CONGRESSMAN MCCAUL HOLDS HOMELAND SECURITY HEARINGS

  

Local congressional representative Michael McCaul said this (Wednesday) morning that the Department of Homeland Security’s mission is critical, but it is also critical that it keeps its finances in check, because in order to protect the homeland ‘we must maximize every dollar spent.’

McCaul is the Chair of the House Homeland Security Committee and he was opening up a hearing on ‘Preventing Waste, Fraud, Abuse and Mismanagement  in Homeland Security.’

McCaul was critical in his opening statement.  He said ‘unfortunately, some of the programs identified include some of the Department’s core function such as acquisition management, financial management, information technology, human capital, and management integration, as well, as multi-agency challenges such as information sharing and cybersecurity.’

McCaul went on to say that ‘while the Department has devoted time to addressing the Government Accounting Office High Risk areas, these reports continue to show examples of programs ignoring best practices and putting taxpayer dollars at risk.’

McCaul said he was encouraged by the steps the Department has taken in recent years to address these issues including achieving a clean audit opinion in 2013.  He says however, much more needs to be done.