Bennie Thompson

I urge the Justice Department, the FBI, and the Department of Homeland Security to recommit to working with this committee on behalf of the American people.

Last year, nearly all extremism-related murders in the United States were committed by right-wing domestic terrorists.

Today is a new day and this committee's silence on domestic terrorism now ends because in recent years we have seen a dramatic and disturbing rise in domestic terrorism.

The Honorable Bennie G. Thompson, a Representative in Congress From the State of Mississippi, and Chairman, Committee on Homeland Security:

We should not be asking our State and local partners to do more with less.

Unfortunately, the Trump administration again proposed significant cuts to these programs. This is unacceptable.

No one should blame the men and women of DHS for problems Congress has allowed to fester.

I am very concerned about the impact these statements have on employee morale.

I hope we can come together to enact a meaningful authorization bill that unifies the Department.

Put simply, since taking office President Trump has decimated the leadership ranks of his own Department of Homeland Security.

Do you support that?

The program fiscal year 2020 budget shortchanges the future for political wins today. I will fight to restore funding to improve innovation activities at S&T.

I have serious concerns regarding the President's fiscal year 2020 budget request for both CISA and S&T.

I am pleased to have the opportunity to examine an issue critical to our National security posture.

What is your suggestion to Members of Congress as to what we can do?

To say I am concerned with President Trump's and the Department of Homeland Security's misguided, counterproductive actions would be an understatement.

In many instances, the public didn't know. Justice would say, 'Now in America the public has a right to know if you are tampering or, quote, `improving' the electoral process.'

So in other words, it was more or less an unfunded mandate on Native Americans to say you have to have an address, but we are not going to give you the money necessary to complete the process, we will just establish it.

I would not be elected in Mississippi had it not been for the Voting Rights Act.

As Chairman of this committee, I will not stand for misconduct within the Department, nor will I stand for anything less than full transparency when this committee attempts to carry out its oversight responsibilities.

The strain on unpaid TSOs during the Government shutdown magnified financial pressures already facing the TSO work force, which is underpaid compared to other Federal workers.

Unfortunately, the President's proposal would undercut these critical missions in order to fund a border wall. The President plans to place the homeland at risk.

I hope that whoever the President nominates to be the next Secretary will be more qualified than the last Secretary and more capable of standing up for American values and the rule of law.

Another sad truth is that low-income communities will suffer compounded impacts of climate change.

We cannot have DHS, who oversees FEMA, simply ignore a problem that is so critical to our homeland security.