Continues Call for Chairman Towns to Hold Immediate and Bipartisan Oversight Hearings

WASHINGTON D.C. – Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA), the Ranking Member of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform today said the Obama Administration’s decision to discontinue transferring detainees at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba to Yemen is not enough and that President Obama should abandon plans to close the facility.

“Unless the Administration abandons its ill-conceived and politically motivated plans to close GITMO, most Americans won't find much solace in transferring detainees that would have gone to Yemen and housing them on American soil,” said Issa.  “Hopefully, recent events will have awakened the President to the reality that our national and homeland security must supersede the politics of the moment.”

Issa also continued to press Committee Chairman Edolphus Towns (D-NY) to hold oversight hearings pointing to the Committee’s long history examining homeland security issues.

“The communication and information breakdown that exposed staggering vulnerabilities in our nation’s security has brought to light the urgent need for our Committee to re-assert our oversight prerogatives,” said Issa.  “Since 2001, this Committee has held more than 35 hearings examining the effectiveness of our intelligence agencies and homeland security readiness – recent events have triggered the importance of having an honest broker to examine what went wrong and how we can prevent future breakdowns in our security network.  It is unimaginable that Chairman Towns, who has previously spoken about the importance of this Committee’s oversight role on these issues, would not agree on the need for immediate and bipartisan oversight hearings.”

Past Oversight and Government Reform Committee Hearings have Included:

• July 24, 2001:  Federal Interagency Data-Sharing and National Security
• March 12, 2002:  Combating Terrorism: Protecting the United States: Part I
• March 21, 2002:  Combating Terrorism: Protecting the United States: Part I
• June 7, 2002:  Coordinated Information Sharing and Homeland Security
• August 3, 2004:  Moving From ``Need To Know'' To ``Need To Share'': A Review Of The 9/11 Commission's Recommendations
• August 24, 2004:  Too Many Secrets: Over-classification As A Barrier To Critical Information Sharing
• September 9, 2004:  Creating Secure Borders and Open Doors: A Review of DHS-State Collaboration on U.S. Visa Policy
• September 13, 2005:  Combating Terrorism: Visas Still Vulnerable
• October 10, 2007:  Six Years Later: Assessing Long-Term Threats, Risks And The U.S. Strategy For Security In A Post-9/11 World

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