Editor’s Note: This post was originally published on Nov. 10, 2014.
Janet Hale is former Undersecretary for Management, U.S. Department of Homeland Security
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) was formed 11 years ago in the aftermath of the tragic September 11 terrorist attacks. Twenty-two agencies and 180,000 employees were brought into DHS to coordinate resources for the protection of the homeland. While this process reorganized the executive branch of government, it unfortunately did not address the other end of Pennsylvania Avenue, Congress. As a result, DHS now reports to anywhere between 88 and 118 committees and subcommittees, a number that has grown over the last 11 years.
Numerous commissions, (including, most recently, former members of the 9/11 Commission who offered recommendations for improving national security in a report published in July 2014 by the Bipartisan Policy Center and the Annenberg Public Policy Center for the University of Pennsylvania), as well as other think tanks and individuals, agree that Congress should streamline the jurisdictional oversight to enable more effective and efficient supervision without straining the resources of the department.
Congressional hearings, briefings, and requests for information are vitally important to maintaining an efficient, responsive, and transparent government. But even with the best intentions, the current congressional oversight is redundant and makes the job of running the DHS and its agencies difficult at best. For example, four-fifths of the way through the 113th Congress, 296 employees of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) had testified or provided a statement of record in 198 congressional hearings before 47 congressional committees and subcommittees. Department personnel also participated in more than 2,800 non-hearing congressional engagements.
Is it possible to better balance the information and input needs of Congress with the efficient allocation of limited resources to perform DHS’s vital work? I believe so, and now is an opportune time for it. Based on the results of the 2014 elections, and with the countdown to the selection of the next president in 2016 underway, change is in the air. The 114th Congress will bring new committee leadership, a potential catalyst for bipartisan leaders in both the House and Senate to restructure and streamline oversight, thus reducing demands that pull DHS leaders away from guiding their organizations. Committees and subcommittees can increase information sharing, sparing DHS agency heads from duplicative information gathering and presentation. And let’s be honest. Who on either side of the rostrum couldn’t benefit from a few fewer meetings?
The missions of DHS’s agencies are diverse and critical to the security of this nation. It’s now time to streamline Congressional oversight so those agencies can focus more of their valuable resources on accomplishing those missions. It’s time to reorganize the other end of Pennsylvania Ave. DHS agencies, lawmakers, and the American people will benefit from the change.
Congressional oversight of DHS: Time for an overhaul
