Today’s hearing comes at a critical juncture in the Department of Homeland Security’s efforts to secure maritime cargo entering our Nation’s ports.

Our mission is to keep America safe, and we have to do it, obviously within the confines of the budget.

I cannot overstate the difficulty an additional budget cut would create on this committee's staff.

Today, we are here to examine whether the Nigerian group known as Boko Haram poses a threat to the United States.

What are we doing on the diplomatic side to engage the country they operate in to do more so that these things don't occur?

If we are serious about engaging this threat, and if the United Nations and other entities are our partners, we have to invest in it.

Now we are claiming that an attack on a United Nations building in Nigeria is an attack on United States' interests.

We must not paint Nigeria as a nation of terrorists.

I agree with everyone here, it is a fractured country. But it is also one that is ripe for an entity like this one.

Without them we would not be able to fill vacancies, maintain competitive salaries or continue to offer paid internships.

Today, we find ourselves at a new crossroads for several reasons.