National Security

WASHINGTON – U.S. Representative Kathleen Rice, a member of the House Committee on Homeland Security, announced today that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has awarded more than $6.7 million for security enhancements to nonprofit organizations in the greater New York City area, including nearly $450,000 to six Jewish organizations, synagogues and schools in New York’s fourth congressional district. The funding was awarded through DHS’s FY 2017 Nonprofit Security Grant Program (NSGP... Read more

WASHINGTON – U.S. Representatives Kathleen Rice (D-NY) and Derek Kilmer (D-WA) wrote today to the Acting Director of the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) and OPM’s Acting Inspector General to request written confirmation that a new policy prohibits OPM from responding to letters from members of Congress unless the letters have been signed by the Chairperson of a Committee or Subcommittee. On May 1, 2017, the New Democrat Coalition Cybersecurity Task Force wrote to OPM to inquire about the fe... Read more

WASHINGTON – U.S. Representative Kathleen Rice, the top Democrat on the Homeland Security Counterterrorism and Intelligence Subcommittee, today introduced legislation that directs the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to conduct a threat assessment regarding the use of virtual currencies such as Bitcoin to carry out terrorist activities or to provide material support for terrorist organizations. H.R. 2433, the Homeland Security Assessment of Terrorists’ Use of Virtual Currencies Act, comes d... Read more

WASHINGTON – U.S. Representative Kathleen Rice released the following statement today after reports that President Trump revealed highly classified information to the Russian Foreign Minister and Ambassador during a meeting last week in the Oval Office. Statement from Representative Kathleen Rice: “According to widespread reports, President Trump recklessly blurted out highly classified information while meeting with Russian officials at Putin’s request. At a time when some of our allies were al... Read more

GARDEN CITY, NY -- U.S. Representative Kathleen Rice released the following statement today regarding the U.S. missile strikes launched last night against a Syrian airfield. Statement from Representative Kathleen Rice: “Based on what I know at this point, last night’s missile strikes on a Syrian airfield seem to be an appropriate response to Assad’s brutal chemical attack that killed dozens of his own citizens, including children, and I commend the members of our armed forces who planned and exe... Read more

WASHINGTON – U.S. Representatives Kathleen Rice (D-NY), Ted Lieu (D-CA) and Stacey Plaskett (D-U.S. Virgin Islands), all former prosecutors, today sent a letter to acting Deputy Attorney General Dana Boente requesting the appointment of a Special Prosecutor to investigate any Trump campaign collusion with Russia. The recent disclosure that President Trump’s first National Security Advisor, Michael Flynn, has asked for immunity is just the latest reason why a Special Prosecutor is needed to inves... Read more

WASHINGTON – The U.S. House of Representatives today passed H.R. 1353, the Transparency in Technological Acquisitions Act of 2017, legislation introduced by Representative Kathleen Rice, a member of the House Committee on Homeland Security and the former Ranking Member of the Transportation Security Subcommittee. Under the Transportation Security Acquisition Reform Act, which was signed into law in 2014, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is required to develop a five-year technolo... Read more

By Joe Uchill A group of more than 30 Democratic lawmakers is urging President Trump to adopt "a tough and smart" policy on cybersecurity. The lawmakers, members of The New Democrat Coalition, sent a letter to Trump this week "to highlight the importance of making smart cybersecurity investments, which will more than pay off in the long run." The letter pushes for increased spending on federal IT, academic research and curricula, and critical infrastructure security as well as a "strengthening"... Read more

By Homeland Security Today Staff Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary John Kelly was asked Tuesday for information about directives in Trump’s original January 27 Executive Order, Protecting the Nation from Foreign Terrorist Entry into the United States, which weren’t affected by the court's temporary restraining order (TRO). On February 3, a federal court issued a TRO preventing the enforcement of five specific sections of the original Executive Order, but several provisions of the ... Read more

WASHINGTON – U.S. Representative Kathleen Rice, a member of the House Committee on Homeland Security, today requested information from the Department of Homeland Security related to any actions taken pursuant to the original Executive Order entitled “Protecting the Nation from Foreign Terrorist Entry into the United States,” which was announced on January 27, 2017. In a letter to Secretary of Homeland Security John Kelly, Rice notes that while a federal court issued a temporary restraining order... Read more