Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, the Secret Service has two primary missions: criminal investigations and protection of the President, Vice President, and other dignitaries. As a result, the Secret Service is entrusted with protecting some of our most valuable assets. This is an extremely difficult, high-profile mission, in an environment with zero margin for error. The Secret Service is comprised of many outstanding and upstanding men and women who do excellent work; however, over the last few years, a series of embarrassing scandals, security failures, and instances of poor judgment have rocked the Secret Service. These incidents range from agents' use of prostitutes while on official travel to Colombia; to an incident in the Netherlands involving intoxicated agents; to the agency's failure to initially apprehend fence jumper Omar Gonzalez, who was later arrested inside the White House. Following these incidents, the President appointed a new director of the Secret Service, Joseph Clancy, who has implemented a number of reforms. The President also appointed a panel of experts to recommend changes to the Secret Service. Through this committee's oversight and the recommendations of the panel, it is clear that, despite Director Clancy's initiatives, legislative action is still necessary.…”