Sylvester Turner: “I know that when we look at where we are now there are many deficiencies, and we must recognize that the oversight…”

“I know that when we look at where we are now there are many deficiencies, and we must recognize that the oversight responsibility of our committee is perhaps the most challenging of any committee in the Congress. The reorganization of 22 agencies molded into one Department of Homeland Security is a landmark change designed to be sure that the focus of those agencies is on protecting America, and so I am pleased that the chairman and I and members of our committee have worked closely together to take on the responsibility of oversight which is so critical, ensuring that we mutually achieve the goal that we have in mind. We all know that we must set the priorities. The priorities for homeland security can never be set unless the Department of Homeland Security carries out that vital function of determining the threats and matching them against the vulnerabilities, and I am pleased that the chairman has provided the leadership that we need to move forward in that area. There is much to be done, Mr. Speaker, and we must move faster and we must be stronger than we are today if we are going to ensure a secure America.”