STATEMENT
OF BRIAN L. STAFFORD
Director,
United States Secret Service
Before the
Committee on the Judiciary
Subcommittee
on Crime, Terrorism and Homeland Security
Good morning, Mr. Chairman. I would like to thank you, as well as the distinguished Ranking Member, Mr. Scott, and the other members of the subcommittee for providing a forum to discuss the Administration’s legislative proposal, including the future of the Secret Service and the other agencies represented here today.
On
The role of the Secret Service, as envisioned under the Administration’s plan, will allow us to draw upon our unique experience and expertise to fortify both our homeland security, including the protection of our elected leaders and national events, and our economic security, vital to the stability and strength of our nation.
Should Congress enact the Administration’s proposal and transfer the Secret Service to the Department of Homeland Security, it will become a watershed moment in our agency’s storied history. As you know, Mr. Chairman, the Secret Service was created in 1865 as a small bureau within the Treasury Department to stem the flow of counterfeit currency that had saturated our nation’s monetary system.
It was not until 1901, following the assassination of President McKinley, that the Secret Service began the mission that we are best known for today, protecting the President of the United States. This mission was expanded in subsequent years to include other government and foreign officials, and, most recently, events of national significance.
For over a century, the Secret Service has maintained investigative and protective missions; the cornerstones of our agency. They are inseparable and complementary, and each has a multitude of connections to the mission of homeland security and the objectives of the new department.
In considering the potential transfer of the Secret Service to the Department of Homeland Security, it is important to understand the basic philosophy of our agency. The bedrock principle of the Secret Service’s dual protective and investigative missions is our focus on prevention.
This core philosophy is prevalent throughout our agency’s history. The theme of prevention is ingrained in our culture and pierces every facet of the Secret Service. It is infused into the minds of our agents from the day they enter our training facility. It is the undercurrent of our daily investigative and protective work, and is truly what makes the Secret Service different from all other law enforcement entities.
Our preventative focus is rooted in our investigative mission, yet it is also a core of our protective mission. That focus began with our original mandate to suppress counterfeiting, when the Secret Service adopted the goal of preventing the production of counterfeit currency before it was circulated. Over 137 years later, we are still conducting what we refer to as supply house canvases, where our field personnel work closely with paper and ink manufacturers and suppliers to determine if there is any inordinate demand for the materials used to produce quality counterfeit currency.
Prevention has also become an integral part of our efforts today to work with local law enforcement, other federal agencies, and the private sector to protect our critical infrastructure and financial payment systems from intrusion and compromise.
Our protective agents are trained to detect incidents before they occur through meticulous advance work and countersurveillance tactics. Threat assessments developed by our Intelligence Division identify any existing dangers to the officials we are protecting. Our Technical Security Division analyzes and addresses any vulnerabilities in a physical security plan. Our electronic crime task forces provide training to hundreds of our local law enforcement and private sector partners, aiding them in efforts to shield critical systems and networks from cyber criminals and terrorists.
We believe that our core philosophy mirrors that of the new Department of Homeland Security. Like our agency, the new department will be prepared to respond to incidents and infiltration. Our common goal is to anticipate and prepare, through robust threat assessments and analyses of the intelligence information that is made available to us. We are a consumer of the intelligence community. Continuing that role in the new department will allow us to take the necessary steps and precautions to minimize opportunities for our adversaries, and to prevent any loss of life or the destruction or disruption of the institutions we depend on.
Mr. Chairman, most Americans have some knowledge of our protective responsibilities. In recent decades, this mission has expanded beyond the protection of the President, the Vice President and their immediate families. Today, in addition to those officials, we are mandated to provide personal protection to the President-elect, the Vice President-elect and their immediate families; major Presidential and Vice Presidential candidates and their spouses; visiting foreign heads of state or governments; former Presidents, their spouses and children under the age of 16; and other government officials as designated by the President. Authorization for this protection can be found in our core statute, Section 3056 of Title 18 of the United States Code.
A significant component was added to our protective mission
in 1999, when Congress further amended Section 3056 to authorize the Secret
Service to plan, coordinate and implement security operations at events of
national significance, as designated by the President. This authority was a natural evolution for
the Secret Service, as we have led security operations at large events involving
the President dating back to our first protective mandate in 1901. Our longstanding expertise at planning these
events and coordinating security with our local, state and federal law
enforcement partners provides a platform for the Secret Service to perform this
mission. Since 1999, the Secret Service
has led security operations at 13 of the National Special Security Events
(NSSEs) designated by the President, including the 2000 Republican and
Democratic National Conventions, the 2000 IMF/World Bank Meeting, the 2001
United Nations General Assembly, and, most recently, the 2002 Winter Olympics
and Super Bowl XXXVI.
The actual planning and coordination of
these events requires an intensive, sustained effort, sometimes taking months
or years. The volume of both financial
and human resources required to develop and execute a sound physical security
plan for a NSSE can be immense. The 2002
Winter Olympics in
Advances in technology and the world’s
reliance on interdependent network systems have also changed our protective
responsibilities. No longer can we rely
solely on human resources and physical barriers in designing a security plan;
we must also address the role and inherent vulnerabilities of critical
infrastructures upon which security plans are built. When a protectee visits a hotel, for example,
we can assume that the utilities, ventilation and elevators on site are all
controlled electronically. That is why
the Secret Service has specialists, stationed in our field offices across the
country, who have the experience and expertise to secure critical infrastructures
that are part of our security plan. It
is precisely these skilled personnel in our field offices who can be of
enormous value and benefit to the municipalities, private companies and local
law enforcement agencies in the cities and regions we serve.
Investigations
– Homeland Security and Economic Security
Beyond our protective responsibilities,
the Secret Service is a major contributor to other aspects of our homeland
security. For 137 years, the Secret
Service has been safeguarding our currency and financial infrastructure,
pre-dating our mission to protect the President by nearly four decades. And while today the Secret Service remains
the sole federal investigative agency responsible for enforcing our counterfeiting
statutes, our investigative mission has broadened to include all aspects of the
nation’s financial infrastructure. As
financial payment methods and systems have evolved, from paper to plastic to
digital, so has our investigative jurisdiction.
Since 1984, our investigative responsibilities have expanded to include
crimes that involve identity theft, access device (credit card) fraud, false
identification documents, computer fraud and cyber crime, and financial
institution fraud.
In recent years, financial crimes have
targeted both American industry and American consumers. Thousands of Americans are victimized each
month as they learn their identities have been stolen, Social Security numbers
compromised, and bank accounts emptied.
The private sector, most notably the financial services industry, has
also fallen prey to these criminal elements, as fraudulent credit and debit
cards and counterfeit checks have become more and more prevalent in the
marketplace.
Even more troubling, stolen identities,
false identification documents, and fraudulent credit cards have become the
tools of the 21st century terrorist, typically operating in
cyberspace and often outside the physical boundaries of the United States.
Our currency and financial payment
systems are primary targets for terrorists and other criminal enterprises, yet
our critical infrastructure is equally vulnerable. A serious compromise of these electronic
networks could wreak havoc on our economy, law enforcement, military, health
care, transportation and emergency services.
The Secret Service is a leader of federal
law enforcement efforts to investigate electronic crimes and safeguard our
financial and critical infrastructure.
This is accomplished through our vast network of field offices,
including 135 throughout the United States and 19 additional offices
overseas.
Our field offices have developed strong,
information-sharing partnerships with the multitude of local police
organizations and private companies they work with on a daily basis. These field offices are leading criminal
investigations and task force initiatives, but they are also resources for the
communities they are serving. Because of
the availability of our skilled personnel and the relationships already
established with municipalities and state governments, these field offices can
take a lead role in protecting critical infrastructure on a local level,
assessing vulnerabilities and training our local partners how to protect their
networks and systems.
As with our protective mission, we
continue to focus on preventative measures to shield the American people and
these essential networks from terrorists, cyber criminals, and other
attackers. We have committed ourselves
as an agency to developing new tools to combat the growth of cyber terrorism,
financial crime and computer fraud.
First, the Secret Service began its
highly regarded Electronic Crimes Special Agent Program (ECSAP). This program provides specialized training to
select agents in all areas of electronic crimes, and qualifies these personnel
as experts in the forensic examination and preservation of electronic evidence
and in the protection of critical infrastructure. We have placed these trained agents in each
of our field offices across the country, and they have become invaluable resources,
both for our own investigations, as well as for our local and federal law
enforcement partners. From coast to
coast, the demand among our local law enforcement and private sector partners
for investigative or prevention-based assistance from our ECSAP agents is
overwhelming, and we are striving to expand this program and training within
our agency as resources allow.
Another important effort to secure our financial and critical infrastructure is the development of the Secret Service’s electronic crime task forces. Several years ago, the Secret Service recognized the need for law enforcement, private industry and academia to pool their resources, skills and vision to effectively combat criminal elements in cyberspace and protect our nation’s critical infrastructure. In New York alone, our task force is composed of over 250 individual members, including 50 different federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies, 200 private companies and 9 universities. The innovative approach our task forces have adopted allows various local, state and federal law enforcement agencies to combine their resources and experience with that of others, particularly private industry, to detect and prevent electronic crimes.
The Secret Service applauds the leadership
of the House and Senate Judiciary Committees, who recognized the value of this
initiative and included language last year in the USA/PATRIOT Act to authorize
our agency to expand these task forces to cities and regions across the
country. We have received strong and
enthusiastic support for this program from the scores of local law enforcement
agencies we work with, as well as our private sector partners, who are all
excited about the potential of this exciting new endeavor.
Again, these ECSAP agents and electronic
crime task forces are stationed throughout our field operations. From physical to financial to critical
infrastructure protection, these field offices have the expertise to extend the
preventative mission of the Department of Homeland Security to communities
across the country.
The prevalence of counterfeiting, network
intrusions, identity theft, credit card fraud, and other such crimes leaves
little question that the mission of protecting our financial and critical
infrastructure is central to the mission of homeland security. Consequently, the Secret Service’s dual
protective and investigative missions, as well as our skills and expertise,
will reinforce the primary mission of the new department.
The
Dual Missions of the Secret Service
Mr. Chairman, the coexistence and
interrelationship between our protective and investigative responsibilities
will be of tremendous value to the new Department of Homeland Security.
Our protective and investigative missions
strengthen and complement each other.
Since 1865, the Secret Service has developed a unique capacity to build
strong and trusted partnerships with local, county and state law enforcement in
furtherance of our investigative mission.
It is important to note that these are partnerships in their truest
form. They involve information sharing,
open communication, and, perhaps most critical, mutual trust. These relationships are built over time, on
the premise that our agency, by itself, cannot complete its mission without the
cooperation and contributions of our local partners.
Building an atmosphere of trust and
cooperation with local police is not only central to our criminal
investigations and prevention-oriented partnerships, it is also the keystone to
fulfilling our protective mission. The
importance of these partnerships, developed entirely through our field offices,
to our protective responsibilities cannot be overstated. When any of our protectees travels outside of
Washington, D.C., the Secret Service executes our security plan with the
cooperation and resources of the local police in the area, as coordinated by
our field office.
The cooperative atmosphere that has
already been established between our field office and local law enforcement
with regard to our investigative duties breeds successful interagency
collaboration during presidential and other protectee visits. Simply put, there is already a relationship
in place between the parties that need to cooperate and coordinate their efforts,
and the Secret Service builds on that relationship to prepare for and provide a
seamless, safe and secure environment for our protectee.
Moreover, the associations we have
established with our local law enforcement counterparts have provided a
blueprint for our agency to follow in building private sector partnerships
as well. We have learned that developing
relationships with private industry, particularly those in the financial
services, telecommunications and online industries, provides the Secret Service
with additional expertise and ideas in preventing electronic crimes and
protecting our critical infrastructure.
The contributions of private industry, as well as academia, have become
essential to our electronic crime task forces.
Their expertise and knowledge in many ways surpasses that which we
possess in law enforcement.
Mr. Chairman, our investigative mission
is essential to our protective mission.
Not only is there a connection between our investigative
responsibilities and the protection of the President, but the strength of our
protective capabilities is dependent on our investigative mission.
Every agent who is assigned today on a
protective detail began their career in the Secret Service as a criminal
investigator attached to a field office, where they spent considerable time
developing their skills and expertise by working counterfeit cases, financial
crime investigations, protective intelligence cases or protecting critical
infrastructure.
A Secret Service agent is among the most
skilled law enforcement operatives in the world, and this is due in large part
to their investigative training and experience.
This experience provides an opportunity to develop analytical skills,
investigative expertise, maturity and judgment.
These are the building blocks necessary for the transition of our agents
into the next phase of their careers --protecting our nation’s highest elected
leaders.
Because of this investigative experience,
our protective agents are multi-dimensional, relying on an array of skills and
instincts to protect our nation’s highest elected leaders. We draw upon those individuals who have years
of experience in the field, who not only have acquired the requisite skills,
but have been tried and tested under difficult circumstances, and have proven
decision-making and other abilities that are crucial to protective missions.
As you can see, Mr. Chairman, our
protective and investigative responsibilities are thoroughly intertwined and
interdependent. They are the heart and
soul of the Secret Service, and complement each other in a manner that is truly
unique among law enforcement today.
Under the Administration’s proposal, the
Secret Service would fall under the direct oversight and management of the
Office of the Secretary and Office of the Deputy Secretary of Homeland
Security. The Secret Service strongly
supports this element of the Administration’s proposal, which recognizes that
the Secret Service has protective and investigative responsibilities that
transcend all operational parameters.
A principal objective of homeland
security is to ensure our highest elected leaders and events of national
significance are protected from terrorist and other threats. In support of our responsibility for
protecting the President, Vice President, visiting world leaders and NSSEs, the
Administration’s proposal provides maximum operational flexibility and direct
communication to the Secretary. Moreover, the Administration’s proposal allows
the Secret Service to draw on the expertise and resources of each departmental
division in support of our protective mission.
The Secret Service has a proud tradition
of serving in the Department of the Treasury.
However, our support for transferring the Secret Service to the new
department is grounded in the capabilities, expertise and resources our agency
can bring to the homeland security table.
For example, our National Threat
Assessment Center (NTAC) has perfected models for identifying potential
assassins, attackers and others capable of violence. Beyond their contribution to our mission to
protect our highest leaders, NTAC has produced groundbreaking studies and
provided prevention-based training on such issues as school violence and
workplace violence. Under the
Administration’s proposal, the methodologies used by the National Threat
Assessment Center can now be used for all homeland defense vulnerability
assessments.
The Secret Service’s world-class Forensic
Services Division (FSD) has proven to be an invaluable resource for our local
law enforcement partners and others, such as the National Center for Missing
and Exploited Children, in investigations involving handwriting analysis, ink
analysis, polygraph examinations, fingerprint analysis and similar
services. Our FSD could be used in the future
to provide forensic examinations for either the department as a whole or to
smaller entities within the department.
In announcing his proposal to create a
Department of Homeland Security, the President said the following:
“America
needs a unified homeland security structure that will improve protection
against today's threats and be flexible enough to help meet the unknown threats
of the future. The mission of the new
Department would be to prevent terrorist attacks within the United States,
to reduce America's vulnerability to terrorism, and to minimize the damage and
recover from attacks that may occur.”
It is clear the Department of Homeland
Security will be built on the pillars of prevention and protection. These are the very words found throughout our
own strategic plan. They define the
mission and culture of the United States Secret Service.
On behalf of the men and women of the Secret Service, we stand ready to continue our mission of protecting our leaders, our infrastructure and the American people. We know this is a daunting mission. We are up against criminals and terrorists who have committed themselves to disrupting that which we depend on, destroying that which we have built, and taking the lives of those that we love. But I assure this subcommittee that the Secret Service can and will meet this challenge. Our people have the skills, the experience and the training to rise to any occasion. They have dedicated their careers and their lives to making a safer America.
Mr. Chairman, thank you again for the opportunity to appear before the subcommittee. This concludes my prepared statement. I will be pleased to answer any questions you or the other members of the subcommittee may have.