This week’s latest from Congress on legislation, hearings and oversight affecting those in the cleared world.
SENATE
Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee
A bipartisan group of senators from the committee sent a letter asking the Inspector General of the Office of Personnel Management requesting an investigation into the security clearance background investigations conducted for Aaron Alexis, the alleged perpetrator of the mass killing of at least twelve people at the Navy Yard complex on Sept. 16.
Senate Foreign Relations
On Tuesday committee members were briefed on the latest occurring in Syria in a closed and top secret session.
HOUSE
House Armed Service Committee
The committee held the following two hearings:
- The U.S. Presence in Afghanistan Post-2014: Views of Outside Experts watch video
- Planning for Sequestration in Fiscal Year 2014 and Perspectives of the Military Services on the Strategic Choices and Management Review watch video
House Foreign Affairs Committee
The committee held the hearing, “Benghazi: Where is the State Department Accountability?”, in which a State Department official described an independent Accountability Review Board’s assessment of the 9/11/12 attack on the Libyan embassy and its recommendations to prevent similar attacks in the future
Subcommittee on Cybersecurity, Infrastructure Protection, and Security Technologies
The subcommittee marked-up Rep. Patrick Meehan’s bill, H.R. 2952, “Critical Infrastructure Research and Development Advancement Act of 2013” or the “CIRDA Act of 2013.”
This bill amends the Homeland Security Act of 2002 “to make certain improvements in the laws relating to the advancement of security technologies for critical infrastructure protection, and for other purposes.”
It passed the subcommittee by voice vote, and now proceeds to the full committee for mark-up.
