jewish schools and synagogues and temples and Community Centers<\/a> in the United States<\/a>, including those in my district, we must continue to generate funding to the nonprofit security Grant Program<\/a>, which provides atrisk Nonprofit Institutions<\/a> of all faiths critical assistance to bolster their physical security. And lastly id like to give a shout out to one of your most important urban search and rescue teams, including new jerseys Task Force One<\/a> which became a federally designated team this time last year. New jersey Task Force One<\/a> which was the first team to respond to the tragedy at the World Trade Center<\/a> on 9 11 was activated and responded to also to Hurricane Matthew<\/a> in october. These teams are essential to the entire nation. In conclusion, i welcome you and i thank the chairman for the time and yield back. Thank you, mr. Chairman. I now recognize ms. Lowey, the Ranking Member<\/a> of the full committee. Thank you. And id like to thank chairman roybalallard for holding this hearing. And, of course, its always a pleasure for me to appear with chairman frelinghuysen who is a distinguished chair of the full committee. Secretary kelly, welcome and thank you for joining us. The department of Homeland Security<\/a>s mission is to secure our nation from consistent threat. Its not an easy one. It is underscored by the tragic attack in manchester earlier this week. To keep us safe, different agencies within the department of Homeland Security<\/a> must effectively coordinate and cooperate while also working closely with other federal, state, and local agencies. The budget request, unfortunately, does not fully reflect the grave character of the threats we face. In new york and many other states, preparedness grants are the difference between being able to prevent, mitigate, respond to, and recover from acts of terrorism or not. Secretary kelly, put simply, your Budget Proposal<\/a> would make communities like those in my district and region less safe. The state Homeland Security<\/a> Grant Program<\/a> which enhances local Law Enforcement<\/a>s ability to prevent and respond to acts of terrorism would be reduced by 118 million, or over 25 , reduced at this time of the absolute need for response as quickly as possible. That results in a nearly 20 million reduction for my home state of new york alone. The urban Area Security<\/a> initiative which, as you know, assists highthreat, highdensity urban areas arguably the most vulnerable would be cut by 26 or 156 million. That is a nearly 45 million cut for new york. Maybe the people who put this budget together are not really watching the news that we all were watching just this week. The emergency food and Shelter Program<\/a> is eliminated as is the flood hazard mapping and risk analysis program. State and local jurisdictions cannot effectively plan for the worst when support from their federal partner is inconsistent or insufficient. In addition to terror threats , we know that the severity and cost of natural disasters are increasing and mitigation efforts can reduce taxpayer support in response to a disaster. We cannot expect communities to realistically prepare for natural disasters with proposed cuts of 55 million to the predisaster mitigation program. As i said, while negotiating the fy 17 omnibus, i cannot support a single cent, let alone 1. 6 billion, for a boondoggle of a wall. It is an unjustified request based on a Campaign Promise<\/a> and simply cannot be taken seriously by this committee. President trumps budget requests slashing 54 billion from nondefense investment would decimate the department of Homeland Security<\/a>. In fact, even existing sequestration level caps are insufficient and would lead to reduced services that American Families<\/a> and communities need. Including Law Enforcement<\/a> and first responders. Its time, mr. Secretary, for a new budget deal to end sequestration once and for all in part to prevent disastrous cuts to critical Homeland Security<\/a> Grant Program<\/a>s. Now more than ever this committee must support the departments essential and complex mission but we cannot do that at the expense of state and local preparedness. So i look forward to a productive discussion today and i thank you for your service to our country. Thank you, ms. Lowey. Were going to stick to a fiveminute rule. Well probably try to warn you when youve got one minute left but keep an eye on the count. Mr. Secretary, were going to allow to you make your Opening Statement<\/a> now. Your statement will be entered into the record so you can make it shorter and easier on us. Well, mr. Chairman, Ranking Member<\/a> roboyallard and distinguished members of the subcommittee, it really is a privilege to be here. I know you feel the same way i do that our government has no greater responsibility than the safety and security of its citizens. To secure homeland one is of prosperity where legal trade and travel add to our national economy. A secure homeland is one from american citizens can go about their lives without fear and a security homeland is one of laws which we use enforce to keep our communities safe. So its with great honor and privilege to appear before you today to discuss the member and web of the department of Homeland Security<\/a> and the Critical Missions<\/a> they carry on every day in service to this nation. I believe the president s fiscal year 2018 budget request for Homeland Security<\/a> will make it possible for us to continue and expand on our ability to protect the nation and its people. We know that threats are out there. We know that our passenger aviation as an example, our top prize in the eyes of terrorist organizations around the globe. We know that Transnational Criminal Organizations<\/a> are bringing drugs across our boarders both on land and sea in massive numbers at a devastating rate. We know that our nations cyber smds are under constant attack. We know that natural disasters devastate American Home<\/a> towns. We also know that dhhs is up to the job of protecting the United States<\/a> in all of these threats and many, many more. Just last week the coast guard offloaded more than 18 tons of cocaine they seized off the pacific ocean. Thats estimated of nine cars and certainly at least as estimated 498 million worth of drugs but more importantly, drugs that wont serve to poison our sit zones. This week, on may 8th and 14th tsa discovered between may 8th and 14th discovered 76 firearms in carryon luggage. In six weeks i. C. E. Arrested more than a thousand gang members in a nationwide multiLaw Enforcement<\/a>, Gang Enforcement<\/a> operation. The men and women of dhs are making a difference. They are making our nation more secure. But we need a budget that matches our mission. No more continuing resolutions. We have to be able to plan. And i think this budget does that. The president s fy 2018 budget requests 44. 1 billion in nondiscretionary funding for the Homeland Security<\/a> department. It also requests 7. 4 billion to finance the costs of emergencies and major disasters in femas Disaster Relief<\/a> fund. When youre talking about numbers like these, its easy to lose sight of whats behind each dollar. When you get right down to it behind each and every dollar are hardworking men and women who have dedicated their lives to protecting the american people. By enforcing the laws that you have passed. Theyre taking dangerous criminals off our streets, keeping terrorists out of the country and drugs off of our street. Theyre investigating crimes with international implications. They are making sure passengers get to their destinations safely. They are responding to devastated communities in the wake of natural disasters. And they are patrolling and maintaining our nations waterways, waterways that support 4. 5 trillion in Economic Activity<\/a> every year. Every dollar invested in the men and women of dhs and every dollar invested in the tools, the infrastructure, equipment and training they need to get the job done is an investment in prosperity, freedom, and the rule of law. Its an investment in the security of the american people. Theres no greater responsibility and a time of no greater need than now. I would be remiss if i did not mention the terrorist attack in manchester on monday as some of you have. Our friends in the uk suffered a terrible loss this week with 22 dead and dozens others wounded. Our thoughts and prayers were them. U. S. Government is actively working, as you could imagine, with the british, fbi, the intelligence community, dhs and others to assist their investigation in any way that we can. Their enemy is our enemy. He is evolving, becoming more reprehensible, even targeting children. He is much more sophisticated, adaptive. Hes global. And you can bet that your dhs is working every day to meet these threats. I appreciate the opportunity to appear here today, particularly as i can speak about the great men and women of dhs, the foot soldiers who protect us in the home fight. I thank you for your continued support of dhs. I remain continued committed, rather, to working with congress and protecting the american people. I look forward to answer your questions, sir, maam. Well, thank you, secretary kelly. We appreciate you being here. Mr. Secretary, youre one of the longest serving cabinet members in this administration, having been confirmed on the job on january 20th. Since youve been at dhs, have you identified some Strategic Imperatives<\/a> and what would you like to change . A great question, sir. One of the things i think that came to me right away when i took the organization again, i cant speak enough about the men and women of dhs. Theyre the most criticized, maligned Organization Group<\/a> of people in federal government and i have found them to be honorable men and women who take their job seriously. So thats one discovery. Another discovery is that theres an awful lot, subpoena n spite of the fact that the Homeland Security<\/a> say very desperate organization, jae johnson started this unity effort thing. I think it makes a lot of sense. My number two and i might be the only one with a number two in the federal government right in our, elaine duke who was confirmed a couple weeks ago and is on the job. Among other rocks that were put in her pack is this issue of how do we take what jae johnson put in place, unity Effort Initiative<\/a> and really accelerate that and find places to where makes sense to find efficiencies and to try to get everyone kind of in the tent. I was shocked to find that throughout the agency there are a number of pay and benefits schemes that people in the secret service dont get the same are not on the same pay scale as the people in ina and the people that are in i. C. E. Dont stand in the same way from a pay and ben fits point of view as does say cvp. Those acquisition. I found that we had two parts of the Organization Going<\/a> through the process of researching and developing, acquiring the same piece of equipment. You know, this is something that dod mostly, almost entirely because the United States<\/a> congress in 1985 they solved that what the Goldwater Nichols<\/a> kind of thing. It does work so im looking for those kind of things to increase the efficiency of the department. But theres other aspects that ive learned to say the least. That is the highly politicized nature of what i do, of what the men and women of this department do, and also, press reporting. Now, that said, in defense of the press and others, i dont think we had a particularly good approach to interacting with the press, and frankly, with the hill. We have put firstclass people in my liaison section in dhs and in the Public Affairs<\/a> section. We are leaning forward to as fast as possible, serve the needs of the United States<\/a> congress quicker, certainly quicker, than it was done before. I remember during the process of being confirmed almost every member i talked to said you are the worst in the federal government for responding to letters or requests or whatever, and thats unacceptable and were changing that. And the same thing with the media. We didnt have a very good outreach to explain what were doing, what the media does with that information, of course, is up to them. But those are the kind of things, mr. Chairman, that found early on and doing the best i can to address. Have been concerned about and we are, i think, pretty much in agreement that all those things need to be fixed. So congratulations. You got a good eye. Mr. Secretary, the fy 18 budget proposes 49 billion for enforcement removal operations including 3. 6 billion for 51,379 tension beds and custody operations an increase of 1,000,012,000 number of the pension beds. The daily population of detainees has been steadily dropping since the president signed the executive order improving Border Security<\/a> and strengthening enforcement of our immigration laws. What method and policies is dhs proposing to put into place to achieve such dramatic uptick in detention capacity on the current trend for adult detention has been slowly but steadily decreasing over several months . Please explain the assumptions used to develop the apprehension number and whether theyre still valid. Well, thats enough. Mr. Chairman, up front i think the actions that are being taken both on the border and in the interior will ultimately result in a pretty pretty quick drop of the number of beds that we ultimately need. But let me deal with the border first. I mean, i think you mention today in your comments. Somewhere in very close to 70 drop in the number of illegal of all Illegal Migrants<\/a> of all types moving up through that terribly Dangerous Network<\/a> through mexico. And not just Central Americans<\/a>, but primarily Central Americans<\/a> have been the travelers on that network. But individuals from all over the world as far away as somalia, pakistan, north korea. So because of what they they dont understand, and this is a good thing, whats going on right now in terms of the enforcement and what were doing on the border. Thats caused them to delay their departure, if you will. By the way, working closely with the Central American<\/a> countries, with the Mexican Government<\/a> of which i have a very, very close relationship, telling them what were doing, working with them to try to convince their citizens to not pay huge amount of money to them to get on that network which, again, is very, very, very dangerous and abusive to stay at home. And at the same time working in another vector to and again, not really knob my job but we put some Energy Behind<\/a> this and that is to help develop economically the Central American<\/a> republic with whom we have great relationships. So thats what were doing on the border. That has and messaging. That has resulted in a 70 reduction of the movement of migrants. Theres a lot of good news there, but, to me, i think the first thing i think about, again, are the number of people that are not on that horrible network being abused, killed in some cases, all the way up the 1,500 miles or so into the United States<\/a>. Again, i cant emphasize enough the close relationship we have, working relationships at every level with the mexicans not to mention the Central American<\/a> countries. Interior enforcement is something, and again, ive only been in this job four months, but interior enforcement, that is to say, developing target packages by i. C. E. , working often times with local Law Enforcement<\/a> to go after specific ideally, ideally specific illegal aliens inside the United States<\/a> that are also criminals. Developing those packages. Theres no sweeps. Theres no dropins to churches. We dont do that or medical facilities or schools. But the interior enforcement to ideally go after criminals who are also illegal and put them into the system if theyre not already in the system and frequently they are and theyve just dropped out of the system. And we need a place to hold them so the interior enforcement has gone up. And but ideally, in my mind, over time we will not need nearly as many as many beds because the legal justice process thats also in place, much of it belongs, of course, to the department of justice, the legal justice process of immigration courts and that kind of thing will return people to their countries of origin much, much faster than it does today. I mean, the real Sticking Point<\/a> right now in what were doing is doj and attorney general sessions and his staff are working hard at hiring more judges so we can process people through, and ultimately, the number of beds well needle go down, i think, pretty steeply. Thank you. Ms. Roybalallard. Mr. Secretary, it is sometimes forgotten that i. C. E. Detention is, in fact, civil detention and not criminal detention, and therefore, should not be used as a punishment as punishment or as a deterrent. In fact, the d. C. District court imposed a preliminary injunction in 2014 preventing the department from using deterrence as a factor in the context of family detention. It mention this because you indicated a few months ago that you were considering a policy of separating children and parents who were apprehended after crossing the border as a way of deterring future migration. I believe you subsequently indicated that you will not institute such a policy, but i wanted to ask you more broadly about deterrence as a factor in detention. Do you believe that deterrence is a permissible consideration when making custody decisions and does i. C. E. Currently have any formal or informal policies that it be considered . The courts have told me i cant do it so thats where i am on this topic. The people that we are put into detention are people who we either consider to be a flight risk, which many are, or a danger to society. So those are the two general categories. Theres many, many people that ice takes into into custody that are then not put into detention but given, you know, we put them in monitoring, sometimes we put ankle bracelets on them, that kind of thing. So the ones that go into detention, again, are dangerous folks, men and women, or they are a flight risk. Which unfortunately many of them are, as i think the Ranking Member<\/a> knows that theres an awful lot of people that just disappear that come into the country illegally that disappear into our society. We dont know where they are. Most of them, as you say, as you pointed out and i think ms. Lowey did, as well, they stay under the radar but they dont commit crimes and those ultimately are not the people that we look for. But for those two factors is why we need the beds and why detention is an option for us. Most i. C. E. Detainees are housed in dedicated facilities but a substantial number are confined in the same facilities as those charged with criminal acts. I. C. E. Detainees should not be treated like criminals or suspected criminals so this underscores the need for strong civil confinement standards. And i was alarmed to see that in your budget request you intend to weaken i. C. E. Detention standards in order to attract more local jurisdictions as detention providers. Is the impetus for weakening standards the need for more detention space to implement the president s executive order on Immigration Enforcement<\/a> . First of all, as i have learned and as kind of a side comment, i was asked by jeh johnson long before i ever knew i was going to be sitting in this seat to participate in a study of i. C. E. Facilities nationwide. I did that and was a member of that facility, i was in all of the discussions, went on trips with them. But i had to drop off because when i was soon as i was named to this to this job i dropped off of that. But the point is, i know a fair amount about the conditions and not only the concerns, not only what the private and Law Enforcement<\/a> people say about detention facilities that i. C. E. Runs, but also, what the gender groups and the advocacy groups talk about so ive got a sense on both sides of that. Thats very helpful for me to understand the issue. But the point is what ive learned is the i. C. E. Detention standards are well beyond the standards that even the federal bureau of prisons has in terms of prisoner or detainee in this case, housing and care. As we seek to enter into, if you will, rental agreements with local Law Enforcement<\/a> or counties to have access to their beds for generally short periods of time, in order to do that we have were looking at lowering our standards so that we can enter into agreements, but still, those the agreements, the detention conditions of detention will be much higher than what is accepted what is acceptable in either the federal system or the state system. So yes, lowering it so we can have some access but its not lowering it to the point by no means lowering it to the point where theres mistreatment or conditions that would not be appropriate from a humanitarian point of view. I guess the point is that it seems to me that all detainees deserve the same level of protections for whatever amount of time that they are in that they spend in detention. And so, thats what brings my concern about having different standards in different facilities. Id also like to point out that the statement accompanying the fy 17 omnibus included a directive that you should weakening standards specifically, it requires that you submit a report to the committee 30 days in advance justifying the rationale for i. C. E. Assigning or renewing contracts that do not require adherence to the most recent detention standards. In addition, it requires a report on the departments plans to bring all detention facilities under the newest standards. In anticipation of that reporting requirement and directive from congress, does i. C. E. Still plan to pursue a lax set of standards for local and county jails . And what, the challenges and obstacles that you see in moving more facilities under the 2011 detention standards and should we be relying less on local and county facilities if theyre unable to commit to detention standards that are appropriate for i. C. E. Detainees . Thats a long list of questions. Im sorry. It is. Lowering the standard does not result in in way, shape, or form detainees being in any way inhumanely treated. But it does give us access to some of the state and local jails. We our preference is to put detainees into our our i. C. E. Facilities, and generally speaking, the way they operate, they stay i. C. E. Operates, they stay in those facilities for minimum periods of time. Oftentimes its just so they go through the relatively short process until we decide what to do they decide what do with them. So again, i go back to it gives us some flexibility. The standards will not be anything approaching anything approaching inhumane or with no dignity. And we will obviously report to the congress and if probably is worthwhile to offer right now a brief from i. C. E. , maybe a member brief or even recommend a hearing and they can come up and talk about those things in detail. Okay. My time support. I have some followup questions but, mr. Chairman, thank you for the generosity of my time. And i need continue to form the committee. It looks like your time remaining clocks are not working, at least mines not. So were keeping time over here. Well try to well try to gently inform you that your time is running out. Ill just maybe im sitting between two texans. Thats probably a pretty good place to be. The term resilient, i sort of mentioned earlier that the whole issue of, you know, equipment and training. You have an amazing number of organizations under your umbrella. Have you done an evaluation as to how resilient they are when it comes to Cyber Attacks<\/a> . Do you have a system which is graded those under your under your purview . We had, of course, as youre aware the most massive cyberattack perhaps the world has ever seen just within recent weeks. Have you done do you have a constant review of the many systems under your purview . The answer to that, the very short answer is, yes. And since you bring it up, the and since you bring it up, the reason i mean, this was a joint effort, but on the morning that that ransom attack started, i would say dhs was among the very first people which is our job, to recognize that it started. And as it grew, and it grew fast, dhs with other aspects of the u. S. Government, but dhs has the lead in terms of defending our dotgov nets and has tremendous partnerships with all of u. S. Industry, whether financial everybody that wants ton play, and a lot of them do play. So when that Ransomware Attack<\/a> started, i would have to tell you went to the situation room, we had some immediate meetings on it. I was proud that everyone, whether it was nsa, fbi, everybody was deferring at all times to my command center that deals 24 7 watching the nets within within cyber defenses. And i was incredibly proud to have them all deferring to dhs. So as we saw that runaway event that ultimately infected huge numbers of systems and computers in europe and middle east, i mean, everywhere, asia, hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of thousands of contaminated systems and individual computers. And because of the inner Agency Effort<\/a> in the United States<\/a> but to a large degree because of what dhs does in its cybersecurity mission, i cant tell you but let me just say that the number of systems infected in our country were minuscule. We defended the country from the biggest cyber onslaught in history, and we were successful in keeping it out of our country with the exception of a tiny, tiny, tiny number of computers. Thank you, mr. Chairman. Thank you, mr. Frelinghuysen. Before i go forward ive just been informed were going to have multiple votes, could be enough to take up an hour at 4 15 so were going to have to limit to one question as we go forward. Ms. Lowey. Thank you, mr. Chairman. Mr. Secretary, i was disappointed by the significant proposed cuts for fema preparedness Grant Program<\/a>s. The uwasi program which helps the most atrisk urban areas such as new york prevent and prepare for terrorist attacks will be cut by 26 and the state Homeland Security<\/a> Grant Program<\/a> would be slashed by more than 25 . Overall, the fy 18 budget proposes a cut of 919 million to fema Grant Program<\/a>s that really help Law Enforcement<\/a> prevent and respond to terrorism and other disasters. To put that in perspective, you would cut vital fund to protect the top terror targets in the u. S. By 31 . Which is equal to roughly half of what youre proposing to build a wall on the Mexican Border<\/a> that is not needed. State and local jurisdictions just cannot effectively plan for, establish and maintain their preparedness programs when support from their federal partner is inconsistent and subject to major deviations. Mr. Secretary, could you please share with us the impetus for proposing such drastic cuts to the Grant Program<\/a>s . Is it based on any sort of analysis that our states, major urban areas and other jurisdictions are well prepared for terrorist threats without federal assistance . I would offer to you that if the 120 days give or that i have had this job of visited a number of our largest cities, new york, chicago, boston, mcall len, texas, a number of places. Met with the mayors. Met with the police chiefs. Ive been to a couple of large police and sheriff, separate organizations that have met here in d. C. A couple months ago. Met with them. Talked to them a lot. I met, interacted with the National Governors<\/a> association that was here in d. C. Which was almost all i think 48 of the governors and point is the state and local men and women of Law Enforcement<\/a> and the people that we work with, fema works with, are very, very highly capable. You know, there was a time i would offer back before 9 11 that we didnt think too much about it because terrorism had not really come to our country. And many of these grants and initiatives, of course, put in place immediately after that but as you might imagine the men and women of Law Enforcement<\/a> locally and on the state level with federal help have risen to the occasion. Theres very, very, very capable fematype people that are in the states and, indeed, many cities have them. I wouldnt say that these funds are not very helpful for those states and localities. But i would offer that it isnt as grim as you describe in terms of taking them away. What i mean is, if we take away this money, which does the budget does some of that, their efforts against terrorism and against other aspects of, you know, disasters wont immediately collapse. So my offer would be that we were looking for money and we evaluated a number of different places, obviously, took from where we thought we could take from. But again, im absolutely confident that the men and women out there in the hinderlands of the United States<\/a> have riz on the the occasion over the last 15 years since 9 11 and are very, very good at what they do. Well, thank you for giving me the opportunity to ask the question, mr. Chairman. But im really surprised, mr. Secretary, with Great Respect<\/a> at your response. Theres no question, for example, in new york city, these people are capable. And theyre carrying out all their activities with distinction. But ill check with them. I havent heard that they dont need that money. And that that money isnt essential. And if new york is a target then its beyond my comprehension that you could think its okay to make those deep cuts. Thank you. I didnt say they dont need the money or i just said that we have found places where we think that the funds are no longer needed in the way that they once were. Okay. I will be happy to get back to you but id like that response in quiting and ill check with the people who are responsible for these programs in new york and maybe have them document how essential these funds are. Thank you very much. Thank you, mr. Chairman. Mr. Culverson . Thank you, mr. Chairman. Mr. Secretary, i want to thank you for your service to our country in the marine corps and the prudence, the president s prudence in being careful in spending our constituents very scarce, hard earned and precious tax dollars and in particular i want to thank you and the president for focusing on restoring the rule of law which is one thing that unites us as americans. We understand in this country, really within of the first in the world to understand our liberty lies in Law Enforcement<\/a>. Thats a fundamental principle of who we are as americans and really appreciate you focusing on that and also want to say that congressman Duncan Hunter<\/a> sr. Spearheaded the effort to build a wall on the Southern California<\/a> border which is working successfully and israelis know how effective a wall can be. Makes sense in large parts of the border. Maybe not as necessary but the wall makes good sense and appreciate your focus on Law Enforcement<\/a> and existing law is very clear, has been on the books since 1950s, that an individual crossing the southern border is subject to up to six months imprisonment if they enter the country illegally. And then two years. And i wanted to in particular bring your attention to judge omoses effort. My good friend henry aquestion yar and i are familiar with it. With the support of the department of justice, they use their good hearts and their common sense in a compassionate way to ensure that exists law is enforced uniformly and fairly and as a result before you came in to President Trump<\/a> came in office and the promise of the enforcement of the law resulted in a precipitous decline of illegal crossings and enforcing the existing law they saw the lowest level of illegal crossings since Border Patrol<\/a> began coping records as i recall, henry. And you and i have worked together closely to support joen judge moses and her efforts. The program she put in place is operation streamline and encourage you to try to expand that up and down the border. As chairman, ill do my part to help ensure the department of justice resources are focused there with additional prosecutors, personnel, u. S. Marshals to make sure that folks are processed and handled in a way to protect everyones Due Process Rights<\/a> and to ensure that people are handled expeditiously by Immigration Judges<\/a> because youre exactly right. We need to make sure the judges are there on the border to handle people who come across and receive that notice to appear which is i believe, henry, they call them permisso. Earlier they called it gone. Disappeared never to show up again. So simply by enforcing the law, ensuring that people show up in front of Immigration Judges<\/a>, or appear before a judge like judge moses up and down the border of brownsville to san diego, you can have a dramatic effect on protecting our southern border and ensuring the free flow of legal goods and people entering the country legally. We all know we need that Good Relationship<\/a> of mexico to have people cross back and forth legally and freely with goods and commerce and for workers. You have to start begins with Law Enforcement<\/a>. Wanted to ask you, mr. Secretary, about operation streamline, if youre familiar with it and could you speak about whens krntly happening under the Trump Administration<\/a> and your leadership if is an individual is apprehended on the southern border and when and how does dhs decide to give them expedited removal proceedings before a judge like judge moses. Im not ill get smart on operation streamline and sounds like i ought to go down to del rio. She is doing a great job. One of the things, again, i have lernled in this job, this immigration thing is most complicated i mean, if we tried to make it anymore complex and hard to understand we couldnt have done it. Any better. But all sorts of categories, right . Right. Theyll catch someone, say a mexican and essentially shell give them a week, you know . Not like quick. They can say i dont want to enter the system. And they can go right back home. One of the things we found, and again, anecdote and talking to a cvp officer, i think the second week i was on the job in mcallen, texas, and just walked the dirt and the terrain and the rivers edge with the real people that understand the illegal Drug Movement<\/a> and all of that, the cvp officers, great men and women each. And they said, you know, sir, we will find, we will stop traffickers, mexican traffickers on our side of the border. Ive been here 14 years. I know the names of many of them. Because well pick them up. Theyll be with illegal aliens. Traffickers code as theyll called and opt to go back to mexico and then whether its one month later or one year later, they catch them again. They go back. One of the things we started doing was holding them and starting to process prosecuting them for Human Trafficking<\/a>. The cost then, and this is important in terms of reduction and the numbers crossing the border, the cost of going from, say, el salvador to the United States<\/a>, the fare if you will to travel on the network and get into the United States<\/a> grew from astronomical figure to the simple people were talking about, peasants from the central republics, good people, 4,000. Life savings. Incredible amount of money to them. Breaks your heart. Now 12,000 or 15,000. They cant afford it. Thats one of the factors in this simple thing starting to arrest and prosecute them. Absolutely. I want to be sure to mention, the judge moses cannot seize the assets of illegal smugglers. A change in law we need to make. Thank you. Yes, sir. Mr. Chairman, thank you so much for this opportunity. Mr. Secretary, i want to say thank you for what you do and what your men and women do. I appreciate it. Im from laredo, texas. I represent the border. I breathe the air. I drink the water. I dont just go in visit and take off and think i think know the border better than the people that live there all my life. And i have to say, during my time here, i have seen secretaries come and go. Well probably see you come and go with all respect. My only advice is, understand the system that were in. The executive branch and sometimes some of us might disagree with you. I dont think its correct for you to tell members of congress to shut up. If we disagree, some of us might agree with you more than others but im just saying, otherwise its going to be a long time, a long term for you if you do that. I think you did that within 90 days after you got sworn in. I want to focus on the wall. I dont support the wall. For several reasons. One, private Property Rights<\/a> and texas we respect private Property Rights<\/a> and its dear to us, number one. Number two, the cost. Regular fence will be 6. 5 million per mile compared to 1 million of technology and i think mr. Taylor whens been in the military, theres a lot of technology out there that works well for the military to work very well for us down there. Thats number two. Number three, environmental or the International Boundary<\/a> water commission. Theres a treaty between the u. S. And mexico as to where you can put barriers and thats an issue that we have to look at. Number four, overstays. 40 of the people that we have here are overstays so you can put the most beautiful wall that you want to but theyll fly in, drive through a bridge or come through a boat. The report that came out, the homeland released two days ago, may 22nd, talks about overstays. Over 40 of the 11 million or 12 million are overstays. Fiscal year there were 630 visitors that failed to leave the u. S. Far exceeding the 415,000 people that came in across the border. More overstays than people coming across or intercepted across the u. S. Mexico border. What was interesting is according to homeland, there are more canadians that overstayed than mexicans. I think your report says 120,000 canadians with expired visas are still believed to be living in the u. S. Compared to 47,000 mexicans on that. And thats probably the stats are not correct or accurate because i think you only looked at plane and boat and didnt look at land crossings, also. And i think the visa stay should be one. The other thing, finally, number five, why i dont support the wall is natural barriers. I think President Trump<\/a> on april acknowledged that there are natural barriers to the border. If i can show you i support a wall. This is the most beautiful wall. Lucille. Is this big bend. Have you seen the big bend . Those are walls. If you want to see walls, those are walls we have and i dont think you can put a wall on top of this cliffs that we have, number one. I think you would agree with me. Second thing is, if you go down to the lower part of the river, the rio grande, a natural barrier, doesnt go straight. As you moe, it snakes up and down. And this is my district down there and the u. S. Side i believe is in the top part. Look at the river the way it snakes. So either you follow. I have taken a small low plane with Michael Mccall<\/a> from laredo to brownsville going a few miles an hour and its hard to put a fence unless if you take private Property Rights<\/a> that we have. So, all im asking you is that, you know, you work with the local Border Patrol<\/a>, work with us, and just say that we cant just use, you know, the fence and we know what happened. Berlin wall. We know what happened to the chinese to the great wall of china. We know what happened to that. And im just saying, we just got to be smart on how we secure the border. We spend 18 billion a year on Border Security<\/a> on the 1 yard line called the u. S. Border. You remember last time we were together with chairman carter and kay and we were on the southern border with mexico and 80 million there to help mexico secure the southern border. 80 million compared to 18 billion. They stop more people coming across than the whole Border Patrol<\/a> did so awe all im saying, mr. Secretary, we want to work with you. I know its a very difficult job that you have. Some of us have been living this for a long time. We want to see legitimate trade, tourism. Not, you know, not impede that. And we just want to work with you so just to conclude, my time is up, some of us want to work with you and please take advantage of our expertise. Im probably in dangerous ground here. If i could, mr. Chairman, could i make a comment . Yes. Okay. [ inaudible ] two comments really. Since ive been in this job, everything that the congressman has said about the border and way to build it, where not to build it, might be places we do it and other places we dont. Ive been saying that since day one. Yes, you have. What you said about the southern border, i mean, when i was on active duty, helped the mexicans construct this border, their southern border strategy, helped them implement it under the radar, quietly. And its worked very effectively. They stopped 160,000 Illegal Migrants<\/a> last year and returned them to their countries of origin humanely. Yes, sir. Great partners. We stopped more than that last year but the southern strategy works. You have probably also heard me say that our one you know, the one yard line stand day in and day out doesnt work. The protection of the southern border starts 1,500 miles south. Everything you said about what we should be doing and thinking about ive been saying and thinking about for, you know, 120 days. My shut up comment. The one thing, sir, with all due respect, that is different between certainly my experience in the u. S. Military and my experience now is that the men and women of the u. S. Military, you can throw rocks or criticize and god knows we deserve some criticism, senior military officers, you can criticize the policy of what theyre trying to execute in the world but one thing we never hear from certainly this institution is criticism of the rank and file, men and women that put their lives on the line in the u. S. Military every day. You never hear that. Right. In this job, all i heard day in and day out nazis, storm troop tactics, prejudice about the men and women, foot soldiers, if you will, that stand on our border or inside our country and protect it. And i would just ask that criticize me. Criticize the trump policies. But please recognize that my men and women are doing the same kind of thing day in and day out as the military men and women are and in a sense give them a break. Thats what the shut up comment was about. Right. Let me mr. Chairman, i just need to respond quickly. Let me just say this. Nobodys attacked the men and women. I think theyre attacking the policy. Ive been attacked, also. You and i agree on a lot of things whether you like but sir, mr. Ceullar. The votes started. Im going to try to keep this hearing going and youll go and come back. Ill stay here. I hope youll have somebody here and stay with me and the rest of you go vote. Come back as soon as you can. We cant do that. [ inaudible ] we are going to do one more. Maybe get back to mr. Price. Maybe get to you. Thank you, mr. Chairman. Now theyre telling me an hours worth of votes. We cant do that. Okay, mr. Fleischmann. Thank you mr. Chairman. Mr. Secretary, let mess start by saying thank you for your Tremendous Service<\/a> to the country and the United States<\/a> machine corps, for stepping up now and being secretary at this most difficult time. In our nations history. Youre a Great American<\/a> and im infinitely grateful for the job youre doing, sir. Ill limit my time to the one question. Cpb faces a tight budget environment. Much of congress and the administrations focus rightly on physical infrastructure, staffing needs and emerging technologies like aerial drones. Dhs should not ignore proven effective technologies that facilitate the safe and efficient flow of legitimate trade and travel across the border. What is dhs plan, sir, to incorporate effective port of Entry Technology<\/a> baase the Border Security<\/a> plan . One of the things im on. One of the things mr. Trump said to me early on when we discussed what his thoughts were relative to the southwest border, he said, you know, kelly, the one thing we cant stop, in fact, if anything if you can speed it up is normal movement of legal people and vehicles and whatnot, commercial Movement North<\/a> and south of the border. On the northern border, the canadians will say we need to thin the border which is i mean, we dont have the same issues on the northern border but the point is to take every opportunity to try to thin that southern border. Longer term plans are build more capacity at the ports of entry. I have my science and Technology People<\/a> who are phenomenal. Ive asked them just today, we have Good Technology<\/a> down there now for vehicles to pass through so that we can see inside them to see if theres people or drugs, you know. Whats the next generation . And then lets skip that one and get to the next one. So i believe we can speed things up. Its fast now. Millions of people back and forth every day. With not so much as a slowdown most of the time in the vehicles. Theres certain indicators we look for and then go to secondaries and drugs and people but its an amazing amount of Movement North<\/a> and south. Good afternoon. Hope you guys had a chance to get a little rest this","publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"archive.org","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","width":"800","height":"600","url":"\/\/ia800606.us.archive.org\/21\/items\/CSPAN3_20170605_163300_Homeland_Security_Secretary_Testifies_on_FY_2018_Budget\/CSPAN3_20170605_163300_Homeland_Security_Secretary_Testifies_on_FY_2018_Budget.thumbs\/CSPAN3_20170605_163300_Homeland_Security_Secretary_Testifies_on_FY_2018_Budget_000001.jpg"}},"autauthor":{"@type":"Organization"},"author":{"sameAs":"archive.org","name":"archive.org"}}],"coverageEndTime":"20240628T12:35:10+00:00"}