U.S. Representative Candice Miller (MI-10), Chairman of the Subcommittee on Border and Maritime Security, will hold a hearing on Tuesday, September 11, 2012, at 10:00am entitled, "Eleven Years Later: Preventing Terrorists from Coming to America."
Chairman Miller said: "Curtailing the ability of terrorists to travel to the United States can be one of the most effective counterterrorism tools. According to the 9/11 Commission Report, the 9/11 hijackers passed through U.S. border security 68 times, highlighting the need to strengthen border security and visa issuance policy. The relative ease with which past-terrorists evaded detection by presenting fraudulent documents and passports, and the failure to add known al Qaida operatives to terror watch lists became missed opportunities to stop the attacks.
"As the 9/11 Commission Report noted, "For terrorists, travel documents are as important as weapons.' Building on the lessons learned, we have strengthened our outer ring of border security to conduct more rigorous checks overseas, collect biometric data, and continuously check visa holders against the terror watch lists. Although progress has been made, the 2009 Christmas Day Bomb plot exposed additional weaknesses in our efforts to prevent terrorists from obtaining a visa, or board a plane headed for the U.S. Our hearing will examine the progress made since then to strengthen this outer layer of border security."
The hearing is scheduled for Tuesday, September 11th at 10:00am in 311 Cannon. Live webcast will begin at the start of the hearing.
Witness:
* Kelli Ann Walther, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy, Screening Coordination Office, Department of Homeland Security
* Kevin McAleenan, Acting Assistant Commissioner, Office of Field Operations, Customs and Border Protection
* John Woods, Assistant Director, National Security Investigations, Homeland Security Investigations
* Edward Ramotowski, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Consular Affairs
* Charles K. Edwards, Acting Inspector General, Department of Homeland Security