[House Hearing, 110 Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
HEARING ON THE ADMINISTRATION AND MANAGEMENT OF THE UNITED STATES
CAPITOL POLICE
=======================================================================
HEARING
before the
SUBCOMMITTEE ON CAPITOL SECURITY
COMMITTEE ON HOUSE
ADMINISTRATION
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
ONE HUNDRED TENTH CONGRESS
SECOND SESSION
__________
HELD IN WASHINGTON, DC, MAY 1, 2008
__________
Printed for the use of the
Committee on House Administration
Available on the Internet:
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COMMITTEE ON HOUSE ADMINISTRATION
ROBERT A. BRADY, Pennsylvania, Chairman
ZOE LOFGREN, California VERNON J. EHLERS, Michigan
Vice-Chairwoman Ranking Minority Member
MICHAEL E. CAPUANO, Massachusetts DANIEL E. LUNGREN, California
CHARLES A. GONZALEZ, Texas KEVIN McCARTHY, California
SUSAN A. DAVIS, California
ARTUR DAVIS, Alabama
S. Elizabeth Birnbaum, Staff Director
William Plaster, Staff Director
------
Subcommittee on Capitol Security
MICHAEL E. CAPUANO, Massachusetts, Chairman
ROBERT A. BRADY, Pennsylvania DANIEL E. LUNGREN, California
ADMINISTRATION AND MANAGEMENT OF THE UNITED STATES CAPITOL POLICE
---------- --
THURSDAY, MAY 1, 2008
House of Representatives,
Subcommittee on Capitol Security,
Committee on House Administration,
Washington, DC.
The subcommittee met, pursuant to call, at 11:39 a.m., in
room 1310, Longworth House Office Building, Hon. Michael E.
Capuano (chairman of the subcommittee) Presiding.
Present: Representatives Capuano, Brady and Lungren.
Staff Present: Liz Birnbaum, Staff Director; Darrell
O'Conner, Professional Staff; Michael Harrison, Professional
Staff; Matt Pinkus, Professional Staff/Parliamentarian; Kyle
Anderson, Press Director; Kristin McCowan, Chief Legislative
Clerk; Gregory Abbott, Policy Analyst; Fred Hay, Minority
General Counsel; Alec Hoppes, Minority Professional Staff; and
Bryan T. Dorsey, Minority Professional Staff.
Mr. Capuano. Basically, I want to thank everybody for
coming today. I have an opening statement I will not read, but
I will put in for future posterity if anybody wants to read it.
We have two panels today. Our first panel is with Chief Morse.
He is accompanied by Assistant Chief Nichols and Ms. Jarmon,
who is the chief administrative officer of the Capitol Police.
Our second panel will be Mr. Stana from the GAO and Mr. Tighe
from the U.S. Capitol Police Officers Labor Committee.
We are here today to kind of catch up on certain aspects
particularly with relation to the GAO report. But whatever else
comes up is fine. I want to make it clear to everybody that we
are having a public meeting today, but I believe firmly that
Capitol security matters are best handled in a nonpublic forum
on a regular basis. So I wouldn't expect that we have a whole
lot of public hearings on this particular matter. I know some
people don't like that, but I think that security is more
important than anything else, and it is important to have it in
a forum where people can speak openly and honestly.
Today we have certain issues that can be spoken about in a
public manner, and I think they are appropriate for it. And
with that, I will stop and ask Mr. Brady for his lengthy
opening statement. And when Mr. Lungren gets here if he wants
to do one, he is more than welcome to.
With that, I am just going to turn it over to you, Chief,
and feel free to say whatever you want.
[The statement of Mr. Capuano follows:]
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STATEMENT OF CHIEF PHILLIP D. MORSE, UNITED STATES CAPITOL
POLICE; ACCOMPANIED BY DANIEL NICHOLS, ASSISTANT CHIEF OF
POLICE; AND GLORIA L. JARMON, CHIEF ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICER
Chief Morse. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and members of the
subcommittee. I would like to thank you for the opportunity to
be here today. We are going to discuss with you a lot of things
about the Capitol Police and what we have done in the last 15
months. I am pleased to be joined here to my right by my
assistant chief, Dan Nichols, and my chief administrative
officer, Gloria Jarmon, here to my left.
As you know, Ms. Jarmon recently joined the Capitol Police
from the Government Accountability Office. And her background
and expertise provide the department with well-rounded
leadership and completes our team that is necessary for our
efforts to become a premiere organization, both operationally
and administratively.
I would also like to thank the subcommittee for its
interest and support for the men and women of the United States
Capitol Police. Your support, as well as the support from our
oversight and appropriations committees, is crucial to the
successful execution of our mission.
It has been a little over a year since I was selected to be
the chief of police. During this time, the department has
undergone many cultural, operational, and management changes.
These changes are a larger process to modernize the department
for mission capability and efficiency, while enhancing our
ability to protect Congress. I welcome this opportunity to
provide you with an update on our successes thus far and the
challenges that remain before us, as well as a vision for
shaping the future.
As in any organization, teamwork and leadership are
essential qualities of a well-managed security and law
enforcement operation. It is through this teamwork and
leadership that the Capitol Police has been able to achieve
many successes over the last year. I would like to recognize
the hard work of all the sworn and civilian staff of the United
States Capitol Police, who exhibit their leadership and
dedication to teamwork in meeting our mission every single day.
Every day of the year, without exception, these dedicated
individuals, with the support of the Capitol Police Board and
the Congress, ensure the safety of Members, staff, and millions
of visitors from across the globe who come to see democracy at
work.
In addition, I would like to recognize the department's
unions, the Fraternal Order of Police and the Teamsters, for
their contributions to our overall success as well.
It is through this teamwork that the department has been
able to progress over the last year.
I would like to talk a little bit about our progress. To
ensure our success, we have established several tiers of
management communication in order to keep all employees better
informed on the workings of the department and the expectation
of leaders and stakeholders. The Executive Management Team, the
Senior Management Team, and our Frontline Management Team have
been effective in developing accountability down through all
levels of management so that the senior leaders can count on
the frontline supervisors to run day-to-day operations while we
make a concerted effort to map out the strategic path for the
department.
Here are some of our progress highlights. We have handled
multiple special events to include the State of the Union,
Capitol concert series, large demonstrations, and congressional
events. We have adopted a concept, similar to community
policing, which provides direct outreach by our Capitol Police
officers and officials to the committees and Members' offices
with the congressional community. We use this program to visit
every office in the House Office Building to inform them of
emergency evacuation procedures for their specific building. We
implemented new security screening guidelines throughout the
Capitol complex. We planned, coordinated, and evaluated a
number of exercises within the Capitol related to air
evacuations, lock downs, and active shooter response. We
finalized our
continuity-of-operations plan and implemented a process for
review and enhancement of the plan to meet evolving threats and
requirements. We conducted multiple training exercises across
the Capitol campus to improve readiness for sworn personnel in
the field.
There have been expressed interest and concern related to
the department's effort to address the GAO's recommendations,
and today I am happy to report that, since October 2007, we
have closed 33 percent of the GAO recommendations, and we are
actively working to address the rest of them. We have developed
a full set of financial statements for FY 2007 and are actively
working on statements for 2008. We have completed a full
inventory of our capital assets and assigned values to these
assets. We have redesigned our budget planning and execution
process to include formalizing the department's Investment
Review Board.
At the direction of the committees of jurisdiction, we
completed the operational and administrative requirements to
the merger of the Library of Congress Police, and this resulted
in the passage of legislation. We have revised the uniform and
equipment policy of the Capitol Police that will result in
uniformity of appearance and overall cost.
And in closing, I would like to say that I am looking
forward to continuing my efforts as chief to make the U.S.
Capitol Police a best practices organization. I would like to
thank you once again for allowing us to appear before you. And
my colleagues and myself would be happy to answer any questions
that you may have.
[The statement of Chief Morse follows:]
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Mr. Capuano. Thank you, Chief.
I don't know if Chief Nichols or Ms. Jarmon had an opening
statement, but even if they do, I would like to offer Mr.
Lungren an opportunity to make an opening statement.
Mr. Lungren. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman, and I am
sorry that I was late. I had to be a ranking member at two
other subcommittees so far this morning, and it isn't even noon
yet. So thank you.
One of the reasons I returned to the Congress was my desire
to keep our country safe and secure from future terrorist
attack. And because we cherish freedom and the democratic
process in our Nation, obviously we want to keep our
legislative process, our Capitol buildings and our lawmakers to
be accessible and therefore accountable to those they serve.
But the very openness with which we operate this legislative
body also produces unique security challenges when considering
the vigor with which some want to inflict terror and harm on
our country.
So I am pleased today this subcommittee is taking the
opportunity to have a hearing on this important subject. Since
being selected to serve on this subcommittee, I have made it a
point to visit the Capitol Police Command Center and the K-9
training facility. I have even visited the Capitol Power Plant
to see firsthand some of the more unusual challenges that come
with securing the Capitol complex.
So, Mr. Chairman, the topic of Capitol security is a
bipartisan issue, and I look forward to working with you in the
days ahead. And the administrative functions of the department
are important and ultimately allow the force to more ably and
efficiently meet its security requirements.
However, I believe it is important for the subcommittee to
be more fully informed and engaged in the present threats--on
the present threats facing the Congress and the actions that
the Capitol Police are taking to address these threats. I would
hope that we could have a classified briefing on the actual
security matters as soon as possible and that we could include
a discussion on recent troubling incidents and the steps that
have been taken in response.
And I just have to say this, since this is the first
meeting of our subcommittee, I find it very troubling to see
the manner in which a recent incident was handled in the
Capitol complex where an unknown was allowed to exist for 3
weeks. And the procedures that were followed at that time
seemed to contradict every bit of training and every bit of
information that I had received up to that time as to how we
handle security threats here at the Nation's Capitol. So I hope
that we can get involved with the hearings, not to make
headlines, but behind closed doors perhaps as quickly as
possible.
Mr. Capuano. That is what I said at the beginning before
you got here, Mr. Lungren, is I plan to have many more meetings
privately, because I think that is where we need to talk about
certain things.
Mr. Lungren. Thank you.
Mr. Capuano. Chief, I am not sure if you wanted either
Chief Nichols or Ms. Jarmon to make a statement, then that is
fine. Whether you do or you don't, whatever you want, is fine
by me.
Mr. Nichols. No, sir. I am here to support the chief and
answer any questions you may have.
Ms. Jarmon. No.
Mr. Capuano. All right.
In that case, I have several questions. First of all, I
know the GAO report was just about a year ago, a little over a
year ago, I am just curious, do you have a general idea of the
time frame of completion of adoption? I know you are in the
midst of them. I know you have done some; you are doing others.
Do you have an idea how long it will take to adopt all of them,
or goal, I should say, or a target?
Chief Morse. Every single day, we are certainly working
toward actively closing them. We have, made certain things a
priority in doing so. One is certainly the hiring and staffing
of employees in certain areas like financial management, in
which many recommendations came. Ensuring that the financial
statements, that we get a clean audit on them. And the chief
administrative officer is responsible for that. And perhaps she
can talk a little more to that in a second. And then we have
policies and procedures that need to be adopted or drafted and
put into place. And then protection of our information and
systems. So we've identified a methodology in which to do that.
And I think within the last fiscal year closing 33 percent of
those shows that we are very actively working on that.
Mr. Capuano. Do you think that if we have a hearing next
year you will be able to tell me you closed a hundred percent
of them or 90 percent of them?
Chief Morse. I would think that next year we would probably
be able to match what we have done this year. And I look
forward to next year, because I think that we will have
significant, significant progress in all areas, as we have
shown in the past year.
Mr. Capuano. I am specifically interested in human capital,
if you want the truth. And there are two areas that have
concerned me a little bit--well, two areas with one subset
area. One is the financial services end of it. Honestly, it
makes it almost impossible for us to really kind of oversee
anything unless we have an idea of the numbers. And the numbers
have to be--I have to have confidence in those numbers, and we
can't do it without an auditing company saying that those
numbers are fair and reasonable and appropriate. That can't be
done unless you can attract and maintain appropriate financial
services people. I am just wondering--I know you have hired
somebody in the last recent weeks--what is the problem? Why are
we having so much difficulty attracting and retaining them?
Chief Morse. Well, first, the appointment of Gloria Jarmon
is one step toward improvement of that overall process. And her
expertise, knowledge, skills and abilities really are about
financial management.
With regard to the office itself, there were several
factors involved in the hiring and turnover. One of them was
the fact of all the recommendations not being accomplished
there, the lack of policy and procedure and direction, which
created sort of a chaotic atmosphere, if you will, which led to
overworked employees. So that was one thing that we had to
address. The second thing was there were some losses to the
private industry, which are very highly paid.
And then we worked under a CR for some time where we
couldn't hire. But what we did during that time was we reviewed
positions. We took a look at what we needed to close those
recommendations, the knowledge, skills, and abilities of those
employees we were going to hire, and we upgraded those. And I
am happy to report that, on May 12th, our new director of
financial management will be joining us, Mr. Steve Haughton.
And also we are in the process of hiring a budget and
procurement analyst.
Ms. Jarmon. Right. Just to add a little more to that, I
have been here almost 3 months, and I have been focused on
trying to make sure we can hire and retain competent financial
management people. Because of the GAO recommendations, three of
those recommendations that were not closed or are considered
little progress completely related to the ability to hire and
retain people so we have been focused on that. And I think we
made good progress. We have had some very competent applicants
for the positions. And I think if we are back here next year,
you will see we have made significant progress in that area.
Mr. Capuano. That is good, because, again, it makes it
difficult for us to do our oversight unless we have numbers
that we feel comfortable with.
If you need assistance, Chief, whether it is with a CR or
anything else, attracting and retaining personnel, obviously, I
think we would like to hear about it so we can be helpful.
It also relates to my last question really, at the moment,
is relative to the same thing, relative to officers. I know you
have a relatively high rate of turnover. And I am just curious,
what are we trying to do in general to address those issues?
Chief Morse. This all really goes back to really gaining
control of how the office is operated, providing a vision and
direction for where we are wanting to go. And right now, we
have an Executive Management Team that is in place that is very
highly skilled. These are some of the positions that a year
ago, a year-and-a-half ago, were not filled. For instance, our
information technology, human resources, our office of homeland
security and planning, just to name a few. And now with a new
CAO, a new director of finance, we have a complete team and a
very talented team. And with that, we expect to have great
things happen.
The other side is the recommendations themselves. I mean,
they are the guidance to our success, along with those things
that we also developed of our own. And we work with the GAO,
and we work with our Inspector General in order to find the
best path to success. We have also adopted the Government's
Performance Act. We have methodology for closing our GAO
recommendations. And we have a plan. And I don't know that with
lacking the GAO recommendations and having those in place, that
we really had a plan for any success. So, with all those things
combined, we are looking forward to the coming years and really
professionalizing and making it a best practices organization.
Mr. Capuano. In the year that both you have been here and
this report has come out, have you seen a change in retaining
young officers, or has it stayed steady, or have you gotten
worse?
Chief Morse. With regard to officers, I think that we have
a very good retention rate. And I spoke to an officer yesterday
who told me that he saw a change, and positive change, and he
was excited about that. And I think that with change and the
significant change that we have had over the course of the 15
months, you are going to have some resistance. But that
resistance is overcome when they see the result of that. And
the result of that is that the organization is going in the
right direction. We are making significant progress, both
administratively and operationally. Some of the things that we
have done over the past year are just extraordinary, and as a
result of the committees of jurisdiction allowing us to use our
facilities here to train our personnel. We were able to train
all our personnel on lockdown procedures, evacuations, and
active shooter response. That is something that has never been
done before, especially right here on campus. And that was a
significant, not only a morale booster but also from the
standpoint of being prepared and being prepared for the things
that occur or can occur here on the campus was significant. So,
you know, retention is where it should be. We would always want
it to be lower. And I think that a lot of that has to do with
the progress that we are making.
Mr. Capuano. Thanks, Chief.
Mr. Lungren.
Mr. Lungren. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. Chief, can
you tell me what's the total number of personnel for your
agency?
Chief Morse. The authorized strength is 1,702, and I think
we are currently at 1,611. That would be sworn personnel.
Mr. Lungren. Sworn.
Chief Morse. The authorized strength for civilian is 414,
and I believe we are currently at 59 below that. I don't have
the exact----
Mr. Lungren. How does that compare with other metropolitan
departments, that is civilian to sworn?
Chief Morse. With respect to the ones in this area, I would
believe that the metropolitan police has a larger sworn force
than us, as well as civilian. I would say we are probably
average.
Mr. Lungren. I am not talking about total size. I am
talking about percentage of civilian versus sworn. You say you
are average?
Chief Morse. I think that would be average.
Mr. Lungren. That would be average around the country, or
do you know?
Chief Morse. I think the numbers, the numbers of supporting
civilians for supporting the number of sworn officers and
programs, initiatives that come with that, I think that our
authorized numbers are pretty much where they should be.
Mr. Lungren. As I understand it, an officer at appointment
receives $49,631, and after they successfully complete
training, they are bumped up to $51,370 annual pay. And after
their first 30 months on the job, they become private first
class at a salary of $57,601. At least that is the latest
information I have. How does that compare with other law
enforcement agencies in this area?
Chief Morse. That is much higher than most municipal or
State law enforcement agencies in the metropolitan area, and it
is very competitive with the Federal agencies here in the
District of Columbia and the United States.
Mr. Lungren. Chief, let me ask you this about your
statement that you have followed a threat-based staffing model
as you explained your efforts to tie resources to risks. Could
you give us some examples of changes that we would see in a
transition to a threat-based staffing model and how far along
you are on that?
Chief Morse. Well, the concept of operations for a threat-
based model is concentric rings of security, which wehave;
prevent, detect, respond, and mitigate as a part of that. We would like
to be able to address the threat as far away from the Capitol complex
as we possibly can. Some of the changes that you might see and some
that we are currently actively doing are in relation to, for instance,
our truck interdiction and monitoring program. Where we are able to
establish 75 new camera systems that focus on possible threats
approaching the campus well before they get here. Giving the officers
the time to react to that and apply the prevention and/or mitigation of
that threat before it reaches the campus. And that is really what our
truck interdiction and monitoring program is. And you see that here on
the four corners of the campus. And we are expanding upon that daily
using technology to do so. That would be an example.
Another example would be the bollard systems that you see,
Delta barriers for access into secure locations. All our
screening methodology addresses all the most current threats,
to include, you know, obviously weapons and chemicals,
biological, nuclear, et cetera.
Mr. Lungren. You pronounced that last word the same way the
President does. That is very interesting. In designing training
plans, Chief, to meet the human capital requirements for the
force--and the reason I ask that is there are different
cultures in different departments. And I saw that as the
Attorney General of California looking at various departments
throughout California, saw that as I was able to compare them
with others across the country. And some departments have a
culture where physical fitness is very, very important. Others
don't seem to have that. I happen to be one that happens to
believe that that's important, particularly here at the
Capitol, because not only do you want people to be able to
physically respond to any emergency, and we could have any type
of emergency here, but it also has to do with, it is the
Nation's Capitol, and we ought to look our best so to speak. So
I wonder whether you would be considering mandatory physical
fitness standards for sworn personnel, not only as they come
out of the training program and as they are first employed but
on a regular basis.
Chief Morse. Yes, that is something that we are looking at.
Mr. Lungren. You are looking at it, but I mean what does
that mean?
Chief Morse. We are analyzing it. There is a lot of things
that go with putting a physical fitness program in place, from
a legal standpoint and then from a validation standpoint. We
would want it to be right for what we do. And we would want it
to be something that was achievable. And we would want it to be
something that our current employees could also achieve. So I
do agree with you that physical fitness and appearance are not
only important for people to see, but it is also important for
the health of our officers, and it serves as a great deterrent.
Mr. Lungren. So, as I take it, that is something you would
like to achieve, but you are looking at how it is achievable as
opposed to whether or not you think it is a good idea to do.
Chief Morse. That is correct. I think it is a great idea,
and it is something that we are hopefully going to be able to
achieve.
Mr. Lungren. Thank you.
Mr. Chairman, I have some other questions, but are we going
to have a second round?
Mr. Capuano. Yes.
Mr. Lungren. Okay.
Mr. Capuano. Mr. Brady.
The Chairman. Yes.
Thank you, Chief, for being here. As you know, my father
was a police officer, so I feel some type of bond here. And I
was a sergeant at arms, so I feel some type of bond with our
sergeant at arms, Mr. Livingood. I know both of you work
together, and I do appreciate and want to thank you for the
cooperation that you have always given me. And I appreciate
that. You know, when these bells and whistles go off, and when
we hear airplanes flying above us, you know, we are all being
escorted out of the building and you all are running into the
building. So you certainly have my respect simply because you
deserve it. In any way I can be cooperative and help you,
please feel free to call me. And thank you again for your
appearance today and also for your men. Thank you.
Mr. Capuano. Chief, I just have one other question. It
relates to overtime. I have no problem with overtime. I think
overtime is actually a good thing for most of the rank-and-
file. I think it helps encourage morale and gets the most out
of your employees.
Of course, there is always a balance. I am just curious, do
you have any operating procedures or whatever, limitations in
place as to how much overtime an individual can get or--I am
not worried about the dollar amounts. I am more interested in
making sure there is not somebody on duty who has been on duty
constantly for 36 hours unless absolutely necessary.
Mr. Nichols. Yes, sir, that is one of our ongoing concerns.
We do have a current cap in place for our officers. They can
work up to 56 hours a pay period, which is a 2-week period of
additional duty. And it is for the same reasons that you just
articulated. We want to make sure that our officers are sharp
and are able to respond to anemergency situation. If they are
overworked, working too much overtime, it degrades that readiness and
capabilities. So we have those policies and procedures in place for
that very reason.
Mr. Capuano. Thank you.
Mr. Lungren.
Mr. Lungren. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Chief, one of the concerns I think outlined by the GAO
report, or at least it has come to my attention, was that there
appeared to be a significant number of employment-related
lawsuits in the past. As you have reformed human resource
practices, have we seen a reduction in lawsuits or complaints?
Chief Morse. I don't know the answer to that question right
now. I can get statistics for you----
Mr. Lungren. Can you get that back to me, please?
Chief Morse [continuing]. And get that for the record.
[The information follows:]
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Mr. Lungren. Thank you. Last year I had the chance, with
Assistant Chief Nichols, to meet at the Command Center. And at
that time, I asked you, you know, what resources did you think
you needed? You didn't ask me to give you that; I asked you
that. You responded with two letters, including one that
outlined the costs involved. It is not insubstantial, nor did I
think it would be insubstantial.
And I wonder, Mr. Chairman, if in the future, at some point
in the time in the future we could off line sit down with the
chief and the assistant chief about that list. And again, I say
they didn't ask me to do it, I asked them, what do you need in
terms of additional capital investments so that we could be
informed and take a look at it. And I think some of them it
would be better for us to probably discuss it behind closed
doors just because of the nature of the equipment and what it
would be used for. And I think maybe, at least for me, it would
be helpful and perhaps for the subcommittee.
Mr. Capuano. Just one final question, Chief, and I
apologize I didn't ask earlier. I am also interested in
diversity, particularly in the higher ranks, not as much in the
entry level ranks. I mean, from what I see, I don't know the
numbers, but it looks like a diverse workforce. But when it
gets up there, it doesn't look like a diverse workforce. I am
just curious, are you taking positive steps to address--first
of all, is my perception correct? And second, if it is, are you
taking steps to address that?
Chief Morse. Well, first of all, I am very proud of our
posture regarding diversity in the workplace. And we are
obviously committed to moving forward to an increased
representation of both women and minorities in the police
department, both sworn and civilian, as well as in the sworn
ranks. What we do is, to ensure that we have the highest
qualified people and that the promotional process is not one
that is biased or discriminatory, is that we use an outside
contractor. And we also use subject matter experts from within
the police department. We are inclusive of everyone from the
top down. So that makes for a process that everyone feels
comfortable in being a part of. And I think that increases the
number of people who enlist to become officials.
Also of our 21 SES-equivalent positions, 6 are represented
by women and 3 are represented by minorities, which is over 43
percent of our Executive Management Team that we spoke of
earlier. And most recently, in the last 6 months, four women
and minority sworn employees have been promoted to the official
ranks. And in addition, we recently promoted two internal
minority females to manager positions in our financial
management and human resources offices. So these are done
through a competitive process. They are done in an open and
fair way, which I think attracts the most qualified people for
the position but also is a process that is transparent and
people want to be a part of.
Mr. Capuano. Chief, I respect all that, but I have done a
fair amount of hiring in my life, and I have almost never found
a job for which one person is solely and uniquely qualified.
That includes my job. That includes your job. I mean, for my
job I got 635,000 constituents, and myexpectation is there are
634,000 that are more qualified than me, but I got it. And that being
the case, I totally understand and absolutely agree. I am not looking
for quotas. I am not looking for some alleged neutral review of the
whole thing. I would never suggest that the best qualified person
shouldn't get it. But it is awfully hard, I can never believe--not
never, but seldom believe that there is any job for which one person,
regardless of anything, where one person is the only person who is
qualified for that job. I have almost always found I could get 10
people for any one job, and then you get down to, of those 10 people,
any one of them are qualified for it, which one do I pick. And my hope
and expectation is that a goal of diversity is part of that judgment
process once you get down to those qualified people.
Chief Morse. One of the things that we requested in our
2009 budget that will address the type of situation that you
are talking about where we get direction is for a diversity
officer. And specifically, that person, we are an organization
that does not have that, and that particular position would
allow direction, best practices and so forth in relation to
diversity and promotion and hiring and recruiting and such. So
that is one positive step that we have made to diversity within
our organization. And we hope that we would be able to bring
that person on in 2009 to help us.
Mr. Capuano. That is fair enough, Chief.
But you know, the city I ran had more people than you have,
and we didn't have a diversity officer. We didn't need one. Not
a problem having one, but the commitment has to come from
people who do the hiring. The commitment has to come from the
people who do the promotions. In the final analysis, a
diversity officer is only just somebody there whose only job
really is to make sure that you do the right thing. And if you
want to do the right thing, you don't really need somebody who
is standing there telling you to do the right thing, though my
staff does that to me on a regular basis, and my wife in
particular. I need it. My hope is that the people who are
making the decisions don't really need that. And if they do,
they won't need it for long.
Chief Morse. I just wanted to add that we do want to do the
right thing. And hopefully, this will help us make it so it is
transparent. But I am committed to doing the right thing. And I
support what you are saying.
Mr. Lungren. I just have one last question. Chief, you
mentioned that you have authorized 1,702 sworn, and you have
1,611. Do you need 1,702, or do you need 1,611? And if you need
1,702, why aren't we closer to that? And if you don't, should
we reduce the authorization down to 1,611?
Chief Morse. We actually need more than that, which is
evident by the amount of overtime that we expend.
Mr. Lungren. Why are we missing 91 then?
Chief Morse. Well, several factors there. One, our new
mission sets. For instance, the CVC, 10 sworn were requested in
2009 to fill that position and 11 sworn to support the new
Visitors Experience at the Library of Congress. And also we
have attrition. And I believe, in 2009, we are asking for
classes to train 264 personnel.
Mr. Lungren. What about your civilian? You say you are down
59. Do you need those people or not need those people?
Chief Morse. We absolutely do need those people. But in the
budget, sometimes the budget is prioritized in a way that we
have to prioritize hiring. And we absolutely need those people,
which is why we requested it. And in the 2009 budget, we have
re-requested civilian personnel from previous budgets that were
not appropriated for.
Mr. Lungren. Okay. Thank you.
Mr. Capuano. Thank you, Chief. I appreciate it. Asst. Chief
Nichols, Ms. Jarmon, I appreciate your coming and your openness
and candor. And I look forward to working with you on a regular
basis and more often on a more private basis.
Chief Morse. Thank you, Chairman.
Mr. Nichols. Thank you very much.
STATEMENTS OF RICHARD M. STANA, DIRECTOR, HOMELAND SECURITY AND
JUSTICE, U.S. GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE; AND U.S.
CAPITOL POLICE OFFICER MATTHEW TIGHE, CHAIRMAN, U.S. CAPITOL
POLICE LABOR COMMITTEE
Mr. Capuano. On the second panel we have Mr. Stana, who is
a director of homeland security and justice issues at the U.S.
GAO, and Mr. Tighe, who is a U.S. Capitol Police Officer and
chairman of the Fraternal Order of Police at the U.S. Capitol
Police Labor Committee. And I believe we will start with Mr.
Stana.
STATEMENT OF RICHARD M. STANA
Mr. Stana. Thank you, Chairman Capuano, Mr. Lungren, for
the invitation to testify on our work on the U.S. Capitol
Police.
As you know, USCP performs many essential functions that
are key to the efficient and effective workings of the
congressional branch. It is responsible for securing the 276-
acre Capitol complex, for protecting Members of Congress, their
staffs, visitors, 19 buildings, and national treasures, and for
regulating traffic within the Capitol grounds. Having efficient
and effective operations and related administrative and
management functions are important if USCP is to achieve its
overall mission to protect the United States Capitol complex
and the on-site public.
Over the years, in response to various requests of
legislative mandates, we identified and reported on management
control problems in a range of operations, financial
management, human capital management, and information
technology, and made 46 recommendations for improvement in
these areas. In response to our work, USCP recently created a
framework to help them, us, and interested congressional
committees to track progress in implementing our
recommendations. Our recent review showed that USCP has
completed actions on 15 recommendations and is making progress
toward addressing 28 recommendations but has not made progress
on 3 recommendations. My prepared statement discusses in detail
the nature and importance of these recommendations and the
status of USCP's efforts to address them.
In my oral statement, I would like to highlight just a few
main points. First, we reported that USCP needed a system to
link its resource requests and allocations to identified risks,
threats, and vulnerabilities. In response, USCP has completed
risk assessments for 18 of 19 congressional facilities it
currently protects and is scheduled to complete all assessments
in this fiscal year. It also plans to complete additional
assessments after it assumes responsibility for the Library of
Congress facilities in just a few months. Additional actions
will be required to adequately test and review its overall risk
management approach. And until this process is completed, it
will not be in the best position to justify resource requests
and mitigate potential threats to Members, staff, visitors and
facilities.
Second, USCP faces major challenges in its financial
management. We reported in the past on a high level of staff
turnover and open vacancies, weaknesses in financial reporting,
problems with the implementation of a new financial management
system, and the need to follow through with plans to develop
and implement an internal control problem. In the past year,
USCP assessed its staffing needs and procurement processes and
issued its first full set of financial statements in accordance
with generally accepted accounting principles. USCP is also
making progress in the areas of financial management training,
policies, procedures, and internal controls. On the other hand,
it had not made significant progress in filling vacancies that
are critical to stabilizing its financial management workforce.
Until our recommendations are fully implemented, its ability to
sustain improvements and meet long-term financial management
goals will be limited.
Third, in the area of human capital management, USCP has
adopted a hiring policy and is making progress on other
recommendations related to workforce planning and training.
Work still remains to be done to complete a strategic workforce
plan and master training plan, which should include long-term
strategies for acquiring, developing, retaining a workforce
with the critical skills and competencies needed to accomplish
the department's mission.
And lastly, USCP has made progress in the information
technology management area by establishing important IT
management capabilities, such as those used--as the use of a
disciplined system acquisition management practice. However,
more work remains to be done in the area of enterprise
architecture, investment management, information security, and
continuity-of-operations planning.
In closing, USCP has made significant progress in
addressing operational and administrative weaknesses, but there
still remains a substantial amount of work to be done. Until
these weaknesses are completely addressed and our
recommendations are fully implemented, USCP will not be in the
best position to achieve its overall mission in the most
efficient and effective manner. This underscores Congress's
need to stay closely attuned to USCP's progress toward
addressing the administrative and management challenges we
identified. I would be happy to answer any questions you may
have.
[The statement of Mr. Stana follows:]
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Mr. Capuano. Thank you, Mr. Stana.
Mr. Tighe, I think we are going to have to go to a vote
soon. Okay, I just want people to know we are going to have to
go off to a vote. And I apologize, we have a series of votes,
but Mr. Tighe, we will be more than happy to take your
testimony.
STATEMENT OF U.S. CAPITOL POLICE OFFICER MATTHEW A. TIGHE
Mr. Tighe. Thank you, sir. First time I have ever done
anything like this, so bear with me.
Mr. Capuano. Don't worry, we are easy.
Mr. Tighe. Thanks a lot.
Honorable Chairman and members of the committee, I would
like to thank you for the opportunity to testify before you
today. I am here not only to speak to you as chairman of the
Capitol Police Labor Committee, but as a police officer as
well.
As chairman of the Fraternal Order of Police Labor
Committee for the United States Capitol Police, I represent
more than 1,000 sworn Members of our department. We meet
regularly to discuss our experiences on the job. While much of
what we discuss relates to traditional workplace issues that
face union memberships in a variety of work settingsrepresented
by organized labor, we also hear constant constructive criticism
regarding how well we protect those we are sworn to serve. I am proud
of my fellow officers' interest in supporting the goals our oath of
office sets for us. They are professionals who want to contribute more.
The men and women of the United States Capitol Police take
great pride in being given the responsibility to protect
Members of Congress, the congressional community, and the
millions who visit here. Those who are recruited and trained to
carry out our vital mission are among the best educated and
motivated people I have encountered anywhere in the law
enforcement community. They bring intellect and on-the-ground
experience to the myriad tasks associated with securing and
protecting everyone within the Capitol complex. I believe we
are a well of underutilized insights and ideas that could
support further improvements in securing the Capitol.
The Capitol complex faces a constant threat that is not
always easy to detect or identify. To deter and combat threats,
the department must be given adequate and appropriate resources
to fulfill our mission. We believe a longer view of the
technology and equipment that can significantly enhance our
mission must be taken. Further, that the integration and
scalability existing in future systems must be given more
weight in order to maximize the effectiveness of tax dollars
spent while projecting future needs in a manner that will make
improvements more affordable and compatible.
In addition to the obvious need for training, equipment and
adequate funding to carry out our mission for the Congress and
the Nation, we need you to understand our mission and your
cooperation in the performance of our mission. We recognize
that often our duties may be viewed as an inconvenience, but
they are essential for maintaining the security throughout the
Capitol complex. An officer needs to stay focused on the
possible threat without fear from reprisal for properly
carrying out their duties. Due to this ever-changing threat,
officers cannot passively monitor activity, but must be able to
take a proactive approach to investigate suspicious activity.
The effectiveness of the individual officers at each post, each
of the patrol vehicles, and various support positions around
the department is most affected by their personal motivation.
It is dangerous for everyone who relies upon us if we are
reluctant to do what is difficult but required.
The human factor in our profession is unusually critical
because a blind eye or turned head can allow the person intent
on harm to bring arms, toxins or other dangerous commodities to
the halls and offices of the Capitol Complex. Your police
officers must feel that they will be supported by their
supervisors, their chief, the Police Board, and Members when
they make good faith efforts to do their job. If they come to a
common sense, that good efforts are punished by the powers that
be because they feel inconvenienced, then more damage is done
to our security than you may understand.
I urge this committee and the Congress to regularly publish
its support for its police officers who diligently perform
their duties as individuals and as an agency. When
inconvenience meets security, we must encourage the responsible
officers and officials to support security and to recognize
those who work to secure those who we protect. I have devoted a
lot of my time to our mission to protect you.
Now I wish to raise a serious issue that is a more
traditional union concern. I would like to highlight our
retirement. The law enforcement profession is more competitive
now than ever. It is critical to the Capitol Police to not only
recruit the most qualified personnel possible but also to
retain them for the length of their career. One of the greatest
deciding factors that an applicant considers when making a
decision for employment in law enforcement is the compensation
package offered by each agency. Our goal is to enhance our
retirement benefits to be more competitive with other agencies,
thus more appealing to potential applicants. In doing so, we
will not only be able to attract the best applicants but retain
the officers thatare currently in the field.
The costs associated with training a new officer just to
have them leave for another agency is wasting the resources
provided by Congress and the taxpayers. In too many instances,
the U.S. Capitol Police department is the recruiting arm for
competing local and Federal law enforcement agencies. Many
young men and women who become U.S. Capitol Police officers
begin to look elsewhere after completing a few years in our
department. This very issue faced the Metropolitan Police
Department in the early 1970s when the Congress approved an
expansion of its authorized strength. Even with the
unprecedented step of authorizing early outs for military
personnel who joined the Metropolitan Police Department, the
MPD was unable to reach the new authorized strength because too
many new recruits left for law enforcement careers elsewhere
after securing a few years of experience. It is a matter of
record that the only thing that stabilized MPD's workforce was
the adaptation of a 20-year retirement system by the Congress.
Subsequent to home rule for the District, the city abandoned
the 20-year retirement. They are now in the process of passing
legislation that will restore 20-year retirement as they work
to increase the size of their police department and stabilize
their police force again.
We look forward to working with all the relevant committees
to accomplish this goal in the future. That concludes my
statement. I will be happy to answer any questions.
[The statement of Mr. Tighe follows:]
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Mr. Capuano. Again, as I said, I apologize, but we have a
roll call vote over which, as you all know, we have no control.
I expect, I am told there are four votes, guessing 45 minutes
or so. When we return, I will understand if you can't stay, but
if you can stay, obviously we would like you to stay. And I
apologize again.
Mr. Capuano. First of all, thank you for sticking around. I
apologize, but this is what we do. I have also been informed
that my colleagues will not be able to make it back. And they
have asked and I think it is perfectly fine to let the record
show that we will be allowing written questions. Hopefully you
will be able to answer at a later time.
Oh, you are here. You can still do written questions.
For myself, I have a few questions. I would like to start
with you, Mr. Stana. I heard you use some very carefully
selected words, and that's a good thing. I tend not to do that
the way I should. But I know that there has been progress made,
and I know there are things left to do. We all know that.
In your opinion, has satisfactory progress been made?
Nobody expects any of these things to be done overnight. Do you
think there has been satisfactory progress on the report, on
adopting recommendations in the report? And do you think that
what you heard earlier about the general time frame of
potential completion, understanding it is just a time frame, do
you think that is a reasonable response?
Mr. Stana. Let me put my answer into a context.These
deficiencies that we have identified, we have identified them again and
again over the years. So we were a bit disappointed and in March 2007
we reported that many of these existing and persistent deficiencies had
really not been addressed. And that was because of a couple of reasons.
One is there is quite a bit of turnover at the highest levels. The
other, they were focused a lot on the day-to-day as opposed to the
strategic.
So when the Chief came in and took to heart the
recommendations that we made and created a framework for
addressing them, we were heartened. So what he listed as some
of the recommendations that were closed, we were glad to see
that.
I also would like to say that where we are still looking
for policies and procedures to be put in place, it is not the
case that none currently exist. The issue is they are not
particularly robust in some cases. In other cases, they have to
be more attuned to the current circumstances and situations,
and so on.
With respect to how long it is going to take to close the
recommendations I wish I could say it is going to take 5
months, 10 months, 2 years, 5 years. Some of these things are
living and breathing, like enterprise architecture, which is a
blueprint for the organization, where they are today, where
they want to get to tomorrow or in 5 years, 10 years, and what
kind of technology they need to get there. Those efforts are
never ending. Some they could do relatively quickly.
There are two things that I think are particularly
important to get done. One is to get on top of the staff
turnover and churning. Get the already authorized positions
filled, get the people on board. Get the people trained so they
have the right knowledge, skills and abilities to get the job
done. Then we're going to see how many people we need, to
answer Mr. Lungren's question.
The second thing is they will need a top management
commitment to see that these new policies and procedures are
actually implemented and that people are held to account for
the results, and that this isn't just another set of
recommendations that we answer for today and tomorrow it is a
different story.
Mr. Capuano. I appreciate it, Mr. Stana. I can only tell
you that as long as I am here we are going to do that. I
understand fully well where there are differences of opinions
on certain things. I didn't hear them today and maybe we will
hear them later on. That I respect. But when everybody is on
the same page as to what should be done, I can promise you we
will be holding everybody to account.
Mr. Stana. I appreciate your concern, Mr. Chairman, about
some of the sensitive items, particularly with our set of
recommendations dealing with threat assessment, and
vulnerability assessment, and the way you right size an
organization, and where you place the people, allocate the
resources to respond to threats. We really shouldn't discuss
those kinds of things in this forum, but I can say that they
have applied a threat matrix that we worked with them on to the
buildings and to the grounds. That was encouraging, too. It is
not quite finished yet, but at least they are on the road to
being able to say this is the right number or this is the right
capability, this is the right equipment because we have a
systematic way of assessing that.
Mr. Capuano. I think those are fair comments. I see the
Chief shaking his head a little bit and I think he accepts it.
Mr. Tighe, relative to your testimony, the thing that I am
most interested in, I understand fully well that there are
changes going on in the Capitol Police ranks all across the
board, new leadership and new procedures. I am particularly
interested in morale, which I know is a difficult thing to
assess, a difficult thing to put your finger on.
I heard you say concerns about retirement benefits.
Retirement benefits obviously is subject to financial
limitations and negotiations and the like. Are there other
things in particular that you think would improve the morale?
Well, I shouldn't say improve too much. I would like your
assessment on the general level of morale, not specifically on
a specific point. And then I would also like your opinion on
one or two items other than retirement. I have heard the
retirement thing, I accept it. We might be able to do it in the
short term to be able to improve that if you think it needs
improving.
Mr. Tighe. Morale has really increased, I would say, in the
last couple of months. The Chief has made a great effort to get
out there and get his message out to the officers. I think when
the Chief first came on board the message wasn't getting out
there. Since the message is really filtering down to the
officers I think morale has made a huge turn around in the last
few months. It is really increasing.
Mr. Capuano. That is great to hear. Again, having done this
in my past life, I have always thought you will have
differences of opinion, but communication----
Mr. Tighe. If I could add one thing, I am not used to doing
this. I think a lot of times you are so accessible to Members
of Congress and we really appreciate, the officers appreciate
that there is always an ear that we can speak to. Sometimes
what happens is the squeaky wheel will come up and talk to you.
I don't think you get to talk to the 90 percent of these guys
that are out here, and are getting the message, and are happy
with the way the department is going.
Mr. Capuano. I understand the squeaky wheel. As a matter of
fact, most Members of Congress' lives are built around the
squeaky wheel. If I heard from all 635,000 constituents in one
day the world would come to a halt. Weunderstand that. Most of
us are pretty adept at recognizing that. At the same time I also know
that oftentimes when we get a comment or complaint or a suggestion, it
is not just that one person. Sometimes it is broad based, and that is
why you, in your representative capacity, I thought it was important to
ask you as well.
Thank you.
Mr. Lungren.
Mr. Lungren. Well, let me be the squeaky wheel to ask some
questions here.
Mr. Stana, you talked about disappointment year after year
after year, although you have seen improvement in the last
year. Can you venture an opinion as to whether or not the
difficulty in making some of these changes is as a result of
the fact that you have got a police department that responds to
a Capitol Police Board? It responds to authorization committees
both in the House and Senate and responds to appropriations
subcommittees in both Houses? Does that have anything to do
with the difficulty in making some of these changes?
Mr. Stana. Well, the kinds of changes that we are
interested in pursuing I don't think would be particularly
sensitive to that. We are talking about bread and butter
management issues. We are talking about having policies in
place. We are talking about having position descriptions that
adequately describe the work that is supposed to be done and
the training that is supposed to be received. We are talking
about an enterprise architecture that any organization of any
size should have. We are talking about financial management to
produce documents that you can rely on with numbers that are
reliable. We are talking about a police force that should be
able to have a rational way of assigning staff and knowing what
the right number is to perform its mission.
So no, I wouldn't say that there would be any difficulty
there.
Mr. Lungren. You gave us some reasons or at least you
articulated the frustration with not seeing changes year after
year after year, but you have seen some changes in the last
year. Can you venture an opinion as to why the department's
been able to achieve some of these changes in this last year
but were unable to in the previous years?
Mr. Stana. Well, I would say this. For years and years and
years these problems persisted because there was preoccupation
with other issues. And perhaps you would have to ask the former
regime whether they figured that that was as important as some
of the security missions. But when the Chief took over he was
responsive to our recommendations. He set up a framework of
assigning responsibility and accountability, checking quarterly
on progress and reporting to you semiannually on progress
there.
Now, I am not saying that there is a difference between
night and day. What I am saying, it is midnight and maybe 9
a.m. There is a ways to go here, but the signs are all pointing
in the right direction.
Mr. Lungren. Have you had to identify any major remaining
risks from the standpoint of how you would see the greatest
risks or failures to improve in the administrative operations
of the department? What would those risks be as you would see
them, and do you have a sense that they are being viewed by the
administration with a sense of urgency?
Mr. Stana. I pointed out that there are many policies and
procedures and plans that have to be put in place, and many can
soon be put in place. But I think the two greatest risks are
first, they can't get on top of the churning of staff, can't
stabilize that staff. This is extremely important, particularly
in two areas, the financial management and information
technology.
Mr. Lungren. You are talking primarily administrative
staff?
Mr. Stana. Yes, yes. I think that is key.
The other is I just hope that we don't declare victory by
having all these policies and procedures put in place and sort
of putting them on the shelf and worrying about the next thing.
You have to sustain the interest in accountability, in getting
this job done right day after day, and putting controls in
place to recognize when circumstances are requiring adifferent
way of doing things.
Mr. Lungren. Thank you.
Officer Tighe, would you individually and the organization
that you represent support the idea of mandatory physical
fitness standards for Capitol Hill Police officers?
Mr. Tighe. We would have to see how it would be put into
place, how it would affect the officers that are on the job
right now. I think physical fitness for any officer is a good
idea. I think encouraging even voluntary, giving officers time
to work out while they are on duty is a good idea, but I
imagine it would be very costly to be able to do that.
Mr. Lungren. So you don't have an already formed position
against the idea? It is the question of how it would apply and
how we would make it work, is that correct?
Mr. Tighe. No, sir. I believe every officer on this
department should be physically fit, and be able to go out
there and effectively do their job. And I think it would be
another tool that you put in your tool belt to help the
officers.
Mr. Lungren. Let me ask you this, it seems to me that one
of the difficulties in the job of being a Capitol Hill Police
officer is that as opposed to many other departments where you
are out on patrol, most of the officers out on patrol are
detectives doing their work. We have, because of what the role
is here of the department, the obligation to have permanent
stations. They are physical stations where officers are
basically standing there, trying to look out for any potential
problem that might exist and also being officer friendly to the
people who are there.
It seems to me you could run the risk of getting stale at
that. How do we do in terms of the department's either rotating
of positions or keeping your people fresh? How is that done and
how successfully is that done right now? Because it seems to me
if I were part of this department and I am manning my station
day after day after day after day, I might look at another
department and say I could be in a patrol car out there on a
regular basis or I could be moving around, and that would
attract me as long as you have equivalent wages and retirement,
and so forth.
Mr. Tighe. No. The officers for the most part know what the
job is when they come here. They are prepared to stand post.
They are made fully aware when they come here they are going to
be more of a security force than proactive police force of what
you associate with a traditional police department. I guess is
what I'm trying to say.
I think making more career paths available to the officers,
giving them more training and making them feel they are part of
the system, making them know that we are backing them up and
when they are doing their job that they will have the full
backing of the department and the community. The officers that
are here take great pride in what they protect. It is not the
same when you go to a local department. I mean, you are
protecting the Nation's Capitol. That is something to go home
and be proud of. I think our officers take great pride in that,
and that is why we are here to do our job. We are here because
we want to be here.
Mr. Lungren. In your testimony you mentioned the dichotomy
between creating the security against a potential attack on the
one hand. An inconvenience I think is the word you used, but
it's probably more than inconvenience. It is a sense of
hospitality. It is a sense of welcoming people.
From the standpoint of the officers and the training they
receive, how is that dealt with? How is that dealt with so that
the officer can be officer friendly and at the same time be the
officer that is on the lookout for suspicious activity given
the fact that you are there for hours and hours?
Mr. Tighe. I think it is the training we are given in the
academy. It is to be engaging to the people coming through the
doors. Believe it or not, that is a great way of finding out.
If people are not receptive to your friendliness and engaging
them in conversation, that is a great way to get a clue right
there.
The training, the security training we have been given
right now is a lot more comprehensive than when I went through
the academy. You are trained to look for a lot more threats
than just a simple knife or a gun coming through the doors. Now
there are a lot of different items that we are looking for, and
it is a lot more training than was initially given to guys who
have been in the department 10, 15 years ago.
Mr. Lungren. Mr. Stana, from the standpoint of the GAO
report, was there any inquiry made of how the department is
organized to ensure that you have supervisory personnel on a
regular basis checking the performance of officers?
Mr. Stana. No, that was outside the scope of our review. We
have done a number of reviews of the U.S. Capitol Police over
the years. I don't think we have gone into the area much beyond
staffing ratios.
Mr. Lungren. Okay, thank you very, very much. Thank you,
Mr. Chairman.
Mr. Capuano. I just have one last question, Mr. Stana. It
is my understanding that the department has engaged the
services of an outside company to look at best practices, and I
am just wondering if they are working with you or are you aware
of their efforts?
Mr. Stana. We worked with the Capitol Police on a risk
matrix to identify potential threats, vulnerabilities and
potential responses. I believe they have engaged with
Enlightened Leadership Solutions, ELS, to take that threat
assessment further. We have not reviewed that study. We would
be happy to do so if you would like us to.
Mr. Capuano. I would like that. Not because I have any
questions about it, but because I think every view you get,
every thoughtful, insightful view you get of anything always
adds to it.
Mr. Stana. Yes, I know they've engaged with that firm to do
a number of things, not the least of which was in some sense a
peer review, to call around to the different agencies in town
to see if the way the Capitol Police is structuring its risk
management framework is similar to what the FBI would do or the
CIA or Homeland Security would do. And ELS got back pretty high
marks for the Capitol Police effort, but then they did their
own assessment, and we haven't reviewed that.
Mr. Capuano. Okay.
Mr. Stana. We have been briefed on it, but we haven't
reviewed it.
Mr. Capuano. Whenever you feel it is appropriate. I don't
feel these things have to be done right this minute. When you
get a moment, I think it would be helpful to get another set of
eyes on it. Not because I have any questions about it, it is
just an independent review of the matter.
I have no further questions. Again, gentlemen, thank you
very much. I appreciate it, I apologize for the delay, but it
is what we do here. I know you know that. I want to thank
everybody.
I also want to repeat what Mr. Brady said earlier. I can't
tell you how high a regard we hold the Capitol Police here. We
think you do a great job for us. I feel like every member of
the force is very friendly, very open, yet very professional,
and I think I can speak for every Member that we really
appreciate what you do for us. And we really appreciate how you
balance security with the desire to have an open, friendly
environment to the best of your ability. I want to thank you
and praise you for what you have done, and I look forward to
working with you as you go forward to improve it even more.
Thank you.
[Whereupon, at 1:38 p.m., the subcommittee was adjourned.]