Alejandro Mayorkas, secretary of the Department of Homeland Security and a previous Wash100 awardee, said Congress should reauthorize programs and authorities that are seen as critical to supporting the department’s mission in ensuring the safety of the country.
During his testimony on Tuesday before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, Mayorkas called on Congress to reauthorize DHS’ counter-unmanned aircraft systems authority, which is set to expire on Nov. 18, and the Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction Office, which is expected to sunset on Dec. 21.
The DHS secretary told lawmakers that the authority to implement the Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards program expired on July 28, resulting in the ability of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency to perform risk assessments of high-risk chemical facilities.
“As of today, we have no longer been authorized to conduct over 450 inspections, when historically more than a third of inspections identify at least one gap in a facility’s security,” Mayorkas said at the Senate committee hearing.
Mayorkas also urged Congress to protect DHS’ intelligence collection authorities by reauthorizing Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act and resisting a provision in a proposed bill that would limit the authority of the department’s Office of Intelligence and Analysis.
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