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September 21, 2010

Tom Ridge on DHS Congressional Oversight (again), His Suggestion Deserves Support

Thanks to CQ’s Rob Margetta, we have a good report of former DHS Secretary Tom Ridge’s latest comments yesterday about when streamlining congressional oversight of DHS might occur. This is not the first time Secretary Ridge has weighed in on the problems of having DHS report to over 100 congressional committees and subcommittees, and his thoughts have been echoed by his two predecessors, Michael Chertoff and Janet Napolitano, and a chorus of other voices.

In fact, I cannot recall a single instance over the past two years where anyone has expressed an opposite viewpoint – at least in public. But yesterday, Ridge went further and suggested that the best time to address the issue is immediately after the upcoming elections when the parties will be engaged in organizing for the next session.

Margetta wrote:

If Congress is going to fix its fragmented jurisdiction over the Department of Homeland Security, it will have a narrow window to do so after the November elections, no matter which party is left with a majority, former Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge said Monday.

“If you don’t do it while they’re reorganizing, it’s not going to get done,” Ridge said, after a discussion on the state of U.S. homeland security hosted by the conservative Ripon Society.

As a former congressman, Tom Ridge knows the right leverage points and his suggestion is imminently workable – if there is the political will and sufficient leadership to risk tearing up some jealously guarded political turf.

Representatives Peter King and Charlie Dent, both Republicans, were mentioned in the CQ article indicating their belief that congressional oversight reform was an act worth taking now. It would be good if some of their Democratic colleagues picked up on earlier comments by House Homeland Security Committee Chair Bennie Thompson, which are in line with Ridge’s remarks.

And that is a key issue the leadership of both parties seems to be missing (or ignoring) – the elimination of overlapping jurisdiction of DHS is supported on a bipartisan basis. Perhaps this is one of the few issues that members on both sides of the aisle agree upon this election year, but to date, the leadership of both parties has sat on their hands and ignored the calls for reform of the oversight morass.

Ridge is right. There is a narrow window of opportunity for Congress to implement the sole remaining recommendation of the 9-11 Commission. No matter which party controls the next Congress, Democrats and Republicans need to keep this issue in the forefront as they organize for next year’s session. It is time for action to resolve this debacle.

David Olive focuses his blogging primarily on the “business of homeland security” — the interaction of the private sector with the Department of Homeland Security and other national security agencies. Read More
  • Pjcoyle

    There may be bipartisan support in the Homeland Security Committee for streamlining the oversight of DHS, but that isn't what counts. Each committee (on both sides of the aisle) with current oversight of some DHS component will be loath to give up that power. This is not about political parties, it is about personal political influence.

  • Pjcoyle

    There may be bipartisan support in the Homeland Security Committee for streamlining the oversight of DHS, but that isn't what counts. Each committee (on both sides of the aisle) with current oversight of some DHS component will be loath to give up that power. This is not about political parties, it is about personal political influence.

  • Cosmo deMedici

    Ancient History (DHS AND CONGRESS need to think about the lessons of history):

    Two years after the Defense Department was created, Congress created the House and Senate Armed Services Committees. This was because Congress realized that the “shotgun” approach to oversight didn't work, and the Defense Department started playing each committee off on each other to act in its own direction/interest.

    Today’s Challenges:

    1. All 100 Senators serve on a committee of jurisdiction.

    2. At DHS's birth, all but 15 Representatives served on a committee of jurisdiction (let’s not talk about today, it would involve Delegates).

    3. Approximately 100 committees, subcommittees, or congressional oversight entities.

    Path Forward:

    1. DHS pays the most attention to the Appropriation’s subcommittees in each chamber, because they have consolidated jurisdiction and nearly every major piece of legislation that impacts the Department rides on the appropriations act (except for its creation and Intel reform act).

    2. DHS should increase its efforts to play the authorization committees off against each other, instead of trying to strengthen the Senate Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs committee as well as the House Committee on Homeland security. Because:

    A. These committees are not up to or capable of the political challenge of reforming Congress.

    B. Congressional Leadership loathes the idea of taking on multiple committee chairmen.

    C. If it gets bad enough (aka either DHS ignoring committees or Congress ever finds out everything DHS is doing) then Congress will change.