Deal reached to reauthorize, reform Department of Homeland Security

A group of committee chairman with jurisdiction over the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) recently submitted a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on a plan to regularly reauthorize, reform and improve the department in the 115th Congress.

DHS was established in 2002 in the wake of the September 11th attacks to protect the country from homegrown and foreign threats to national security. The department has not been reauthorized since its inception in 2002.

“We are finally on a solid path to overhaul the Department of Homeland Security and make sure it stays ahead of threats to our country,” House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Rep. Michael McCaul (R-TX) said. “I am pleased that the committee chairmen with jurisdiction over DHS have come together, for the first time, and formally agreed on a path forward to comprehensively reauthorize the Department in the 115th Congress and beyond. This agreement is just what Americans need to see happening in Washington to have more confidence in our nation’s security.”

The House Homeland Security Committee said in a statement that DHS had not kept pace with the evolving threats of homegrown and foreign enemies, and that reauthorization was a needed step. The MOU will now allow the Homeland Security Committee to coordinate the department’s reauthorization and reform.

“I look forward to working hand-in-hand with my colleagues in the House, the Senate, and the new administration to reauthorize DHS and ensure it is equipped to protect the United States and our people more effectively, efficiently, and decisively,” McCaul said.