The committee is meeting today to examine the security of HealthCare.gov and the protection of private information of the American people. We are concerned that the security of the system is as flawed as its functionality. The Department of Homeland Security has two roles in the implementation of Obamacare. The first is to verify the immigration status of applicants. The second role DHS plays in Obamacare is overseeing the security of Federal civilian networks. It would surprise many Americans to know that DHS had effectively no input into the security of HealthCare.gov, despite it being,...

The committee is meeting today to examine our Nation's efforts to combat human trafficking. Human trafficking is emerging in epidemic proportions throughout the United States and the world. In many cities across the United States, women and children, some not even in their teens, are held against their will and forced into prostitution rings. While victims might not be physically imprisoned, they are trapped in deplorable conditions through force, fraud, or coercion that can make escape seem impossible. As the fastest-growing criminal industry, human trafficking is generating billions of...

Americans understand that the threat posed by drug traffickers is particularly intense along our Southwest Border. These organizations compete against each other for smuggling routes into the United States, creating a war zone that engulfs innocent people living in the region. The spillover violence in the United States stems from a variety of criminal activities which bring people and illicit goods into this country. Drug trafficking organizations are highly agile. With billions of dollars in capital, these cartels are capable of corrupting officials and responding violently when targeted by...

Today the President's rhetoric on the threat of al-Qaeda and its franchises are in stark contrast to the reality we are witnessing in the Middle East and Northern Africa. Whether or not the downplaying of the spread of these Islamic extremist groups and the real threat they pose, which are metastasizing from the civil war in Syria, is to further a political agenda or simply to avoid the conflict altogether, I believe this false narrative greatly endangers our National security. Protecting this Nation requires that we correctly identify the threats against it. It also requires that the United...

The purpose of this hearing is to examine the Department of Homeland Security's role, capabilities, and challenges concerning cybersecurity. There are many issues facing the Department. Today's hearing is an opportunity to focus on the cyber threats facing our homeland and how together we can defend against them. Cyber attacks come in all forms. America is the victim of cyber espionage. Countries steal our military and intelligence information. There are threats of cyber warfare from terrorists and economic cyber attacks from Iran and from China. These countries are stealing our trade secrets...