Kathleen Rice

I want to thank LinkedIn for giving opportunities to, you know, great Americans like you who have served our country.

Let's just take the politics out of this clearly politicized issue and get to the heart of the matter here.

No one has a corner on the market of National security. There isn't a Democrat or a Republican in this Congress who doesn't have a priority of keeping this country safe.

Now, so that is not to say that Cuba could not become a focus in the future, correct?

So now, in your opinion, how secure is flying to and from Cuban airports compared to any other LPD airports in the world?

I just want to assure all of you that this is not a criminal inquiry, much to the, you know, to the tone that the questions have taken so far.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and thank you for convening this hearing.

Because it sounds to me like we are playing politics here, and there is no reason----

Then don't play politics.

It is bothersome to me that a lot of veterans apply for positions because most of them are offered by either the VA, DoD, or Homeland Security.

Well, but don't you think that--I mean, to me, that is very relevant information, because if you are talking about training veterans and training employers and the hiring is not--I mean, I just think that the reason for why someone, a…

I think one of the earlier questions asked you about how many people who were not hired, veterans who were not hired, who would appeal.

Pipelines are a potential target. With more than 2.5 million miles of pipelines carrying gas, oil, and other hazardous materials across the country, an attack against a pipeline could cause major commercial and environmental damage.

It's important that we're here today to examine how TSA implements and enforces policies regarding pipeline security.

We must remain cognizant of the fact that terrorists are always looking to exploit vulnerabilities, and our pipelines are a major target.

I just want to echo what my colleague Pete King just said. I think it is very clear the Federal Government is responsible for protecting the homeland.

I appreciate your vision and your willingness to try to bring this agency up to the standards that we all expect it to be at.

It's imperative that we make sure TSA has the resources they need to fulfill that mission and that those resources are deployed as effectively as possible.

I was struck by the fact that this budget request seeks only a $12 million increase in funding for surface transportation.

I think it is important for TSOs to know that they are being trained by the best at the same facility as officers and agents who are directly responsible for maintaining United States National security.

I think it is one of our great moral failures as a country that we have even one homeless or jobless veteran.

I mean, one of the great failures, I think, of our government is we let too many veterans fall through the cracks.

Terrorists, ISIL, ISIS, all of them, they are innovating every day, and if we do not keep pace with that, shame on us.

I just think that we need to support as much innovation as possible and a lot of that innovation is coming from smaller businesses that just don't have the capital to invest that kind of up-front money.

I think that there just needs to be a system by which the communication is more direct and that there is clear accountability.