James Lankford

I am not opposed to research, and I am grateful every time I pick up my cell phone or visit a doctor's office for research in the past.

How do we fix this problem? Because for years, there has been this conversation about fixing it.

I do not think we do, and it is one area that we want to be able to work together.

Do we need 120 different hiring authorities in the Federal Government?

That actually exists in the commercial marketplace.

We desperately need someone to be able to help us work that process out.

We have Federal properties that we have had empty for more than a decade in trying to figure out what to do with them.

We want to have a collaborative relationship because at the end of the day, the American people do not need to hear it is somebody else's fault.

States run their voting systems, not the Federal Government.

I never want to see one of our agencies try to protect themselves by blocking out the Inspector General from their investigation.

Cybersecurity is also an area that is squarely within DHS.

The government cannot discriminate against a location simply because it is a religious location for any kind of benefit.

We look forward to that resolution being a clear resolution, consistent with the original law that was passed in the 1990s and with the Supreme Court case that has already come up, with Trinity Lutheran.

The unique rights and privileges for Americans to be secure in their persons, papers, houses, and effects is a constitutionally protected right

The earlier those decisions can be made the better. It creates a great deal of uncertainty in States as they wait until the last minute to be able to get an answer.

It does not help for us to be able to pass a bill dealing with security if the way that it is implemented creates so many lawsuits that you actually cannot get it done and we actually do not have real security.

Good morning. Today we will consider the nomination of John Mitnick to be the General Counsel (GC) of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

The Committee takes these nominations very seriously. We are pleased to have a strong nominee in front of us.

If they get into a voter database and they delete people or they add people, you lose the integrity of the election at that point and people lose trust.

If we had more than just a few States ask us, we are not personnel ready to be able to actually go help them in time for the 2018 elections.

How is that going? There is a pilot program that is underway.

There was a requirement to put in place entry-exit visa verification.

But, it is a list the FBI has created, no outside group is creating that for you and sending it to you?

It is entirely appropriate. My question is: Are you tracking--does the FBI keep a list of hate groups?

Does DHS have the resources it needs to do onsite assessments for all the States that request it between now and the 2018 elections?