At today's House Appropriations Committee hearing, Rep. Lauren Underwood (D-IL) grilled DHS Sec. Kristi Noem over a reported "military parade" that will occur on President Trump's birthday.
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00:00Chair now recognizes for second round the ranking member from Illinois, Ms. Underwood.
00:06Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
00:07Secretary Noem, you've designated the Army's 250th birthday parade in Washington, D.C. on June 14th
00:14as a national special security event, meaning DHS will use taxpayer funding to help with enhanced security and support.
00:21June 14th is also President Trump's 79th birthday.
00:26At the same time that this administration is canceling critical cybersecurity and disaster recovery funding
00:32under the guise of so-called waste and abuse, it's being publicly reported that this event will involve a full military presence
00:41crossing the Potomac from the Pentagon to Constitution Avenue.
00:45We recently received your fiscal year 2025 spend plans for the Secret Service, but the costs for this event were not included.
00:52What do you estimate you'll be spending on this, and how do you plan to pay for it?
00:56I can get those details and get back to you.
00:58I don't have them with me today, but I will certainly take that as a follow-up to your question.
01:03Okay.
01:03Do you plan to designate NSSEs for the birthdays of other branches of our armed services that do not share their birthday with the President,
01:12but also happen to be celebrating their 250th anniversaries in 2025?
01:15I will look and work with the administration and with the different departments and agencies
01:22to identify what would be appropriate for all of those, and we'll continue to keep you updated on that as well.
01:28Now I want to focus on CISA for a moment.
01:30America is under constant and growing threat from cyber criminals and foreign adversaries,
01:35as we're still seeing with Salt Typhoon.
01:36Last week, you said we should, quote, just wait for the President's grand cyber plan.
01:42But you have not waited to erode the Department's cyber defense capabilities
01:46by removing resources and personnel from CISA and other components.
01:50Meanwhile, bad actors are burrowing further into the critical infrastructure of this country.
01:56On what date can we expect to receive the President's cyber plan,
01:59and why are you moving forward now with workforce reductions and other changes to relevant DHS components without it?
02:06CISA's mission is to hunt and harden and to work with our state and local entities on critical infrastructure.
02:13So to support cyber security infiltrations that would happen from enemies and bad actors
02:18when it comes to electrical grids, water systems, support those states,
02:23those small and medium-sized businesses that can't afford that kind of defense system themselves,
02:27and to go and walk alongside of them.
02:30I think one of the most alarming things that I heard when I was first nominated for this position,
02:34but before I was sworn in, I got briefings from CISA and from the leadership team
02:39and the people that were there, and one of the things that they shared with me was that
02:42they were aware of Salt Typhoon and Volt Typhoon, but they didn't know necessarily how they had happened yet
02:48or how to stop them into the future.
02:50That was alarming to me.
02:51It was alarming to me that we had the nation's top leading cyber security agency
02:56that didn't know how to stop the PRC and our enemies from coming in and hacking into our systems.
03:01And if we think a pandemic was scary, wait until the PRC in China comes in and shuts down our electricity.
03:07Obviously.
03:07So when are we getting the president's cyber plan?
03:08That is what CISA is focusing on, is making sure that we're approaching cyber security
03:14and the importance that it is.
03:16I had a direct question.
03:17Yes.
03:17Do you know when the president's cyber plan will be released?
03:19It will be coming out shortly, and that is the president's prerogative.
03:22I have been advising him on what that will look like.
03:25Despite the growing cyber threats, your budget cuts nearly half a billion dollars,
03:30half a billion dollars from the main agency charged with protecting our federal networks
03:33and so much more.
03:34So if you are so outraged by the threat of the PRC and our federal networks,
03:40why are you cutting half a billion dollars?
03:42When you recently spoke at the RSA conference, you said that we needed to put CISA quote back on mission.
03:47But let's be clear, that mission is designated for you.
03:51We in the Congress told you in the department and CISA how to execute on that mission.
04:00And you all have been moving money away from CISA, and that does not help achieve that mission.
04:07Lastly, Secretary, as a nurse, I have always prioritized taking care of the health of our DHS workforce
04:13and giving them the tools that they need to do their jobs, not just physically, but mentally.
04:18DHS has made great strides in recent years here with popular programs that provide personnel
04:23and their families with the resources that they need and the support for the mental health of our agents and officers.
04:30I hope that these programs can continue for fiscal year 2026.
04:34And I'm curious if you agree that this is a priority for the department,
04:37and will we see continued funding for it in the budget request?
04:40Absolutely, we will continue to focus on the priorities of the health care needs of all of our employees.
04:47Great.
04:47Well, although we disagree on many other issues, I hope that taking care of the hardworking men and women
04:52at DHS can be an area of shared values and bipartisan success,
04:56and I'm looking forward to working on them together.
04:58I yield back.