00:00Thank you for joining us today. The Department of Homeland Security is responsible for a number of
00:07critical missions that safeguard our nation, from preventing terrorism to cyber attacks to securing
00:13our northern as well as southern borders and, of course, responding to natural disasters.
00:19I am disappointed in a disappointing departure from prior administrations, including President
00:24Trump's first administration. We are holding today's hearing to discuss the Department's budget needs
00:30without having received a detailed budget request from the President or briefing from the Department's
00:37components about their budget needs. However, we have seen in just a few short months under the
00:43Trump administration how the Department has undergone tremendous changes. I have serious concerns that some
00:49of these changes are harming, rather than helping, the Department in its mission to protect the safe
00:54and the security of all Americans. For example, as we head into hurricane season and the wildfire
01:03season, the administration has halted critical FEMA programs that support flood mitigation and slashed
01:10staff who focus on disaster relief. These are critical resources for states in the aftermath of a natural
01:17disaster, and the administration has provided little or no justification for these changes.
01:24FEMA has even internally acknowledged that it is not ready for hurricane season, which starts in
01:30just 11 days. And despite that, the administration is still planning on shifting the burden for
01:36disaster response to state and local governments, which will put Americans at grave risk the next time
01:43disaster strikes, which is inevitable. Similarly, at a time when we are facing increasing threats from
01:49cyber attacks, the administration plans to drastically cut our nation's primary
01:54cybersecurity agency, CISA. CISA is supposed to be finalizing a rule required by law that this committee passed to
02:03improve cyber incident reporting to better protect our critical infrastructure from cyber attacks. Yet, reporting indicates that
02:11700 CISA employees have taken deferred resignation under pressure from this administration.
02:18CISA's work on election security has stopped, and the agency's advisory committees have been shuttered. These actions make us less prepared to address
02:28cyber security attacks. The administration also proposes cutting 247 million dollars from the Transportation Security Administration's budget to reduce the number of frontline TSA agents.
02:40At a time when air travel is at an all-time high, and we are entering the busy summer travel season,
02:48these cuts only threaten to make our skies and the flying travelers less secure. At the same time, the administration has also cut
02:56congressionally mandated oversight offices that protect the civil rights and civil liberties of individuals who interact with DHS components.
03:04These offices were put in place to ensure that DHS personnel can conduct their important national security missions
03:11effectively, while safeguarding the rights of the people in this country. Shutting these offices down not only puts Americans at risk, it also is a violation of the Homeland Security Act itself.
03:23Despite several inquiries into your office for more information, I have yet to receive sufficient explanation for these actions.
03:31I also have serious concerns about this administration's inappropriate use of the U.S. military for domestic immigration enforcement,
03:39and the outrageous use of taxpayer dollars, which I will be asking questions about, for detention at Guantanamo Bay.
03:46Certainly anyone concerned about prudent use of taxpayer money should be outraged by what's happening down there.
03:53Our nation faces a multitude of homeland security challenges, and this committee has always been willing to work to address them on a bipartisan basis.
04:02Secretary Noem, when we first met prior to your confirmation, you gave me a commitment that you would work with me to address the many threats facing our nation.
04:10And I hope today's hearing will be an honest discussion about the resources the department needs to do just that, and I welcome having that kind of discussion.
04:20I would hope that we would be able to have that discussion in a way that we have done in this committee, in a bipartisan way, for as long as I can remember.
04:27Where our first round would be seven minutes, and then the second round would be five minutes.
04:31Certainly, Chairman Paul, I would hope you would continue to do the precedent, but I've always known when Senator Johnson was chair of the committee,
04:37he always made sure that everybody had seven minutes.
04:40Certainly, Homeland Security is a primary concern for you, Madam Secretary, and for all of us, and I'm not sure why the Chair is insisting on five minutes.
04:50I know you're fully capable of answering for seven minutes, and you shouldn't be concerned about it, but apparently the Chairman is concerned about that extra time.
04:57So, Mr. Chairman, I'd hope we'd get seven minutes on the first round, and then five, as we always have, as long as this committee has been in existence.
05:06Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
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