Politics

On the 13th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, the three former U.S. Secretaries of Homeland Security recommended that Congress streamline its oversight of the Department of Homeland Security as “a matter of critical importance to national security on which there is broad bipartisan agreement.”

The struggle against terrorism "has entered a new and dangerous phase," members of the 9/11 Commission said on the 10-year anniversary of their report. The group's new report, developed with APPC and the Bipartisan Policy Center, identified emerging threats and continuing vulnerabilities.

Ten years ago, the 9/11 Commission urged Congress to overhaul its supervision of the Department of Homeland Security in the name of national security. At the time, Homeland Security answered to 88 Congressional committees and subcommittees. The issue was spotlighted in an ad in the New York Times.

At the 2014 Aspen Ideas Festival, national security experts including former 9/11 Commission chair Thomas H. Kean agreed that the nation is not as safe as it could or should be. One problem: Congressional oversight of the Department of Homeland Security was in the hands of too many committees and subcommittees.

Viewers of “The Colbert Report” who watched faux-conservative TV host Stephen Colbert set up a super PAC and 501(c)(4) organization during the last presidential election cycle proved to be better informed about campaign financing and the role of money in politics than viewers of other news channels and shows, according to a new study by researchers at the Annenberg Public Policy Center.

More than 60 leaders in national defense urged Congress today to reform the way it oversees homeland security, saying that the current system jeopardizes national security and leaves the nation vulnerable to cyber-attacks, bioterrorism, and other threats.