The Public Record
Bennie Gordon Thompson is an American politician serving as the U.S. Representative for Mississippi's 2nd congressional district since 1993. A member of the Democratic Party, Thompson has been a prominent voice in Congress on issues related to homeland security, having served as the Chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee. Throughout his tenure, he has focused on various aspects of national security and has been an advocate for addressing threats posed by terrorism and drug cartels.
Second, to those in Congress who have embraced the idea of putting the Department of Homeland Security in budgetary limbo while ever other Federal agency is funded for fiscal year 2015, I say you should really think about the message that…
To those who have said the President's actions do not represent the will of the American people, I say you need to listen better.
Let me be clear: The President's Executive Actions are a good start. However, there are still many people whom I believe deserve such consideration but are left out.
As a former volunteer firefighter, I know that operable and interoperable communications are essential to ensuring that first responders can do their jobs safely and effectively.
I think it is an excellent idea, and we have learned a lot from hearing what Texas has done.
I want to thank the Chairman for holding this timely hearing on our efforts--both domestic and international--to contain and prevent the spread of the Ebola virus.
The value of our public health infrastructure and the cost of maintaining it.
It is incumbent upon us to work with our international partners to eradicate the virus at its origin in West Africa.
I often urge my colleagues not to use our positions of influence to promote fear in the public.
I also want to extend my condolences to the family of Thomas Eric Duncan, the first person diagnosed with Ebola on American soil.
I hope that our discussion today can yield a step in this direction, and I also support the Chairman's comment that this disease does not see party or anything.
These issues create problems for our security and create problems for the men and women that we have asked to protect the homeland.
The people I represent want to know from me... what is the Department doing to deploy its resources to address that problem?
I am very concerned that we have yet to deal with the border security issue that plagues the people I represent every single day.
However, Congressional appropriation of funding of St. Elizabeths continues to be uncertain as the House's fiscal year 2015 Financial Service and General Government Appropriations bill zeroed out funding for GSA.
I was a vocal supporter of the DHS consolidation plan when it was first presented.
It is inconceivable that the Department of Homeland Security does not have a consolidated headquarters where the Secretary can meet with the component heads instantaneously.
Since the Department of Homeland Security was created in 2002, its core components have been dispersed in more than 50 locations throughout the National Capital Region.
I also am concerned about how it is we treat in every way possible, by pay and in terms of morale, the men and women who are on the border.
While doing so, we must also protect against violating the privacy and civil liberties of the American public.
During times of heightened security concerns, like those we currently face in light of the potential threat ISIL poses, there is a tendency to cast aside privacy concerns in favor of security at any cost.
I believe this is the first time we had an FBI director before the committee to testify.
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