Before this Government undertakes such a radical change in funding for these vital programs, Congress must ask some vital questions.

I think the application ought to be across the board so that if a cut is there, it is tied to risk.

On behalf of the American Public Transportation Association (APTA), our more than 1,500 member organizations, and the millions of Americans who regularly ride public transportation, I write to offer APTA's views on the proposed fiscal year…

I do not think any of us would want a community to be at risk because of policies that we are doing.

Everyone agrees that we should spend our homeland security dollars where they are needed most in an efficient and effective manner.

In fiscal year 2012 the Congress passed a bill mandating funding cuts in important Homeland Security grant programs.

I do not think any of what we should do should be to have the result of being punitive.

As a Ranking Member of the authorizing committee for the Department of Homeland Security, I urge my colleagues to take a serious look at this effort to authorize a consolidation of needed Homeland Security grants.

We do not believe that a decade's worth of work in building the regional governance and collaboration structures of these programs should be discarded.

Reducing Government spending by eliminating overlapping and duplicative programs is a common-sense approach to saving scarce Federal funds and enhancing revenue.

The danger of a sudden release of hazardous chemical fumes caused by a terrorist attack is a nightmare scenario.

Congress expressed concern about the safety and security of chemical facilities long before 9/11.

Much should have happened in 6 years. But unfortunately, there is not much progress to report.

We are here today to discuss the integration of the Department of Homeland Security's (Department) management functions and examine whether there is room for improvement.

I would first like to thank Chairman McCaul for convening this hearing.

When the Department was created in 2002, it was the largest reorganization and consolidation of Government agencies...

Since that time, the Department has made efforts to build these disparate operations into one seamless system...

To the Chairman's comment about the consolidation of the grants program, you talk about stakeholder involvement.

In 2011 FEMA responded to 99 major disaster declarations, 29 emergency declarations, and 114 fire management assistance declarations.

Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. Thank you also for holding today's hearing.

Unfortunately, in 2011 FEMA had to contend with more than the record-breaking number of disasters.

Just let me say that, as someone who has gone through some of these similar-type situations, an outreach is absolutely important.

Will you provide the committee with a copy of the FOIA information that you provided to EPIC?

We cannot continue to take this work for granted.

Today, 47% of FAMS believe that retaliation is part and parcel of the FAMS workplace.