Kathleen Rice

The Transportation Security Acquisition Reform Act was signed into law just over 1 year ago.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. First I want to thank you for convening this hearing and I want to thank the witnesses for coming to talk with us about TSA's technology acquisition process, its strengths, and weaknesses, and what TSA is doing to…

We have to be going above and beyond right now in our efforts to protect the American people.

Well, I think that should be a high priority so we can ensure that whatever program a veteran is accessing is one that is going to help them and that there are measurable outcomes for that.

I don't think that is too descriptive a word, I think it is pretty accurate.

The Federal Government, you know, if everything has been happening over the last 2 weeks in the world is any indication, we have to put more resources and a higher premium on security of the homeland.

I think that if you want to talk about privatization, that is a great conversation to have.

I think there was wide-spread agreement across the aisle post-9/11 that we wanted the Federal Government to be responsible for screening at our airports given the tragedies of 9/11.

So we shouldn't sit here and act like these are accurate apples-to-apples, oranges-to-oranges comparisons because that really hinders us from getting to the heart of the issue, in my opinion.

After the attacks on September 11, the Aviation and Transportation Security Act established the Transportation Security Administration as the Federal entity responsible for transportation security and a Federal screener workforce.

We often hear in Congress that screening without TSOs will lead to a more pleasant and expedient travel experience, but this is simply not the case.

We have to assess all of the findings and recommendations in your report.

I think we can all agree that 96 percent is an alarming figure, and one that we cannot overlook.

We must have seamless communication between Government entities and transit agencies.

I'm confident we can all agree that surface transportation security is equally as important.

I am confident we can all agree that surface transportation security is equally as important.

The threat of terrorism is just as real on our trains as it is on our planes, and we must be prepared to confront and neutralize that threat wherever we may find it.

My home State of New York has launched an initiative in 2011 called Experience Counts, which expanded our State's licensing, and higher education credentials to better integrate military skills and training.

I think gender diversity is a goal for most public and private sectors, but I think for TSA, it is actually an absolute necessity.

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

When you couple this with high attrition and poor retention rates, it is clear that the organization is shrinking dramatically.

We must ensure that our Air Marshal Service is also evolving and maintaining the strength needed to counter these threats and keep passengers safe.

The 9/11 attacks made it clear that we needed a much greater presence on commercial aircrafts to counter the threat of individuals attempting to gain access to a cockpit.

Thank you for convening this hearing. I understand this is actually the first time since 2012 that a panel in this committee has discussed the Federal Aviation Marshal Service.

What are counselors doing to help veterans find--find and retain housing, which is this--they are equally problematic, the joblessness and the homelessness, obviously.