WASHINGTON, D.C. –– Tomorrow, Tuesday, March 12, House Homeland Security Subcommittee on Counterterrorism, Law Enforcement, and Intelligence Chairman August Pfluger (R-TX) will hold a roundtable for members of the Committee to hear from key experts and stakeholders regarding the activities of the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Intelligence and Analysis, while exploring potential legislative reforms.

DETAILS:

What: Office of Intelligence and Analysis Roundtable 

When: Tuesday, March 12, at 1:00 PM ET

Where: 310 Cannon House Office Building

The livestream will be located on the Committee’s YouTube.

PARTICIPANTS

Mike Sena 
Executive Director, Northern California Regional Intelligence Center, President of the National Fusion Center Association

Triana McNeil
Director, Homeland Security and Justice Team, Government Accountability Office (GAO)

Spencer Reynolds
Senior Counsel, Brennan Center for Justice’s Liberty, National Security Program

John D. Cohen
Executive Director, Program for Countering Hybrid Threats, Center for Internet Security

BACKGROUND:

The House Committee on Homeland Security has continued to conduct oversight of DHS’s Office of Intelligence and Analysis. In September 2023, Chairman Mark E. Green, MD (R-TN) and Subcommittee Chairman Pfluger demanded answers on the appointment of former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper and former Director of the Central Intelligence Agency John Brennan to DHS’s newly-formed Homeland Intelligence Experts Group, which was created to provide advice to the department’s Office of Intelligence and Analysis (I&A). That month, Committee Republicans, led by Subcommittee Chairman Pfluger, introduced legislation to block funding for the group. 

In August 2023, Subcommittee Chairman Pfluger and Subcommittee on Emergency Management and Technology Chairman Anthony D’Esposito (R-NY) sent a letter to DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas to conduct oversight on the limited number of security clearances issued by the Office of Intelligence and Analysis to state, local, tribal and territorial (SLTT) law enforcement partners in communities across the country. 

Following reports of possible violations of Americans’ civil liberties in the office’s Overt Human Intelligence Collection Program, Chairmen Green and Pfluger were joined by Subcommittee on Oversight, Investigations, and Accountability Chairman Dan Bishop (R-NC) on a letter to Secretary Mayorkas in March 2023, demanding answers and a Congressional briefing on the department’s possible overreach of its statutory mandate. This investigation followed a February 2023 letter from the Committee, which requested a status update and any preliminary findings regarding DHS’ ongoing “360” review of the office. The Committee continues to engage with the department on our important oversight work concerning I&A.

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