Today we will consider the nomination of admiral david pacoski to become the next administrator of the National Transportation administration. Having spent 32 years in the coast guard, the admiral is an exceptionally wellqualified nominee to become the next tsa administrator. His extensive leadership experience ranges from serving as commander of the coast guard pacific area and Coast Guard Defense sources west where he was in charge of all coast guard operations in the western hemisphere to becoming the 26th vice commandant of the u. S. Coast guard in 2009 where he served as second in command, chief operating officer and component Acquisition Executive of the coast guard. The admirals nomination to become tsa administrator comes at an important time. Security threats remain a persistent challenge and the tsa is not only tax canned with protecting them from attack but ensuring the movement of people and commerce in an efficient manner. Since creation of this committee in response to the 9 11 attacks, ts harks has been subject to extensive scrutiny. Ease with which covert testers from the department of Homeland SecurityInspector General and Government Accountability office have been able to smuggle contra band through check points as well as existing problems. In spite of these challenges, the previous administrator made significant positive changes to the agency some of which include shortening wait times during last summers travel season, improving technology at check points and creation of Training Academy for workers. I hope the admiral can build on these improvements, provide continuity for tsas workforce and apply his extensive leadership skills to solving the challenges that remain should he be confirmed. The Commerce Committee has been active on Aviation Security. Last congress the committee passed the most comprehensive reforms to tsa in a decade and the faa extension safety and security act of 2016 which addressed the challenges posed by unauthorized access to secure areas of airports, expanded access to tsa precheck and attempted to optimize check point operations. Erm yer this year however the Commerce Committee held an oversight hearing in which dhs attorney general testified challenges still remain with regard to many of the issues. Inspector general ross indicated these challenges include vulnerabilities relating to vetting of employees, eninsuring only cleared employees have access to secured areas and the troubling of issue of lost or stolen badges. I hope the admiral will make progress in addressing these issues. Always the committee continues to work with tsa to improve Aviation Security it is important to incorporate the perspective of stakeholders. Commerce Committee Held a hearing to highlight stakeholder perspective. One of the major themes that emerged was a need for a riskbased approach to security as well as better collaboration between tsa and industry to promote innovation. Currently the agency is drawing considerable attention for exploring the possible expansion of the ban on personal Electronic Devices such as Laptop Computers on flights to the United States from certain last point departure airports. While secretary of Homeland Security recently signalled such a move may be unnecessary, this is a good example of where stakeholder collaboration will be critical to the accept answer and implementation of security protocols. My hope is that the admiral will work to promote relationships with private and create in the Service Transportation sector a long standing challenge for tsa has been akomting a cross cutting risk based across ald modes. On the surface and Maritime Transportation security act which i introduced with Ranking Member nelson. Our bill would direct tsa to conduct analysis across all modes of transportation for asset deployment, require tsa employ budget on this base and establish an Advisory Committee similar to the aviation stakeholder Advisory Committee. Bill was reported favorably with bipartisan support and we continue to work on it. I was able to meet with the admiral last week in advance of this hearing and believe if confirmed he will provide important strategic and cultural continuity to tsa in much of the same manager as his distinguished predecessor. I strongly support his nomination and i hope we can move quickly to confirm him. With that i will turn to Ranking Member sen toll nelson for any remarks he would like to make. Thanks, mr. Chairman. I join and by reference agree with your comments and, therefore, i will insert my comments in the record. I just want to thank the admiral for his 33 years with the coast guard which is a very professional team, and the members of this committee are very proud of the coast guard. And since he had the whole west coast it includes down to American Samoa to the berring sea and the arctic area where the coast guard basically takes care of all of that area. One thing we might look at in this ever changing scene of technology and the threats to the Transportation Safety is that wherever people bunch up, thats a soft target. We found, unfortunately, with russ else russells in london, thats outside the secured areas. Someplace i was the other day, i think it was at Grand Central station as people were getting ready to form the line to go through the gates to get on the train when the train arrived, and they dont let you go in until the train has arrived so that you dont clutter up the platform there by the tracks. I was thinking at the time i mean this is a bunch of americans all massed up together, and this is stuff that youve got to worry about. And because it is all part of our Transportation Safety. Surface transportation, the security of that surface transportation has been underfunded and unfocused, and the bill that were looking at aims to fix that by enhancing riskbased security, requiring training to address the threats on our highways, closing gaps in Port Security and providing funding to improve security at our rail stations and our seaports. Now, the bill does something very, very important, and that is it adds 200 canine teams, and that is not only a powerful technological thing because nobody has been able to reproduce the sensitive sniffing of a dog, but it also provides a very psychological deterrence as well. And on the faa extension, which passed a year ago, it includes bipartisan provisions to better guard against terrorism threats and improve security screening. I will just say in conclusion that i think the people that had advised the president were not giving the best advice when they recommended cutting the dog teams in the president s proposed budget. Once you are in the position, admiral, you need to make what you know to be true, wellknown at oemb and the white house. And what we are trying to do in the bill is increase the number of canine teams, called viepper teams. I thank you, mr. Chairman. Lets hear from the witness. Thank you, senator nelson. We are delighted to welcome admiral david pekoske, here as nominee to be administrator of nation transportation security. Thank you. It is a privilege to appear before you today as the president s nominee to lead the transportation security administration. I am honored to have been nominated by President Trump for this very Important National security position, and if confirmed i look forward to the opportunity to work with secretary kelly, deputy secretary duke and the entire team with the department of Homeland Security. My first comments today are in strong support of the men and women of the transportation security administration. Each and every one contributes to the security of our nations Transportation System and works tirelessly to earn the trust and respect of the American People. Their work is critical to the security of our aviation and surface Transportation Systems, and they have in my opinion done an outstanding job in protecting us from an everpresent and very dynamic threat. It would be my privilege to join them as their administrator and bring my leadership skills and experience directly to the effort of securing our homeland. Tsa could not accomplish its mission were it not for the strong partnerships it has with other federal partners, state and local Public Safety and Law Enforcement agencies, the airline industry, the Government Services industry, airport owners and operators and international partners. Throughout my professional career i have seen firsthand the importance and enormous value of strong partnerships and professional relationships. This is the extended tsa team and it would be my privilege to join them as well in our collective goal of ensuring transportation security in the United States. I had the high honor of serving our country in the United States coast guard for most of my adult life. I am forever grateful to my coast guard colleagues for their investment in my leadership and professional development. I have extensive experience in counterterrorism and Security Operations and in leading a large operating federal agency that used riskbased management. I was at the coast guard com man daunlts side on 9 11 as executive assistant when the attacks on our homeland occurred. Like all of you, i will never fehr get that day and the days that followed. I was privileged to remain as his assistant when the department of Homeland Security and tsa were established. I served at first two National Political conventions since 9 11, the Democratic National convention in boston and republican National Convention in new york city. Both were National Special security events and our Security Operations across all federal, state and local agencies were very successful. Strong partnerships among Law Enforcement and Public Safety agencies are absolutely critical and are a high priority for me. I served as assistant commandant, establishing service wide policy for Security Operations and regularly participated in discussions with National SecurityCouncil Staff and operations deputies of the other military services. As commander of the pacific area i was responsible for all coast guard operations on the west coast of the United States, alaska and hawaii. Given the vast expanse of the pacific and our National Strategy of ib creasing emphasis on operations in the Pacific Theater i worked closely with coast guards of russia, china, south korea, japan and korea. I was a strong supporter of international engagement. Both can contribute to the security of the United States. As vice commandant of the coast guard i served as vice service chief and Acquisition Executive, responsible to train, equip and organize a Coast Guard Force of over 50,000 people. In addition, i was the executive champion for the coast guard innovation program, one of the most wellestablished innovation programs in government. Should i be confirmed as tsa administrator, noefs will be one of my key focus areas. I think it is critical to improve if effectiveness and efficiency of tsa operations. Following my Coast Guard Services i joined a mid market company. My service in the private sector was valuable. My experience in the coast guard and in the private sector is directly relevant the position of tsa administrator. Today we face a multitude of threats that are persistent and everevolving. We know certain terrorist organizations remain focused on commercial aviation and disrupting the freedom also we enjoy as an open society. Staying ahead of these threats and ensuring appropriate measures are in place will continue to be tsas most significant challenge. If confirmed it would be my honor to serve in what i consider to be one of the most challenging jobs in government, my over arching goal would be to lead tsa in an ever stronging position as effective and efficient provider of security for Transportation Systems, especially aviation with a strong and growing level of growing Public Confidence in the agencys mission performance. I will articulate a clear vision for tsa to ensure our efforts contribute to its achievement. My full intention is to serve for as long as the president and secretary wish me to remain in this position if confirmed. I think leadership continuity is very important. If confirmed i would be the 13th administrator in 16 years when you include those in an acting capacity. I am reminded of a quote of Alexander Hamilton when he as our first secretary of the treasury issued instructions to the Commanding Officers of the revenue cutters, which were pred setters to the coast guard. He issued these instructions in 1791. He in part they will always keep in mind their countrymen are free men and as such are impatient of everything that bears the least mark of a domineering spirit. They will therefore refrain with the most guarded circ uhm speck shon from whatever has a sim blanls of haughtiness or rudeness or insult. I think that sage advice applies to all of those involved in Law Enforcement or Security Operations today. It is something that will guide me if im so fortunate as to have the opportunity to lead the tsa. The tsa is the face of the federal government to million also of air travelers every day. They rightfully expect efficient screening with minimum of delay by government officials that treat them with respect. I will work diligently with the tsa workforce to continue tsa continues to meet the standards. We must balance security with liberty guaranteed in our constitution. I thank chairman thune, distinguished members of this committee i thank you for your courtesies during this process and the opportunity to appear before you today. I look forward to answering your questions. Thank you, sir. Thank you, admiral. We appreciate very much your willingness to serve in what is a critically important position. We look forward to working with you to meet the challenges that we have ahead of us. Let me start by asking a question about the Precheck Program at tsa which in which i and i assume a number of the panels participate, but it is a valuable riskbased security measure that provides expedited check point screening at airports for low risk trusted travelers. Last year we included a provision in the faa extension to strengthen tsas faltering efforts to expand the Precheck Application Program and enroll more vetted travelers. Since enactment tsa has not implemented key elements required under the law such as soliciting multiple private sector enrollment options or identifying a specific time frame and longterm strategy for approving private Sector Marketing and precheck. The question, admiral, is do you believe it is important to expand precheck enrollment opportunities for the traveling public so that more trusted travelers are flying our skies and the tsa can therefore focus on screening highrisk travelers . Mr. Chairman, yes, i dochlt i am also a precheck participant. I think it is a terrific program. About five million of our travelers are enrolled in precheck, and when you add in some of the other programs you get up to about eight million people, but it only accounts for maybe 18 or 20 of the traveling public which is way too low in my opinion. I would if confirmed, i would want to take a close look at the recommendations the committee made, was passed in law, and do everything we can to maeken rollment easier for people, encourage enrollment and ensure it is available for travelers as they go through the queue. Thats why i want to make sure we fulfill the directives from congress in a timely manner and update our committee on how tsa will expand precheck under your leadership. Yes, sir, i commit to doing that. Tsas primary focus has been Aviation Security, however threats have continued to evolve and soft targets in open environments such as train stations have become an area of increasing concern. If confirmed how would you seek to address these security challenges without impeding the flow of passengers and commerce . Sir, we are reminded nearly ever