House Proceeding 02-03-09 on Feb 3rd, 2009 :: 1:51:21 to 1:56:40
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1:51:01 to 1:51:21( Edit History Discussion )

Jane Harman: so that agencies and departments operate with a uniformed set of classification policies. thank you and i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the gentleman from mississippi. mr. thompson: madam speaker, i yield for as much time as she may consume, the gentlewoman

1:51:21 to 1:56:40( Edit History Discussion )
Speech By: Jane Harman

1:51:22 to 1:51:42( Edit History Discussion )

Jane Harman: from california, the person who sponsors the legislation, ms. harman. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from california is recognized. ms. harman: i thank our chairman for yielding and commend him for his role in this bill and the two that will follow and would also point out, madam speaker, that our committee is an

1:51:43 to 1:52:04( Edit History Discussion )

Jane Harman: extremely bipartisan committee. this legislation, i would say to the gentleman from the republican side, was reported unanimously by our subcommittee last year, unanimously by the full committee and was adopted by voice vote on the hse floor. this legislation, which applies only to the department of homeland security, was the

1:52:05 to 1:52:25( Edit History Discussion )

Jane Harman: result of a very careful set of hearings and perhaps there are arguments to deal with this subject in other parts of the government, but i believe this legislation and the careful way it was considered is a model for what the house should be doing and obviously i urge its prompt

1:52:26 to 1:52:46( Edit History Discussion )

Jane Harman: enactment again. madam speaker, america's first preventers faced an enormous challenge two weeks ago, as chairman thompson said. they protected key members of the old and new administrations, especially the first families. thou the so-called purple tunnel of doom incident meant manyicket holders could not

1:52:47 to 1:53:07( Edit History Discussion )

Jane Harman: get in, a thoroughly preventable fiasco, our first preventers did manage a crowd of millions for the largest american presidential inauguration ever, working almost seamlessly with federal counterparts to do so. the most important part of this extraordinary feat was the efficient chairing of accurate, actionable and timely

1:53:08 to 1:53:29( Edit History Discussion )

Jane Harman: information, especially information about threats, with police officers on the ground. now that the inauguration is over, local law enforcement shouldn't have to return to business as usual. information sharing, we should all be reminded, was a huge problem leading up to 9/11 and

1:53:30 to 1:53:52( Edit History Discussion )

Jane Harman: seven years later, we still have unfinished business. though hard to believe, sheriffs and police chiefs cannot readily access the information they need to prevent or disrupt a potential terrorist attack because those at the federal level resist sharing information. over-classification and pseudo classification, which is stamping with any number of sensitive but unclassified

1:53:53 to 1:54:13( Edit History Discussion )

Jane Harman: markings, remain rampant. protecting sources and methods is the only valid reason to refuse to share information. it is no exaggeration that people die in our ability to monitor certain targets can be compromised if sources and methods are revealed. as one who served on our intelligence committee for eight years, i saw this up close and

1:54:14 to 1:54:36( Edit History Discussion )

Jane Harman: personal. but, madam speaker, classifying information to protect turf or avoid embarrassment is wrong. as i mentioned, i served for all those years on the intelligence committee and became credibly frustrated with this practice, which the bush administration elevated to an art form. and sadly, the practice has spread to our newest federal

1:54:37 to 1:54:58( Edit History Discussion )

Jane Harman: agency, the department of homeland security. madam speaker, the next attack in the united states will not be stopped because a bureaucrat in washington, d.c., found out about it in advance. it will be the cop on the beat who is familiar with the rhythms and nuances of hisnd her own neighborhood who will foil that attack.

1:54:59 to 1:55:20( Edit History Discussion )

Jane Harman: h.r. 553 is an attempt to establish a gold standard at d.h.s. when it comes to classification practices. it requires that all classified intelligence products created at the department be simultaneously created in a standard unclassified format if such a product would help local law enforcement keep us safe. this is unprecedented.

1:55:21 to 1:55:41( Edit History Discussion )

Jane Harman: furthermore, the bill requires portion marking, the identification of paragraphs, in a document that are unclassified, permits the -- permitting the remainder of the document to remain unclassified. i misspoke, madam speaker. the portion marking is for portions that are classified and that remains -- that leaves the

1:55:42 to 1:56:02( Edit History Discussion )

Jane Harman: remainder of the document to be unclassified. the measure will promote accountabili by requiring the d.h.s. inspector general to sample randomly classified intelligence products and identify problems that exist in those samples. it also directs the secretary to develop a plan to track electronically how and where information classified by d.h.s.

1:56:03 to 1:56:23( Edit History Discussion )

Jane Harman: is disseminated so that misuse can berevented. and finally the legislation requires the secretary to estabsh extensive annual training on the proper use of the classification regime and penalties for staff who repeatedly failed to comply with applicable classification policies. madam speaker, a key to homeland security is personal

1:56:24 to 1:56:40( Edit History Discussion )

Jane Harman: preparedness. a preparedublic is not likely to be triesed. access to important, nonclassified information is essential to ensure preparedness and this bill protects the public's right to know. it enjoys broad support by