House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas) on Thursday introduced a bill that would establish a Blue Ribbon Commission to conduct an independent, comprehensive review of the Secret Service, which has been beset by security lapses and misconduct.
Even though Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson in September directed in independent review of a Sept. 19 incident where a man jumped the fence to the White House grounds and made his way inside the executive mansion before being caught, McCaul said that review is too narrow and lacks independence, since the outside panelists were selected by the secretary.
McCaul said the commission will examine the leadership structure, training, tools and capabilities of the Secret Service, the “unity of effort” between the agency and other, how well it communicates, how its culture impacts its effectiveness and efficiency, whether its deficiencies impact how it copes with acts of terrorism or other incidents, how well resourced the agency is, and identity all security breaches in the last five years of locations protected by the agency.
“Rather than investigating one specific incident, this independent panel will take a hard look at the Secret Service as a whole and make specific recommendations to ensure the Secret Service has the best possible leadership structure, internal policies, tools, and resources to meet its mission,” McCaul said in a statement.
The bill, the United States Secret Service Accountability and Improvement Act of 2014 (H.R. 5698), calls for an interim report within nine months and the final report within 18 months.
The eight-member commission would have the authority to subpoena and obtain administrative documents and hold hearings.
The panel created by Johnson is due to report by Dec. 15. A separate internal review of the Secret Service overseen by Deputy Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas was expected to report its findings by Nov. 1.