there have been a number of practices that have been highlighted most recently in our zealousness to apprehend whether it is the lone actor or anyone who has been radicalized that may be in the population.

I hope that me raising this with you today is an indicator to you that there needs to be some discussions.

the previous administration's National Security Strategy and National Strategy for Homeland Security excluded response to natural disasters from its definition of homeland security.

Oh boy. That doesn't sound too good. I say that, you know, in all honesty because that is almost at the core of your mission, which is to coordinate, right? So if you are not getting cooperation from other Federal agencies to meet that mandate, there is a challenge there that has to be met.

From my perspective, the Department must have sufficient authority to make sure that Government and privately-owned critical infrastructure install and monitor ample protection for their cyber systems.

I fully understand where all three of you are coming from, but the issue, though, is resources, right?

Thank you Chairman Lungren for convening this hearing on the Science and Technology Directorate.

I believe that our knowledge, our capability, our skills will enable us to protect.

Let me thank you all for your answers. So many questions come to mind once you raise that question and then you get the answers, right?

Even with the death of Osama bin Laden, we must continue our vigilance and the build-out of a robust defense as well strengthen our capacity to be resilient.

Our first responders definitely need to be able to communicate with one another in times of crisis.