Goodlatte, Conyers, Sensenbrenner, Jackson Lee Praise House Passage of Bipartisan Secret Service Reform Bill

Washington, D.C. – The House of Representatives today approved by a vote of 365-16 the Secret Service Improvements Act of 2015 (H.R. 1656). This bipartisan bill – authored by House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.), Ranking Member John Conyers (D-Mich.), Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security, and Investigations Subcommittee Chairman Jim Sensenbrenner (R-Wis.), and Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security, and Investigations Subcommittee Ranking Member Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Texas) – reforms the United States Secret Service. The House Judiciary Committee approved the bill earlier this month.

Over the past few years, a series of scandals and failures have rocked the Secret Service, ranging from the agents’ use of prostitutes while on official presidential travel to Colombia, to the agency’s failure to initially apprehend a fence-jumper who later was arrested deep into the White House residence. The bipartisan legislation approved today implements many of the U.S. Secret Service Protective Mission Panel’s recommendations for improvements at the agency. It strengthens the security of the President, protectees, and the White House complex; enhances Secret Service agents’ training; and improves transparency and accountability at the agency.

Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte, Ranking Member Conyers, Crime Subcommittee Chairman Sensenbrenner, and Crime Subcommittee Ranking Member Jackson Lee issued the following statements on House passage of this legislation. 

Chairman Goodlatte: “Today, the House of Representatives passed a strong, bipartisan bill that will assist Director Clancy in restoring the Secret Service as a first-rate agency. The Secret Service Improvements Act of 2015 provides much needed resources to the Secret Service that enhance agents’ training, strengthen security at the White House, and improve transparency and accountability at the agency. Collectively, these resources and changes will help reform the Secret Service and restore it as a sterling law enforcement agency.”

Ranking Member Conyers: “Incidents in recent years involving agent misbehavior and security lapses due to performance issues prompted my colleagues and I to propose this bipartisan bill to improve the Secret Service.  The Secret Service Improvements Act will strengthen agent and officer training, add additional personnel, encourage the adoption and use of better technology, and require assessments of emerging threats.  The bill also provides for the creation of an Ethics Program Office which will help focus more attention on the need of agents and other personnel to meet ethical standards which are commensurate with the agency’s important role.  In these and other ways, this bill is designed to help the Secret Service better perform its role in pursuing a no-fail mission.” 

Crime Subcommittee Chairman Sensenbrenner: “Today’s approval of the Secret Service Improvements Act of 2015 is a critical element of the ongoing efforts to restore the Agency’s credibility and ensure it performs its duties to the highest standards expected by the American people. Multiple lapses in conduct and judgment have created a jarring distrust between the public and the Agency. This legislation is a step in the right direction to restoring that trust.”

Crime Subcommittee Ranking Member Jackson Lee: “With the consideration of this legislation today, we recognize that it is unfortunately the case that the Secret Service has recently failed to live up to its high standards with respect to the protection it provides our President and others.  By adopting this bill, we can help restore the agency so that it will be better prepared to achieve its mission. I am glad that my amendment was accepted to this Bill that will create an Ethics Program Office to fully and effectively implement and administer the ethics laws, regulations, and policies governing Secret Service employees. My amendment complements the other provisions of the bill that primarily deal with issues related to resources, training, and equipment. Much of this responds to the need to upgrade the agency in response to recent security lapses.”

Key Components of the Secret Service Improvements Act of 2015:

Strengthens Security

• Clarifies that it is a federal crime to knowingly cause any object to enter restricted buildings or grounds, including the White House and the Vice President’s residence. 
• Requires the Secret Service to evaluate the use of additional weaponry, including non-lethal weapons.
• Amends current law to permit the Secret Service to investigate threats against former Vice Presidents.
• Requires the Secret Service to devise and implement procedures for evaluating threats to the White House and its protectees, including threats from drones and explosives, and to report to Congress its findings.
• Requires the Secret Service to evaluate its technology at the White House, including ways that technology can be used to improve safety at the White House. 
• Requires the Secret Service to evaluate how it retains evidence and to report its findings to Congress. 
• Allows the Secret Service to install necessary security upgrades at the residences of protectees.

Enhances Agents’ Training and Increases Manpower

• Directs the Secret Service to increase the number of hours spent training, and directs them to provide joint training between Uniformed Division officers and Special Agents.
• Authorizes the hiring of no fewer than 200 additional Uniformed Division officers and 85 additional special agents.

Improves Transparency and Accountability

• Requires the Director of the U.S. Secret Service to be Senate confirmed. 
• Sets up an Office of Professional Responsibility at the agency to ensure greater accountability for misconduct.
• Contains a Sense of Congress that determinations by the Department of Homeland Security or the Secret Service regarding changes to the White House itself for protection reasons should be given significant deference with the many entities that have a role in approving such changes, including the National Capital Planning Commission and the Commission of Fine Arts.

###