Pelosi Announces Agreement on Committee Jurisdiction Regarding Department of Homeland Security
(WASHINGTON) - Speaker Nancy Pelosi today announced that the House Committee on Homeland Security and other House Committees have reached an agreement on a Memorandum of Understanding on jurisdictional issues regarding the Department of Homeland Security:
“Reform of the Department of Homeland Security is urgently needed to ensure that it can achieve its critical mission: to keep the American people safe from all threats,” said Speaker Nancy Pelosi. “To that end, I salute Chair Bennie Thompson and the other House Committee Chairs for reaching this important agreement, which will lay the groundwork for the oversight and improvement of DHS. The leadership of all House Committees remains essential to the work of Congressional Democrats and the Biden-Harris Administration to ensure that the Department is led and operated with dignity, integrity and accountability.”
“The execution of this agreement represents a significant breakthrough in the House’s effort to address the long-standing 9/11 Commission recommendation that there be a principal committee in each chamber to oversee the Department of Homeland Security,” said Homeland Security Committee Chair Bennie G. Thompson. “While I regret that the Homeland Security Committee’s jurisdiction was not expanded, the committees with jurisdiction over parts of DHS are poised to collaborate to an unprecedented degree to put the Department on a positive path. With the continued support of Speaker Pelosi, this agreement positions the 117th Congress to advance critical reforms to build DHS back better.”
The Memorandum of Understanding reflects agreement among the Chairs that, to the maximum extent practicable, committees with jurisdiction over components of the Department will not only coordinate with the Committee on Homeland Security to produce comprehensive authorization legislation for the Department but also consult with the Committee on Homeland Security prior to consideration of component authorization legislation in a committee markup. The Committee on Homeland Security will similarly consult and coordinate with any other committee that is a party to this agreement that is a committee with jurisdiction over that component. The full text of the MOU, which was placed in the Congressional Record today, can be viewed here.
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