United States House Committee on Homeland Security

House Committee on Homeland Security

Standing committee
Active United States House of Representatives 118th Congress
Logo of the House Committee on Homeland Security Republicans
History
Formed	June 19, 2002
Leadership
Chair	Mark Green (R) Since January 9, 2023
Ranking member	Bennie Thompson (D) Since January 3, 2023
Vice chair	Michael Guest (R)
Structure
Seats	33
Political parties	Majority (18)   Republican (18) Minority (15)   Democratic (15)
Jurisdiction
Oversight authority	Department of Homeland Security
Senate counterpart	Senate Homeland Security Committee
Subcommittees
Border Security, Facilitation and Operations Cybersecurity, Infrastructure Protection and Innovation Emergency Preparedness, Response and Recovery Intelligence and Counterterrorism Oversight, Management and Accountability Transportation and Maritime Security
Website
Republican Website: homeland.house.gov Democratic Website: democrats-homeland.house.gov

Not to be confused with Department of Homeland Security.

The U.S. House Committee on Homeland Security is a standing committee of the United States House of Representatives. Its responsibilities include U.S. security legislation and oversight of the Department of Homeland Security.

Role of the committee

The committee conducts oversight and handles legislation (and resolutions) related to the security of the United States. The committee may amend, approve, or table homeland security related bills. It also has the power to hold hearings, conduct investigations, and subpoena witnesses. Additionally, the committee has authorization and policy oversight responsibilities over the Department of Homeland Security.

Rules of the committee

The committee meets on the first Wednesday of each month while the House is in session. It is not permitted to conduct business unless a quorum is present, which the rules define as one third of its members. A majority of members are required for certain actions including: issuing a subpoena, entering executive session, and immunizing a witness. Committee members have access to classified information but must adhere to stringent access control procedures.

History of the committee

In the 109th Congress, the House Select Committee on Homeland Security was established on June 19, 2002, pursuant to H. Res. 449 (adopted by voice vote). The committee was composed of nine members of the House: Mr. Armey, chairman; Mr. DeLay; Mr. Watts of Oklahoma; Ms. Pryce of Ohio; Mr. Portman; Ms. Pelosi; Mr. Frost; Mr. Menendez; and Ms. DeLauro.

The mandate of the Select Committee in the 107th Congress was to “develop recommendations and report to the House on such matters that relate to the establishment of a department of homeland security.” The Select Committee accomplished its mandate on November 22, 2002, when the House concurred in the Senate amendment to H.R. 5005 by unanimous consent and cleared H.R. 5005 for the President. The bill was presented to the President on November 22, 2002, and was signed on November 25, 2002, becoming Public Law number 107-296, the "Homeland Security Act of 2002".

The termination date of the House Select Committee on Homeland Security was “after final disposition of a bill including the final disposition of any veto message on such bill,” which occurred on November 25, 2002.

The second select committee was formed in 2003 at the beginning of the 108th Congress as a select committee with Rep. Christopher Cox of California as its chairman and Jim Turner of Texas as its ranking member. The creation of the committee was necessitated by the creation of the Department of Homeland Security. As an executive branch department, the newly formed Department of Homeland Security required congressional counterparts to facilitate legislative action and oversight.

The committee was made permanent when it was elevated to standing status by a vote of the House of Representatives on January 4, 2005, on the opening day of the 109th Congress, again with Rep. Chris Cox as its first permanent chairman. Rep. Bennie Thompson of Mississippi was the committee's first permanent ranking member. After Chairman Cox resigned from Congress in July 2005 to become the Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, Rep. Peter King of New York served as chairman for the remainder of the 109th Congress.

As Congress switched parties at the beginning of the 110th Congress, Rep. Thompson became the chairman of the committee and Rep. King the ranking member. House control switched parties again at the beginning of the 112th Congress in 2011, and King again became the chairman, and Thompson the ranking member. As the House switched parties at the beginning of the 116th Congress, Thompson again assumed the chair. The committee continues to operate in a bipartisan manner, passing almost all of its legislation out of the committee unanimously.

Hearings

Airport computed tomography (CT) scanners

In November 2017, the full Homeland Security Committee held a hearing to understand how fast the U.S. government could install CT scanners into every airport in the country in order to fight threats to airlines. The hearing focused on the Transportation Security Administration's (TSA) role in keeping the country secure. The hearing was scheduled because a classified security briefing that was held earlier revealed vulnerabilities to the aviation system that concerned committee members. The latest threats, according to committee Chairman Michael McCaul, "were terrorists using electronic devices and laptops as bombs, and exploding the device on an airplane while the plane is in flight."

DHS Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction (CWMD) Office

Logo used by Committee Democrats

On December 7, 2017, the Subcommittee on Emergency Preparedness, Response, and Communications held a hearing about the creation of a new office within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) called the Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction (CWMD) Office. “The purpose of the CWMD is to work every day to prevent another catastrophic attack, one using weapons or materials that have the potential to kill our citizens in numbers that dwarf previous attacks,” said James McDonnell, assistant secretary for countering weapons of mass destruction and director of the Domestic Nuclear Detection Office for within DHS. In his remarks, the subcommittee chairman Rep. Dan Donovan (R-NY) said that the threat of weapons of mass destruction "has changed and become more diverse." One witness discussed drone delivery of biological, chemical and nuclear weapons as one of the newest threats to homeland security.

Fiscal year 2018 budget oversight

In June 2017, Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly testified before the committee regarding DHS's piece of President Trump's Fiscal Year 2018 Budget. During the hearing, members of the committee from both parties "expressed opposition to the Trump administration's proposed budget that would cut funding for training and deployment for local security programs by as much as 30 percent next year [2018]." The overall funding for the department, however, under Trump's budget would increase by almost seven percent. Congressman Peter King (R-NY) said the cuts would affect security programs for New York's first responders, and Congressman Donald Payne (D-NJ) questioned how the cuts would help keep safe the ports of Elizabeth and Newark.

The president's budget for 2018 would:

• Increase the DHS budget for fiscal 2018 by $2.8 billion, to $44.1 billion
• Include funding for 500 new border patrol agents
• Include funding for 1,000 new Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents
• Begin construction of the border wall that Trump promised during his presidential campaign
• Cut grants to local and state agencies by $667 million for pre-disaster mitigation and counterterrorism funding

In November 2017, in an annual oversight hearing called “World Wide Threats: Keeping America Secure in the New Age of Terror”, leaders of the U.S. government's national security agencies “offered troubling assessments of the growing threats from terrorism, both internationally and domestically.”

Members, 118th Congress

Majority

Minority

Mark Green, Tennessee, Chair Michael McCaul, Texas Clay Higgins, Louisiana Michael Guest, Mississippi, Vice Chair Dan Bishop, North Carolina Carlos A. Giménez, Florida August Pfluger, Texas Andrew Garbarino, New York Marjorie Taylor Greene, Georgia Tony Gonzales, Texas Nick LaLota, New York Mike Ezell, Mississippi Anthony D'Esposito, New York Laurel Lee, Florida Morgan Luttrell, Texas Dale Strong, Alabama Josh Brecheen, Oklahoma Eli Crane, Arizona

Bennie Thompson, Mississippi, Ranking Member Sheila Jackson Lee, Texas (until July 19, 2024) Donald Payne Jr., New Jersey (until April 24, 2024) Eric Swalwell, California Lou Correa, California Troy Carter, Louisiana Shri Thanedar, Michigan Seth Magaziner, Rhode Island Glenn Ivey, Maryland Dan Goldman, New York Robert Garcia, California Delia Ramirez, Illinois, Vice Ranking Member Rob Menendez, New Jersey Tom Suozzi, New York (from February 29, 2024) Tim Kennedy, New York (from May 7, 2024) Yvette Clarke, New York Dina Titus, Nevada

Resolutions electing members: H.Res. 14 (Chair), H.Res. 15 (Ranking Member), H.Res. 79 (D), H.Res. 80 (R), H.Res. 1034 (Suozzi), H.Res. 1204 (Kennedy)

Subcommittees for the 118th Congress

Subcommittee	Chair	Ranking Member
Border Security and Enforcement	Clay Higgins (R-LA)	Lou Correa (D-CA)
Counterterrorism, Law Enforcement and Intelligence	August Pfluger (R-TX)	Seth Magaziner (D-RI)
Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Protection	Andrew Garbarino (R-NY)	Eric Swalwell (D-CA)
Emergency Management and Technology	Anthony D'Esposito (R-NY)	Troy Carter (D-LA)
Oversight, Investigations and Accountability	Dan Bishop (R-NC)	Glenn Ivey (D-MD)
Transportation and Maritime Security	Carlos A. Giménez (R-FL)	Shri Thanedar (D-MI)

Committee chairs

• Dick Armey (R-TX), 2002–2003
• Christopher Cox (R-CA), 2003–2005
• Peter King (R-NY), 2005–2007
• Bennie Thompson (D-MS), 2007–2011
• Peter King (R-NY), 2011–2013
• Michael McCaul (R-TX), 2013–2019
• Bennie Thompson (D-MS), 2019–2023
• Mark Green (R-TN), 2023–present

Historical membership rosters

115th Congress

Majority

Minority

Michael McCaul, Texas, Chair Lamar Smith, Texas Peter King, New York Mike Rogers, Alabama Jeff Duncan, South Carolina Tom Marino, Pennsylvania Lou Barletta, Pennsylvania Scott Perry, Pennsylvania John Katko, New York Will Hurd, Texas Martha McSally, Arizona John Ratcliffe, Texas Dan Donovan, New York Mike Gallagher, Wisconsin Clay Higgins, Louisiana John Rutherford, Florida Tom Garrett, Virginia Brian Fitzpatrick, Pennsylvania Don Bacon, Nebraska

Bennie Thompson, Mississippi, Ranking Member Sheila Jackson Lee, Texas James Langevin, Rhode Island Cedric Richmond, Louisiana Bill Keating, Massachusetts Donald Payne Jr., New Jersey Filemon Vela Jr., Texas Bonnie Watson Coleman, New Jersey, Vice Ranking Member Kathleen Rice, New York Lou Correa, California Val Demings, Florida Nanette Barragán, California

Sources: H.Res. 6 (chair), H.Res. 7 (Ranking Member), H.Res. 45 (D) and H.Res. 51 (R)

116th Congress

Majority

Minority

Bennie Thompson, Mississippi, Chair Sheila Jackson Lee, Texas James Langevin, Rhode Island Cedric Richmond, Louisiana Donald Payne Jr., New Jersey Kathleen Rice, New York Lou Correa, California Lauren Underwood, Illinois, Vice Chair Max Rose, New York Xochitl Torres Small, New Mexico Elissa Slotkin, Michigan Emanuel Cleaver, Missouri Al Green, Texas Yvette Clarke, New York Dina Titus, Nevada Bonnie Watson Coleman, New Jersey Nanette Barragán, California Val Demings, Florida

Mike Rogers, Alabama, Ranking Member Peter King, New York Michael McCaul, Texas John Katko, New York Mark Walker, North Carolina Clay Higgins, Louisiana Debbie Lesko, Arizona Mark Green, Tennessee John Joyce, Pennsylvania Dan Crenshaw, Texas Michael Guest, Mississippi Dan Bishop, North Carolina (since September 26, 2019) Jeff Van Drew, New Jersey (since January 16, 2020) Mike Garcia, California (since July 30, 2020)

Sources: H.Res. 24 (chair), H.Res. 25 (Ranking Member), H.Res. 67 (D), H.Res. 68 (R), H.Res. 596 (R), H.Res. 801 (R), H.Res. 1072 (R)

Subcommittees

Subcommittee	Chair	Ranking Member
Border Security, Facilitation, and Operations	Kathleen Rice (D-NY)	Clay Higgins (R-LA)
Cybersecurity, Infrastructure Protection, and Innovation	Lauren Underwood (D-IL)	John Katko (R-NY)
Emergency Preparedness, Response, and Recovery	Donald Payne Jr. (D-NJ)	Peter King (R-NY)
Intelligence and Counterterrorism	Max Rose (D-NY)	Mark Walker (R-NC)
Oversight, Management, and Accountability	Xochitl Torres Small (D-NM)	Dan Crenshaw (R-TX)
Transportation and Maritime Security	Lou Correa (D-CA)	Debbie Lesko (R-AZ)

117th Congress

Majority

Minority

Bennie Thompson, Mississippi, Chair Sheila Jackson Lee, Texas James Langevin, Rhode Island Donald Payne Jr., New Jersey Lou Correa, California Elissa Slotkin, Michigan Emanuel Cleaver, Missouri Al Green, Texas Yvette Clarke, New York Dina Titus, Nevada Bonnie Watson Coleman, New Jersey Kathleen Rice, New York Val Demings, Florida Nanette Barragán, California Josh Gottheimer, New Jersey Elaine Luria, Virginia Tom Malinowski, New Jersey Ritchie Torres, New York, Vice Chair

John Katko, New York, Ranking Member Michael McCaul, Texas Clay Higgins, Louisiana Michael Guest, Mississippi Dan Bishop, North Carolina Jeff Van Drew, New Jersey Ralph Norman, South Carolina Mariannette Miller-Meeks, Iowa Diana Harshbarger, Tennessee Andrew Clyde, Georgia Carlos A. Giménez, Florida Jake LaTurner, Kansas Peter Meijer, Michigan Kat Cammack, Florida August Pfluger, Texas Andrew Garbarino, New York Mayra Flores, Texas (since June 22, 2022)

Resolutions electing members: H.Res. 9 (chair), H.Res. 10 (Ranking Member), H.Res. 62 (D), H.Res. 63 (R), H.Res. 1197 (R)

Subcommittees

Subcommittee	Chair	Ranking Member
Border Security, Facilitation and Operations	Nanette Barragán (D-CA)	Clay Higgins (R-LA)
Cybersecurity, Infrastructure Protection and Innovation	Yvette Clarke (D-NY)	Andrew Garbarino (R-NY)
Emergency Preparedness, Response and Recovery	Val Demings (D-FL)	Kat Cammack (R-FL)
Intelligence and Counterterrorism	Elissa Slotkin (D-MI)	August Pfluger (R-TX)
Oversight, Management and Accountability	Lou Correa (D-NM)	Peter Meijer (R-MI)
Transportation and Maritime Security	Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-NJ)	Carlos A. Giménez (R-FL)

See also

• List of current United States House of Representatives committees
• Final Report of the Task Force on Combating Terrorist and Foreign Fighter Travel

External links

• Committee on Homeland Security homepage (Archive)
• House Homeland Security Committee. Legislation activity and reports, Congress.gov.
• House Homeland Security Committee Hearings and Meetings Video. Congress.gov.
• U.S. Department of Homeland Security homepage
• Works by United States House Committee on Homeland Security at Project Gutenberg
• Works by or about United States House Committee on Homeland Security at the Internet Archive