Posts Tagged United States House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform
Holder contempt vote over Fast and Furious: Some Dems to vote with GOP, others plan walk out.
Posted by Michael B. Calyn in Congress on June 28, 2012
Eric Holder Held in Contempt by House
It is the first time Congress has taken such a dramatic move against a sitting Cabinet official.
| Posted Thursday, June 28, 2012, at 4:52 PM ET
US Attorney General Eric Holder chats with a guest as he arrives for the annual picnic for Members of Congress June 27, 2012 on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, DC
Photo by Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images
House Republicans on Thursday followed through with their plans to hold Attorney General Eric Holder in contempt of Congress—but not before dozens of Democrats stormed out of the chamber in protest.
The final vote was 255-67, making Holder the first sitting Cabinet member to be held in contempt by Congress. In the end, 17 Democrats broke ranks with their party and sided with Republicans, who contend that Holder has failed to cooperate with their investigation into the botched “Fast and Furious” gunwalking operation.
The Democratic-walkout was led by members of the Congressional Black Caucus. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who was among those who boycotted the vote, called it an “abuse of power” while speaking on the House floor.
Pelosi and co. say that John Boehner and his fellow Republicans are going after Holder for the Justice Department’s involvement in another hot-button issue unpopular with the GOP: “The whole reason that they want him to resign is because he’s looking into voter suppression,” Pelosi said on Wednesday, referring to the Justice Department’s lawsuits against some states for allegedly violating voter rights law.
The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee have been locked in a standoff with Holder over which documents the administration will give to the panel for their investigation into the gunwalking scheme.
The Justice Department has repeatedly stressed that they’ve been responsive to Committee Chairman Darrell Issa’s requests for documents related to the operation, withholding only those documents pertaining to ongoing criminal investigations. The Committee voted to hold Holder in contempt hours after President Obama used executive privilege to override Issa’s subpoena for some Justice Department documents.
Holder contempt vote over Fast and Furious: Some Dems to vote with GOP, others plan walk out..
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- Pelosi: Attacking Holder part of GOP voter suppression plan (rawstory.com)
- Pelosi: Holder contempt vote about voter suppression… (washingtonexaminer.com)
- Congressional Black Caucus plans walk out of Holder contempt vote (politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com)
- Left shrieks over reports that up to 35 House Democrats may back Holder contempt vote (twitchy.com)
- Dozens of Dems may join GOP on contempt (upi.com)
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- House Democrat breaks ranks to back Holder contempt as vote looms – Fox News (foxnews.com)
TSA bars security guru from perv scanner testimony • The Register
Posted by Michael B. Calyn in Government, Privacy on March 26, 2012
TSA bars security guru from perv scanner testimony
Last minute excuse blocks Bruce Schneier
Posted in Security, 26th March 2012 21:03 GMT
Security expert Bruce Schneier was been banned at the last minute from testifying in front of congress on the efficacy – or otherwise – of the US Transportation Security Administration’s (TSA) much-maligned perv scanners.
Schneier is a long-time critic of the TSA’s policies for screening travelers, and was formally invited to appear before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform and the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure hearings. However, the TSA objected to his presence because he is currently involved in a legal case over the use of said scanners in US airports.
”I was looking forward to sitting next to a TSA person and challenging some of their statements. That would have been interesting,” Schneier toldThe Register. “The request to appear came from the committee itself, because they’d been reading my stuff on this and thought it would be interesting.”
Schneier, who is currently involved in an Economist debate on just this issue, has criticized the TSA’s procedures as “security theater“, designed to give the appearance of security without actually being effective. He has pointed out that the scanners are easily defeated, and that since people who do have items are merely forced to give them up and sent on their way, terrorists simply need to send enough people through the systems until one of them succeeds.
This isn’t the first time the TSA has been less than willing to have itself subject to anything like the same scrutiny that aircraft passengers are routinely put through. Last year they ducked out of similar hearings at the last minute, apparently because they didn’t want to sit next to representatives from the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC).
The use of the perv scanners is highly controversial. The TSA has spent millions of dollars to buy them, and the industry hired ex–Homeland Security supremo Michael Chertoff as a lobbyist to push the technology. However, there have been numerous examples of people claiming to be able to beat the scanners, concerns about the health implications of scanning, and the so-called “homosexual” pat-downs introduced to encourage people to use them caused a national day of protest.
There are currently several ongoing legal cases against the scanners, including one recent case in which, it is claimed, attractive female subjects were being repeatedly ordered to use the devices. Personal airport searches have to be performed by a member of the same sex as the target, but no such rules are in place for operators of the scanners.
“I think the TSA has really painted themselves into a corner over this,” Schneier told us. “They’ve said the scanners were absolutely necessary for security, and made the pat downs you can have as an alternatives so unpleasant. It’s going to be really hard for them to back down, if indeed they can.”
TSA bars security guru from perv scanner testimony • The Register.
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- TSA Oversight: Tell Us Your TSA Story (oversight.house.gov)
- Congress Wants Your TSA Stories (yro.slashdot.org)
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Committee On Oversight & Government Reform
Posted by Michael B. Calyn in Government, Security, Social, Society on March 24, 2012
TSA OVERSIGHT: Tell Us Your TSA Story
March 23, 2012
Have a TSA story or question you’d like to ask TSA leadership?
Go toFacebook.com/Oversight to tell us your story.
Washington, DC – Transportation Security Administration (TSA) program challenges and failures will be the focus of a joint hearing of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform and the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure on Monday.
This hearing will be led by Oversight Committee Chairman Darrell Issa (R-CA) and Transportation Committee Chairman John L. Mica (R-FL). Mica is also a senior member of the Oversight Committee. Both committees have focused on the need for significant TSA reform in order to improve transportation security and eliminate the waste of taxpayers’ money on ineffective or poorly implemented programs.
The focus of Monday’s hearing will include Advanced Imaging Technology (AIT), the Screening of Passengers by Observation Techniques (SPOT) program, the Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC) program, the Visible Intermodal Prevention and Response (VIPR) program, and other security initiatives administered by the TSA. The Committees plan to continue conducting joint oversight hearings examining additional TSA issues in the coming months.
Members will solicit questions from the public via their Facebook pages to ask TSA officials at the hearing.
For more information on this hearing click here.
WHAT: Joint hearing of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform and the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure: “TSA Oversight Part III: Effective Security or Security Theater?”
WHEN: 1:30 PM, Monday, March 26, 2012
WHERE: 2154 Rayburn House Office Building, Washington, DC 20515
WITNESSES:
· Christopher L. McLaughlin, Transportation Security Administration, Assistant Administrator for Security Operations
· Stephen Sadler, Transportation Security Administration, Assistant Administrator for Intelligence and Analysis
· Rear Admiral Paul F. Zukunft, U.S. Coast Guard, Assistant Commandant for Marine Safety, Security & Stewardship
· Stephen M. Lord, U.S. Government Accountability Office, Director, Homeland Security
· Bruce Schneier, BT Global Services, Chief Security Technology Officer; Author, Schneier on Security*
* Mr. Schneier will not testify at Monday’s hearing (UPDATE: 3/23/12)
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Read more… Committee On Oversight & Government Reform.
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