The fact is, we do not know.

As I look at the overall statistics, DHS interviewed more than 101,000 Iraqi refugee applicants and approved more than 84,000 for resettlement in this country.

Our hope had been--a lot of us on this Committee happened to be on the Armed Services Committee--that we could develop within and for homeland security something like DARPA in the Department of Defense.

I think, overall, really, our record is remarkable.

This is an approval rate that exceeds 80 percent.

right now my son and daughter have more broadband capability than my firefighters do while responding to emergencies every day.

I am heartened that the report that GAO is issuing today concludes that, overall, the Department of Homeland Security has implemented most of its key missions and achieved most of its important goals.

We are never going to achieve 100 percent security.

But when you tell us and the American people that an average of four or five weapons are found every day at airports around the country, it reminds us why.

President Obama implicitly acknowledged this last month when he called for an international effort in the surveillance and management of infectious disease, whatever the origin of the plague.

What is happening now I think is a profound repudiation of the ideology of Islamist extremism.

I appreciate that answer. I have continued to use the term that you used because 'Islamist' makes the point that a political ideology has exploited a religion.

It has to be somebody at the top--nothing negative about Mr. Brennan--who is accountable to Congress and the public.

Should we be admitting 50,000 people over here to our country?

And you think that is an achievable goal?

One of the other ways in which the law attempted to give the DNI authority...

I do not think that is a zero sum game. I think we will either have both or we will have neither.

They view Islamist extremism as regressive.

the requirement to share information has been around since time immemorial

It is certainly my impression that bin Laden, himself, continued to be focused on attacks on the United States of America.

We are very appreciative of Senators Lieberman and McCain's leadership and the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee in their work to reallocate the D Block for public safety use.

Senator McCain was, as you two know, the original sponsor of the legislation that created the 9/11 Commission.

I agree with you totally. It has been very productive.

Are we safer, or are we just safer from the tactics terrorists have already tried?

I do think both the record and the independent evaluations over the years... says that the Department of Homeland Security has made a difference.