“This bill reorganizes an office in the Department of Homeland Security so it can work better with local police. It also looks for duplicate jobs to cut. I want the department to talk with Congress before it cuts any workers. Firing staff could hurt our ability to share intelligence and stop cyber attacks.”
“Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Madam Speaker, engagement with State, local, Tribal, and territorial law enforcement is essential to the Department of Homeland Security’s mission to secure the homeland. State and local law enforcement partners must have clear points of contact within DHS to maximize information sharing and collaboration on issues like emergency and cybersecurity incident response. H.R. 7574 aims to ensure this by directing the Secretary of Homeland Security to realign the functions and personnel within the Office of Intelligence and Analysis’ Engagement, Liaison, and Outreach office. Madam Speaker, while it is important for State and local officials to have clear points of contact at DHS for information sharing and collaboration, H.R. 7574’s requirement to identify redundancies at the Office of Intelligence and Analysis should not, I hope, be viewed as a pretext to reduce I&A’s workforce. I&A is charged with delivering timely and actionable intelligence to our law enforcement on the front lines and unnecessarily slashing their capacity could unintentionally create security gaps and make our communities more vulnerable to cyber terror attacks and other threats. While I understand that H.R. 7574 seeks to improve DHS relationships with law enforcement agencies by establishing clear communication protocols and centralizing points of contact for law enforcement engagement, I urge DHS to consult with Congress on the implementation of this bill and before any staffing changes or reductions are made. We need to strengthen, not undermine I&A’s ability to protect the homeland. Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.”
Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Madam Speaker, engagement with State, local, Tribal, and territorial law enforcement is essential to the Department of Homeland Security’s mission to secure the homeland. State and local law enforcement partners must have clear points of contact within DHS to maximize information sharing and collaboration on issues like emergency and cybersecurity incident response. H.R. 7574 aims to ensure this by directing the Secretary of Homeland Security to realign the functions and personnel within the Office of Intelligence and Analysis’ Engagement, Liaison, and Outreach office. Madam Speaker, while it is important for State and local officials to have clear points of contact at DHS for information sharing and collaboration, H.R. 7574’s requirement to identify redundancies at the Office of Intelligence and Analysis should not, I hope, be viewed as a pretext to reduce I&A’s workforce. I&A is charged with delivering timely and actionable intelligence to our law enforcement on the front lines and unnecessarily slashing their capacity could unintentionally create security gaps and make our communities more vulnerable to cyber terror attacks and other threats. While I understand that H.R. 7574 seeks to improve DHS relationships with law enforcement agencies by establishing clear communication protocols and centralizing points of contact for law enforcement engagement, I urge DHS to consult with Congress on the implementation of this bill and before any staffing changes or reductions are made. We need to strengthen, not undermine I&A’s ability to protect the homeland. Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.