Committee News

Thursday, May 06, 2010

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Statement by Congressman Michael McCaul (R-TX), Ranking Member of the Homeland Security Intelligence Subcommittee, on the Times Square terror plot

“This is the second time in four months that luck and a terrorist’s incompetence prevented the mass murder of Americans. We cannot count on luck as a national security strategy. I applaud the citizens who were vigilant in notifying police of suspicious activity, and I applaud law enforcement and intelligence officials for identifying and arresting Shahzad before he left the United States. However, I am greatly concerned that he was able to get onto an international flight despite being placed on the No Fly List. I look forward to a clearer understanding of what happened between the time Shahzad was identified and the time he boarded the plane. While we are still early in the investigation, ultimately Congress needs to ensure that all passengers are checked against real time information from our Intelligence Community, and that officials are instantly able to act on that information. Anything short of this is inexcusable. Our hope is that Secure Flight will accomplish this.”