WASHINGTON, D.C. -- This week, the House Committee on Homeland Security convened a hearing to conduct oversight of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) with testimony from Dr. Madhu Gottumukkala, acting director at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA); Ha Nguyen McNeill, acting administrator at the Transportation Security Administration (TSA); and Pedro Allende, under secretary at the Science and Technology Directorate (S&T).

During the hearing, members questioned CISA Acting Director Gottumukkala on the agency's workforce and readiness to combat sophisticated threats from our cyber adversaries, as well as his willingness to coordinate with Congress to ensure CISA's success in its core mission. Members also questioned TSA Acting Administrator McNeill on modernization efforts for airport security and its preparation for upcoming major events across the U.S., including the 2026 FIFA World Cup and 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. To ensure DHS stays ahead of evolving threats, members questioned S&T Under Secretary Allende on the Directorate's coordination with the private sector to procure, test, and deploy cutting-edge technology to support homeland security missions.

Read highlights of the hearing below. Read Chairman Garbarino's statement applauding House passage of the DHS Fiscal Year 2026 Appropriations bill here.

In his opening statement, House Committee on Homeland Security Chairman Andrew Garbarino (R-NY) , highlighted how the threat landscape facing the homeland has evolved since 9/11--stressing the need for modern-day tactics to match modern-day threats in and out of cyberspace:

"The threats posed by lone-wolf actors, radicalized individuals, and homegrown extremists have only increased. Transnational Criminal Organizations pose a significant threat by exploiting the transportation system to traffic humans, drugs, weapons, and illicit goods…Traditional terror tactics have given way to more sophisticated methods of attack. Cybersecurity is now at the forefront of these conversations, with adversaries attempting to take down our transportation systems through digital means. Similarly, the potential for coordinated attacks using drones to disrupt flights or deliver explosives represents a new, and growing, frontier of security threats…. Sophisticated foreign adversaries, including the People's Republic of China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea, are actively targeting our digital systems that underpin essential services, economic activity, and national security."

Chairman Garbarino then asked CISA Acting Director Gottumukkala if there are existing plans to reorganize the agency and whether CISA will coordinate with Congress on any organizational changes:

"There's been a year now in the Trump administration, and there's been some major shakeups at CISA, specifically with some RIFs, and there's been a lot of changes. But the agency still remains responsible for defending the federal civilian networks, supporting state and local partners, and coordinating with critical infrastructure sectors under sustained targeting by foreign adversaries. I have said it publicly, and I know a lot of other members on this committee have said it publicly, that any organizational restructuring must reinforce CISA's ability to execute its core mission and should be done so in coordination with Congress. There have been reports that there are planned reorganization efforts for CISA. Can you please describe what, if any, organizational changes you as acting director are planning to make in the months ahead, and if there are any that you have already done?"

Acting Director Gottumukkala testified:

"CISA is a young agency, and we have grown and as we continue to mature and as we are rescoping as you have suggested, sir, we do have a lot of changes in the last year, but we do not have or planned any organizational changes. But we are continuing to look at how we rescope our existing work that we have and so that we can get back on our mission of protecting the critical infrastructure. And if there is any organizational changes, I will ensure that we will communicate with you."

Subcommittee on Border Security and Enforcement Chairman Michael Guest (R-MS) asked about funding for TSA modernization as America prepares to host major global events, including the 2026 FIFA World Cup and the 2028 Olympics:

"You mentioned this in your statement--I know this is something that is near and dear to the chairman, the Passenger Security Fee diversion for now some 20 years… And that diversion now totals roughly $1.6 billion a year. Also, in your statement, not only we talk about the diversion of those fees, but we talk about the Aviation Security Capital Fund, which also was established some 20-some-odd years ago. Originally, $250 million was set aside in revenue to screen luggage that is checked by passengers, and we've seen that that number has not increased now for 20 years. You talk about the fact that we are in need of returning those diverted fees back to TSA, putting that money back into aviation security, which is what it was created for. And you also talk in your opening statement about the need to increase the Aviation Security Capital Fund. So, I want to give you just a minute, if you could, to expound on both of those."

Acting Administrator McNeill testified:

"We are facing year-over-year volume growth at our checkpoints in infrastructure-constrained environments. The only way that we're going to be able to maintain our security posture and improve our security posture, and deliver an increasingly improved passenger experience is through that combination of our human talent and technology. And that is what we are looking to work with this Congress to do, to ensure that the Passenger Security Fund is used for those purposes. I would say that there are several different buckets of technology advancements that we would want to ensure that we're investing in. One is that cutting-edge screening technology at the checkpoint that we all experience when we fly through the airports, making sure that is detecting threats adequately as we face an evolving adversary and threat environment. Second is around identity."

Subcommittee on Transportation and Maritime Security Chairman Carlos Gimenez (R-FL) asked Acting Administrator McNeill about the current TSA schedule regarding TSA modernization in all airports, and the ensuing delays:

"As a mayor of Miami-Dade County, I ran Miami International Airport. And so airport security is really important to me… If we use the schedule you have right now, by what year are we going to have the things that you think are vital to our nation's security installed in all our airports?"

Acting Administrator McNeill testified:

"At the current pace of funding, for our computed tomography technology, we are looking at 2042, and our credential authorization by 2049."

Subcommittee on Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Protection Chairman Andy Ogles (R-TN) asked about the administration's efforts to refocus CISA back to its core mission, to which Acting Director Gottumukkala testified:

"There is continued bipartisan support for CISA. And the personnel that we have, we are making sure that they are on mission. For some of the bad press or whatever that we see, we miss the point that CISA personnel are deployed across the 10 regions in support of all 56 states and territories. Regarding the attrition rate compared to the federal average, it's about 9.25, approximately, across all federal agencies. And we were at 6.5 percent to 7.5 percent from a natural attrition this year."

Subcommittee on Oversight, Investigations, and Accountability Chairman Josh Brecheen (R-OK) questioned Acting Administrator McNeill about whether she agreed with the findings of a report released by the DHS Office of Inspector General (OIG) in November concerning its independent covert testing of TSA checkpoint screening to see how effective it is at preventing threats to the traveling public, to which Acting Administrator McNeill testified:

"Yes, I do, and it's not anything that actually we didn't know already and fully consider in our security policies."

Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-TX) asked Acting Director Gottumukkala how CISA is safeguarding the integrity of U.S. elections ahead of this year's midterms, to which Acting Director Gottumukkala testified:

"We treat election security as very important for national security. The claim that DHS's CISA has rolled back election security protocols is not accurate… Our election security services remain fully in place, including the cybersecurity support that we provide, the physical security guidelines provided, the incident response that we provide, and also the threat briefings for the state and local election officials."

Rep. Sheri Biggs (R-SC) asked about reports of foreign nationals smuggling cash through the Minneapolis airport:

"It is concerning to me that for two years, Somali residents were walking through the Minneapolis airport with duffel bags filled with cash, nearly $1 million a day, totaling nearly $1 billion. I think that's astonishing. TSA reportedly flagged this flood of money and raised it to DHS and intel agencies. So, Administrator McNeill, did that really happen, and who were these individuals responsible for this, and where was the cash going, because to me, if that is what was reported, why wasn't it stopped immediately?"

Acting Administrator McNeill testified, agreeing to brief the Committee on any updates:

"TSA did indeed report these incidents as it came across the checkpoint because cash shows up as a mass on the X-ray. And so our officers have to resolve what they can't identify on the X-ray machine. And through the course of their normal day-to-day duties, they reported that to our law enforcement partners in compliance with their standard operating procedures. This is why it's really important to take a whole of government approach on this and levy the authorities of all these law enforcement agencies, both across DHS and with the Department of Treasury, to ensure that we are taking a concerted whole of government approach to this. And I think this is where the role of Congress is also critical to ensure that we have the right framework in place to take action. As I mentioned earlier, the movement of this money historically had been done through legal channels. And so, you know, I think we're going to have to collectively work on this."

Rep. Vince Fong (R-CA) asked how S&T is working with private sector vendors to ensure that technologies being developed and deployed are up to date ahead of major events, as well as the procurement process, to which Under Secretary Allende testified:

"The private sector is able to address a number of problems that government really just could not do on its own in many aspects, and it's generally wise to look for those technologies and the applications that they might be suitable for… I'd say there are two sets of demand signals. There's something the private sector has developed with a private market in mind that may have a very good government application. And there's the alternative, which is something that is an almost uniquely government niche that ultimately has a private sector application. In those instances, we'd be looking to do tech transfer at the earliest possible moment. And that's the private sector. For the components, our operational delivery is our goal. And so by either method, we look to get out in the field."

Rep. Matt Van Epps (R-TN) asked about the procedures of S&T's Office of Safety Act Implementation (OSAI) in incentivizing the private sector to acquire and deploy anti-terrorism technologies:

"S&T's Office of Safety Act Implementation, OSAI, plays an important role in mitigating litigation risk to incentivize the private sector to acquire and deploy anti-terrorism technologies. Building off of previous questions, what additional resources, if any, does OSAI require in order to process applications for designated and certified anti-terrorism technologies at a speed sufficiently appropriate to keep pace with emerging threats and technologies?"

Under Secretary Allende testified:

"We currently have a large number of applications pending. We've had a 50 percent increase in applications, which we attribute to FIFA, LA 2028, and America 250. And we are working very diligently to get through those. There are different sets of certifications that are offered by OSAI, and each of these is on a renewal review period. So we periodically revisit the applications. There's a whole host of requirements that are part of that, including…evaluations of sites and so on. So yeah, we do try to keep [up] with the times and the emerging threats."

###