people to get back to work. agendas are not separate, it's not child care over here, hard subject growing the economy over here, the two are linked and a sensible government will bring them together. can i thank you all for coming, thank the iod for the excellent work you do supporting enterprise, i mean what you say, if you have suggestions and ideas, tax changes, regulation changes, things you think would help motor the british economy, get them to me, we are a pro-enterprise, pro-business government. thank you very much, indeed. [ applause ] a couple of live events to tell you about on our companion network today, health and human services secretary will be speaking at georgetown university's public policy institute. someone criticized the school for inviting her because of her role in inviting health

insurance plans to cover birth control. the secretary is scheduled to speak at 11:00 this morning and it will be live on cspan2. at 4:00 eastern today, hillary clinton will be speaking at the chicago council on foreign relations. her topic is efforts to increase agriculture production and global food security. that's live at 4:00 p.m. eastern on cspan2. this morning on capitol hill, the homeland security subcommittee on counterterrorism and intelligence is setting to look at cutting off money to terrorist organizations, was set to start this morning at 9:30. it is going to be delayed a bit, probably close to an hour, since the house right now is conducting a series of amendment votes on defense appropriations. they've been whittling through a list of 142 amendments to that bill. members will hold several series of votes throughout the day, and you can see that on our

companion network cspan. while we wait for the hearing to get underway, yesterday ethical standards was looked at, departments acting inspector general said misconduct is a threat to national security, also testifying at the hearing, transportation security administration and immigrations and customs enforcement. congressman michael mccall from texas chaired this hearing. >> the committee will come to order. >> the purpose of this hearing is to examine the ethical policies, conduct, and alleged criminal activities within the department of homeland security. i now recognize myself for an opening statement. may 6th through the 12th was public recognition week. we set aside time each year to honor our public servants, who keep us safe, care for our veterans, patrol our borders, and find cures for rare

diseases. they make our country stronger and make a difference in the world. most of our employees understand public service is a public trust. each one has a responsibility to the united states government and the citizens they all serve to place loyalty to the constitution, laws, and ethical principles above private gain, and most public servants adhere to this trust, however, the pugh research center interviewed more than 3,000 adults about their views of our government. 54% said the federal government is mostly corrupt while 31% said mostly honest. 11% said they don't know either. the survey also showed just a third of americans has a favorable opinion of the federal government, the lowest positive rating in its 15 years. a measure of dissatisfaction these days is to be expected. the country is in economic trouble, and our leaders promise things they cannot deliver. what compounds this

dissatisfaction, government scandals, there have been reports of federal employees wasting taxpayer dollars and in some cases committing crimes. the general services administration employees spent over $8,000 in a conference in las vegas, the department of homeland security spent nearly $1 billion on the secure border network with little return on this investment. we've also found criminal activity within our bureaucracies. custom and border protection collaborating with drug smugglers, cartels, personnel filing fraudulent travel claims, and tsa personnel stealing personal belonging of passengerers. since 2004, over 130 agents of the united states custom and border protection have been arrested, charged, or otherwise

prosecuted on corruption charges. allegations and convictions include alien and drug smuggling, money laundering, and conspiracy. the dhs acting inspector general states mexican drug cartels attempt to corrupt dhs employees, and this impacts our national security. the inspector general also reports that since 2004, there's been a 38% increase in the number of complaints against cbp employees, as recently as february 2012, an i.c.e. agent pled guilty to 21 counts to obstruction charges. there have also been allegations of convictions of i.c.e. agents accepting thousands of dollars in bribes from immigrants seeking u.s. documentation.

a former intelligence chief for u.s. immigrations and customs enforcement is accused of embezzling more than $180,000 stemming from a travel voucher fraud and kick-back scheme that defrauded the government of more than $500,000. four other i.c.e. employees pled guilty. in the past year alone, there have been numerous incidents of alleged misconduct on the part of tsa officers and employees, thousands of dollars of cash and items have been reported stolen. dozens of tsa officers were fired over improper luggage screening, because they had allowed thousands of pieces of luggage on to flights without proper screening. tsa officers have allowed passengers expedited security checks. a number of allegations range from racially charged statements and actions to sexual

harassment. indictment alleged tsa employees took payments through los angeles international airport so drugs could be smuggled into the united states. executive branch employees are subject to executive orders issued by the president and ethics delivered by the u.s. government office of ethics. some u.s. agencies have issued supplemental regulations that apply to their employees, and even though there are stacks of manuals, training materials, and yearly briefings about ethics, these lapses continue. and they not only waste taxpayer dollars, they are a threat to the security of our nation. while the majority of bureaucratic personnel are law-abiding, this hearing will examine the procedures of the department of homeland security and attempt to understand why these ethical lapses continue and what is to be done to

prevent them from happening in the future. one final note, it is unfortunate the department of homeland security and the face of such a serious ethical mishaps refuses to provide witnesses from leadership to discuss these matters in open before the american people. we request the leadership from cbp, i.c.e., and tsa, however, only cbp recognized the importance of these issues. with that, i now recognize the ranking member of the subcommittee. >> thank you, mr. chairman, and i want to thank you for holding today's hearings examining the ethical standards at the department of homeland security. in the beginning, i'd like to point out, there are over 220,000 department of homeland security employees who work every day to secure our homeland from dangerous threats and natural disasters, so before i begin, i'd like to thank them for their service.

unfortunately, there are some among them that use their position of public trust for their own personal gain. in doing so, they put the very nation they were sworn to protect in harm's way. since october 2004, 137 u.s. customs and border protection, cbp, employees, have been indicted or convicted of corruption-related charges, many in recent years as the border patrol doubled in size, and during fiscal years 2010 and 2011, there were at least 33 incidents of corruption or mission-compromising corruption at cbp. furthermore, the u.s. immigrations and customs enforcement, i.c.e., they have had investigations of allegations of misconduct occurring at both cbp and i.c.e. the number of allegations pursued by that office is

staggering. in 2012 alone, and this is only may, there have been a total of 101 corruption allegations involving i.c.e. employees and 362 from cbp. at the transportation and security administration in 2011, there were three allegations involving corruption, 33 involving security and intelligence violations, and 210 alleged general misconducts. although these allegations have not been proven, they are a testament to the fact that eliminating public corruption is in dire need of improvement. i'm, therefore, pleased representatives are testifying this morning and look forward to hearing from them regarding the steps they are taking to remedy the situation. of course, there are other incidents of corruption we can point to, but what sets the situations at i.c.e., cbp, and tsa apart is the risk to

national security, and that's inherent in the public trust violations on the border and our nation's airports. i'm troubled by allegations with turf battles within the department and disagreements on who should be in charge. recent efforts have been implemented to improve working relationships among dhs, oig, cbp, internal affairs, and in addition to professional responsibilities. i hope that new memoranda of understanding will truly cause each agency to understand that delayed investigations as a result of internal disputes will not only undermine efforts, they'll also perpetuate this kind of misconduct. again, i look forward to hearing from the witnesses and thank them for their participation in this important hearing. i yield back. >> thank the ranking member, opening statements may be submitted for the record.

pleased to have a distinguished panel of witnesses before us today. first, mr. charles edward is acting inspector general of the department of homeland security. he is a frequent guest here before the subcommittee. he's assumed this position in february of 2011, served as deputy inspector general at the department of homeland security, has over 20 years of experience in the federal government. next, mr. thomas winkowski. mr. winkowski serves as chief operating officer, overseeing 60,000 employees and managing an operating budget of $11.5 billion. he began work with the u.s. customs service in 1975 as a student. we thank you for your service. next we have mr. james duncan, was appointed as assistant

administrator in 2011. mr. duncan has more than 16 years of experience supervising and handling employee miskucondt cases, my alma mater as well. next, mr. tim winahan, the assistant director at the office of professional responsibility at the u.s. immigration and customs enforcement. he has more than 23 years of experience working for the u.s. government, has been in his current position since 2009, where he focuses on workforce, integrity, personnel screening, inspections, and security management. i want to thank all of you for being here today. with that, the chair now recognizes mr. edwards for his testimony. >> good morning, chairman mccaul, ranking member keating, and distinguished members of the subcommittee. thank you for inviting me to testify today about ethical standards within the department

of homeland security. the vast majority of employees within dhs are dedicated civil servants, focussed on protecting the nation. while a small percentage of employees have committed criminal acts and other gross misconduct, those few should not be used to draw conclusions about the character, integrity, or work ethic of the many. over the past year, dhs employees continue to demonstrate this ethic of service, from responding to 99 federally declared disasters to unprecedented efforts to secure america's borders and to advances in protecting the nation's transportation networks and critical infrastructure. while those who violate their sworn duties are few, even one corrupt agent or officer who allows harmful goods or people to enter the country puts the nation at risk. corruption within the ranks of

dhs can have severe consequences, a corrupt dhs employee may accept a bribe for allowing what appears to be undocumented aliens in the u.s., while unwillingly helping terrorists enter the country. likewise, allowing a bribe to allow drug contraband can expose the nation to weapons of mass destruction, such as chemical or biological bombs. both the personnel and organizational independence of oig investigators free to carry out their work without interference by agency officials is essential to maintaining the public trust and not only the work of the oig, but the dhs workforce as a whole. the oig investigates all allegations of corruption involving dhs employees or compromise of systems related to the security of borders and transportation networks.

for example, oig received information about that a cbp officer was using his position at a large urban airport to support an international drug trafficking organization. oig joined a multi-agency investigation led by i.c.e., which led to the dismantling of the entire drug trafficking organization and the arrest of multiple offenders, including the cbp officer. on at least 19 separate occasions, the cbp officer bypassed security to smuggle money and weapons for the drug traffickers. in december 2010, he was convicted and sentenced to eight years in prison. in another case, oig conducted an investigation into allegation of theft involving a transportation security officer at the orlando international airport. the tso had stolen more than 80 laptop computers, cell phones,

and ipods estimated at $80,000 from passenger luggage over a three-year period from 2008 to 2011. tsa terminated his employment in 2011. in august 2011, the tso pled guilty to charges of embezzlement and theft in connection with the investigation and was sentenced to 24 months of probation. on may 1, 2012, the former acting director of intelligence for i.c.e. pled guilty to defrauding the government of more than $180,000 in a three-year scheme involving fraudulent travel vouchers and time and attendance claims. sentencing is scheduled for july 2012. he faces a likely prison sentence of 18 to 27 months. three other ice employees and contract employee previously pled guilty to charges related

to the scheme, which cost i.c.e. more than $600,000. these examples of intolerable behavior by a very small number of dhs employees, each represent a threat to our nation's security and the public's perception of dhs and its mission. dhs employees are held to the highest standards of professional conduct, and oig is committed to aggressively pursuing those who violate dhs standards. this concludes my prepared remarks. >> thank you, chair now recognizes mr. winkowski for his testimony. >> mr. chairman, it is a privilege to appear before you today to discuss u.s. customs and border protections ethical standards and our effort to combat corruption and misconduct within our workforce. i would like to begin by recognizing the dedication, bravery, and honor demonstrated by the overwhelming majority of

cbp agents and officers, who put their lives on the line each day to protect our nation. cbp deploys over 60,000 agents, officers, and mission support personnel in support of our critical mission of securing america's borders against threats while facilitating trade and travel. as we continue to see success in our effort to secure our nation's borders, cbp employees will be targeted by individuals who grow more desperate by their attempts to smuggle people in and illegal contraband into this country. i'm here to discuss what we're doing to mitigate this threat. as you mention, mr. chairman, we recognize public services is a public trust, and at the center of the cbp's core values is integrity, and it is of the

utmost importance all our employees are guided by the highest ethical and moral principles. i'm proud the majority of the men and women in the workforce serve with honor and integrity and only integri integrity. while only a small portion have engaged in illegal or unethical behavior. nel such behavior disgraces the agency and betrays the trust of the american public. one instance of corruption within our workforce is one too many. our commitment to integrity begins as soon as an employee applies for employment and continues throughout a cbp employee's career. we utilize multiple tools including improved applicant screening, exhaustive background investigations to ensure thorough vetting of the men and women seeking employment with cbp. since 2008, we have conducted preemployment polygraphic examinations, a critical important tool used to screen

applicants before placing them on the frontline. cbp is building the capacity to polygraph 100% of all law enforcement applicants in compliance with the mandates of the anti-border corruption act of 2010 and is on track to achieve this goal well in advance of the january 2013 deadline. in addition to preemployment prevention efforts, cvp has strengthened its its capabilities to investigate corruption within our existing workforce with approximately 200 experienced investigators nationwide. cbp internal affairs uses behavioralal science, research methods to flag indicators of potential workforce corruption and provide an intelligence-driven response. in conjunction with these efforts, we have developed and lit cal management systems control office called amsco which analyzes data in the ports of entry environment to identify an nono anonymouslies.

cbp's office of field operations and office of border patrol have established ethics committees which provide strategic recommendations to combat and -- to combat corruption and promote integrity in the agency's distinct operational environments. these efforts feed into cbp's integrity integrated planning and coordination, the ipcc. the ipcc which includes representatives from our law enforcement partners seeks to coordinate integrity related initiatives within the agency. cvp recognize that information sharing is a critical factor in maintaining borderer integrity and addressing allegations of corruption lodged against employees. we will have established mous with the oig and i.c.e. authorizing the colocation of agents in order to assist an

investigation of cvp employees and active participants in the 22 fbi-led border corruption task forces nationwide. mr. chairman, members of the subcommittee, integrity is central to cbp's identity and effective tiffness as guardians of theflation's borders. i thank you for the opportunity to appear today and make clear our core values and strategic approach. i look forward to answering any questions you may have. >> thank you. chair now recognizes mr. duncan for his testimony. >> good morning, chairman mccall. ranking member keating and members of the subcommittee. it's a privilege and honor to appear before you today. every day, nearly 57,000 full time tsa employees work to ensure the security of our nation's vast transportation networks. tsa employees are risk based intelligence driven operations to prevent terrorist attacks and reduce the vulnerability of our network to terrorism. our goal is to maximize security

while protecting privacy and facilitating the flow of legitimate travel and commerce through a multilayered system of transportation security. tvsa's workforce accomplishes its security mission by screening passengers and bagging and at more than 450 airports in the united states. every week, we vet 14 million passenger reservations and 13 million transportation workers against the terrorist watch list. our efforts facilitate the secure air travel for 1.8 million persons each day. success depends on the integrity of our workforce. therefore everything we do at tsa from hiring, promotion and training to inspections, investigations and adjudications is driven by our commitment to the highest ethical standards. administrator piston has played clear that integrity, professionalism and hard work with the bedrock principles for

the entire workforce. when the tsa employee fails to live up to our high standards, he or she violates the public trust, tarnishes the excellent work of the rest of our workforce and damages tsa's reputation with the american people. for that reason, we hold all of our employees to the same high professional and ethical standards and we have zero tolerance for any kind of criminal activity in the workplace. tsa's office of human capital publishes the policies that govern employee conduct. all employees are required to know our standards and to rereview them on an annual basis. to further assist, tsa's online training center providing training for all new first-time tsa supervisors to give them the tools to identify, identify and report misconduct. when allegations arise, they're investigated by tsa's office of inspection. an independent investigative arm of the agency that reports directly to the tsa

administrator and deputy administrator. the office of inspection reviews allegations and reports them to the dhsa office of the inspector general and conducts investigations if the oi gpt elects not to handle them themselves. the offices also proactively conducted independent oversight inspections of operational programs, procedures ans and policies both in the fields and headquarters. the inspections check on compliance and equally important, they provide employees an opportunity to raise allegations of misconduct in a confidential setting. to promote consistency, timeliness and accountability in the disciplinary process, tsa has created an office of professional responsibility, opr. opr adjudicates all allegations of misconduct vfling senior officials and law enforcement personnel and opr officials also review each report of investigation involving a tsa employee where the investigation was conducted by the office of

inspector general. working with tsa's office of human capital, opr is developing a unified data database that will allow us to track all disciplinary matters through the agency to help us promote consistency and accountability. opr has also created greater consistency and transparency in the entire tsa disciplinary system by creating a table of offenses and penalties. the table which is available to all tsa employees provides ranges of penalties for each type of offense and guides the decisions of officials both at opr and in the field. as we strive to continue strengthening transportation security and improvinging the overall travel experience for all americans we always bear in mind that the success of our mission depends on the integrity of our workforce, the freedom to travel is fundamental to our american way of life and tsa is fully committed to ensuring that everyone can do so securely. thank you for the opportunity to

appear before you today. i'll be preesed to address any questions you may have. >> thank you, mr. duncan. let me just say while we will certainly appreciate your presence here today to testify, we did request a witness at the higher policy level. either administrator pistol or his deputy. i think it's important to have one at the policy level to discuss these important issues and yet, tsa failed to produce that witness. next the chair now recognizes mr. moynihan for his testimony. >> morning. chairman mccall, ranking member keating, on behalf of secretary napolitano and director morton, thank you for the opportunity to discuss the ways in which i.c.e. upholds standards. the overwhelming majority of employees perform their duties with honor every day. however, as in any large organization, isolated acts of misconduct do occur from time to time. my testimony today focuses on the mechanisms that are in place

to ensure robust process for investigating allegations of employee misconduct and insuring the integrity of the i.c.e. mission. since the creation of dhs, the i.c.e. office of professional responsibility has been delegated the authority to investigate allegations of criminal and administrative misconduct commits by employees. although rerefer allegations to the dhs office of the inspector general for review, many are referred back for appropriate investigative action. i.c.e. has a strategy that sbeg grays training, detection and investigation capabilities to determine response and misconduct in the workforce. this is strategy involves collaboration with other law enforcement entities, a vigorous screening process for new hires and education and training of existing employees. opr is comprised of three divisions. the investigations division conducts criminal and administrative employee misconduct investigas