Eliminating Waste, Fraud, and Abuse at DHS: Addressing the Biden-Harris Administration’s Failures

House Subcommittee on Oversight, Investigations, and Accountability

2025-03-11

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Source: Congress.gov

Summary

The Committee on Homeland Security Subcommittee on Oversight, Investigations, and Accountability convened its first hearing of the 119th Congress to address rampant waste, fraud, and abuse of taxpayer dollars within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) under the Biden-Harris Administration. [ 00:25:39-00:26:02 ]

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 The hearing featured discussions on various alleged failures, including immigration policies, disaster assistance management by FEMA, and censorship efforts by the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA). [ 00:28:09 ]

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 Witnesses included representatives from the Government Accountability Office (GAO), the DHS Office of Inspector General (OIG), and other organizations, who provided insights into departmental challenges and oversight concerns. [ 00:37:12-00:37:46 ]

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Themes

Waste, Fraud, and Abuse in Government Spending

Chairman Josh Chad Brecheen opened the hearing by asserting that taxpayer dollars entrusted with the Department of Homeland Security have been subjected to significant waste and abuse under the Biden-Harris administration. [ 00:26:57 ]

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 He cited instances such as $17 million paid to an NGO for unused bed space for migrants and the creation of a "mass parole scheme" that he claims exposed communities to risks. [ 00:29:17-00:29:58 ]

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 The Government Accountability Office (GAO) has identified 459 open recommendations for DHS, with 37 considered high-priority, suggesting potential savings of millions, if not billions, of dollars if implemented. [ 00:52:40 ]

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 Ms. Kristen Bernard from the DHS OIG also reported astronomical questioned costs totaling $12 billion in the last three years within FEMA's disaster programs. Michael Howell from the Oversight Project detailed how billions of taxpayer dollars were directed to non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to facilitate what he described as mass illegal immigration, leading to various illicit activities. [ 01:51:59-01:52:03 ]

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 These included allegations of providing false residency documents, advising migrants to lie to law enforcement, and encouraging voting for a specific presidential candidate. [ 01:55:16-01:55:30 ]

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Challenges in Border Security and Immigration Enforcement

The committee highlighted that the Biden-Harris administration's immigration policies led to chaos at American borders, with over 11 million illegal crossings nationwide in four years. [ 00:28:39-00:28:57 ]

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 The DHS OIG reported recurring problems in tracking and accounting for migrants, with DHS unable to monitor the location and status of unaccompanied children or locate released migrants due to missing or invalid addresses. Issues were also noted with the vetting of Afghan evacuees, where some were allowed to board flights without complete screening and identification. [ 01:03:42-01:04:07 ]

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 Moreover, CBP was found to have ineffective processes for resolving inconclusive matches with the FBI's terrorist screening center, leading to the release of an individual who was a match for the terrorist watch list. [ 01:16:48 ]

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 Mr. Andrew Block of America First Legal strongly criticized the administration's abuse of parole authority, which he argued was used to indiscriminately admit millions of people through programs like the CBP One app and Parole in Place, without proper congressional constraints. [ 02:02:02-02:03:37 ]

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Effectiveness and Independence of Government Watchdogs

A significant theme was the role and independence of government watchdogs, particularly Inspector Generals (IGs). Ranking Member Shri Thanedar and Bennie G. Thompson expressed concerns about the firing of 17 IGs and the establishment of a "Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE)," which they argued undermines legitimate oversight and creates chaos. [ 00:36:00 ]

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 Former DHS Inspector General John Roth emphasized that IGs play a crucial, independent role in saving billions of taxpayer dollars and ensuring agencies operate within the law, noting that IGs save more money than they spend. [ 01:57:19-01:58:25 ]

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 He warned that the unprecedented removal of IGs sends a "chilling message" and undermines confidence in government accountability. [ 01:58:36-01:59:20 ]

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 Concerns were raised about DOGE's lack of professional standards, deep knowledge, and potential for conflicts of interest, contrasting it sharply with the rigor and credibility of statutory IG offices.

FEMA's Disaster Assistance Management

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) added "strengthening the delivery of federal disaster assistance" to its 2025 high-risk list for waste, fraud, and abuse. Mr. Chris Currie explained that this system, involving over 30 federal agencies, is fragmented, too large, and poorly coordinated, leading to complications for survivors and state/local governments. The cost of federal disaster aid has significantly outpaced inflation, with some FEMA-managed disasters remaining open for decades. FEMA faces challenges with an excessive workload of over 600 major disaster declarations and struggles with staffing and retaining skilled workers. The DHS OIG found $12 billion in questioned costs and significant delays in closing out disaster programs, attributing inefficiencies to workload, workforce issues, and complex processes.

Cybersecurity and Internet Censorship by CISA

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) was criticized for diverging from its statutory mission to protect critical infrastructure from cyber threats. Chairman Brecheen noted CISA's efforts to pressure social media companies to remove posts related to "mis, dis, and malinformation." Mr. Curtis Schube elaborated that CISA redefined "critical infrastructure" to include "cognitive infrastructure," and then funded NGOs through grants to identify and remove content from social media platforms, effectively outsourcing censorship to circumvent the First Amendment. This misplaced focus, he argued, increased cybersecurity risks and constituted both abuse and waste of taxpayer funds.

Tone of the Meeting

The meeting was characterized by a highly contentious and partisan tone. [ 00:34:56 ]

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[ 00:35:30-00:35:35 ]

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 Republican members consistently accused the Biden-Harris administration of widespread waste, fraud, and abuse, particularly regarding border security and immigration policies, framing these as direct failures of the previous leadership. [ 00:26:57-00:27:10 ]

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[ 00:28:39 ]

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[ 01:17:21 ]

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 Democratic members countered by criticizing the Trump-Musk administration (as they referred to it) for undermining legitimate government watchdogs through the firing of Inspector Generals and the creation of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). They argued these actions created chaos, compromised national security, and represented a "power grab." Accusatory language was prominent from both sides, reflecting a deep partisan division on the causes of and solutions for the identified issues. [ 00:35:30 ]

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Participants

Transcript

The Committee on Homeland Security regarding Oversight Investigations Accountability will come to order.  The purpose of today's hearing is to examine areas of rampant waste, fraud, abuse of taxpayer dollars by the Biden-Harris Administration's Department of Homeland Security.  Without objection, the chair is authorized to declare the committee in recess at any point.  I now recognize myself for an opening statement.   Again, welcome to the Subcommittee on Oversight, Investigations, and Accountabilities, our very first hearing of the 119th Congress, titled Eliminate Waste, Fraud, and Abuse at the Department of Homeland Security, addressing the Biden-Harris administration failures.  I'm honored to be the chairman of the subcommittee, to be joined by my colleagues, distinguished guests, and experts.  I also congratulate Ranking Member Thanedar for his new role.   There's a lot of work that we'll be doing in this Congress, and this subcommittee is excited to be on the forefront of assisting in the reformation of the Department of Homeland Security.  We'd also like to thank full committee ranking member, Benny Thompson, for joining us today, who I know is not here, I don't see him, but he'll be here shortly.   For too long, the federal government has spent money on programs, contracts, and grants that do not promote the interest of the American people.  For four years under the Biden-Harris administration, we've all watched taxpayer dollars entrusted with the Department of Homeland Security become subject to waste and abuse.   There is no doubt that inefficient and effective use of taxpayer resources undermine our national interest.  Under new leadership in the last two years in the House, under Republicans taking the majority, this oversight subcommittee did press hard for transparency, offered the Biden-Harris administration solutions that fell on deaf ears.  The GAO, the Government Accountability Office, the Office of Inspector General have also remained   providing many recommendations, recommendations that could have saved taxpayer money and assist the department in mission success.
For the last several years, nonprofit organizations like the Heritage Foundation, America First Legal, the Council to Modernize Governance, who will join us today on the second panel of witnesses, have demanded transparency and accountability, but were consistently stonewalled by the government.  Today, we will examine some of the rampant   waste, fraud, and abuse at the Department of Homeland Security that occurred under the Biden-Harris administration and evaluate solutions.  We must defend against such waste, hard-earned taxpayer resources.  Failures of the Biden-Harris administration are staggering because the previous administration refused to enforce immigration law.   Our American sovereign borders have been in chaos.  From 21 to January of 2025, four year period, US Customs and Border Protection countered more than 11 million illegal aliens nationwide.  Most of these 11 million illegal aliens were released and provided shelter, food, plane and bus tickets, cell phones and cash by non-governmental organizations known as NGOs who received billions of American taxpayer money.   One office of the Inspector General report found that DHS, Department of Homeland Security, wasted under the Biden-Harris administration at least $17 million paying one NGO for unused bed space for illegal aliens in a hotel.  That $17 million could have been spent on agent salaries, better equipment for federal law enforcement, or improved training to help protect officers and keep communities safe.   In an attempt to shield the immigration crisis from the public, the Biden-Harris administration created a mass parole scheme to fly illegal aliens into the interior of the United States.  These schemes were a clear abuse of power that left American citizens vulnerable communities exposed to criminals, cartels, and potential terrorists.  A notable component of this parole scheme was Operation   Allies welcome used to bring Afghan nationals in the United States after President Biden's disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021.
Multiple inspector general reports found that DHS released Afghan nationals into the United States without adequate screening, without adequate vetting or monitoring, leaving our country vulnerable to a national security risk from those that were coming in.  In addition to the failure to protect America's borders, the Biden-Harris administration favored the use   of the Federal Emergency Management Agency's, FEMA's agency's, resource to support sanctuary cities and NGO, non-governmental organizations, for sheltering and caring for illegal aliens, monies that otherwise could be used elsewhere, securing our southern border.  FEMA's crisis of focus has been worsened by its fragmented approach to disaster assistance, resulting in the Government Accountability Office, GAO, adding federal disaster delivery   to its 2025 high-risk list for waste, fraud, and abuse.  I want to reiterate that.  It resulted in the GAO adding federal disaster delivery, FEMA's disaster aid,   to its 2025 high-risk list for waste, fraud, and abuse, which we'll talk more about.  Another DHS component that experienced a crisis of focus under the Biden-Harris administration is the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, CISA.  In the 118th Congress, this committee investigated and covered efforts by CISA to pressure social media companies to remove posts by Americans containing   quote, mis, dis, and malinformation, end of quote, related to the COVID-19 pandemic.  Republican lawmakers thankfully forced DHS to scuttle their attempts to stand up to this disinformation governance board, as it's called, to further police the lawful speech of Americans online.   CISA's focus on censorship instead of its statutory mission to protect our critical infrastructure from cyber threats was misguided at best, nefarious at worst.  Either way, the divergence from CISA's intended mission increased the risk to our cybersecurity.
Over the last several years, the Office of Inspector General found severe cyber vulnerabilities in Homeland Security's networks, including TSA, ICE, and CBP.   President Trump has now augmented our efforts to return Americans to common sense on these policies.  He's introduced executive orders to secure our borders, uphold the rule of law, defend against the waste of hard-earned taxpayer resources, and create transparency through the executive branch.  On his first day in office, President Trump stated he would marshal all resources available to prevent unlawful entries across the borders of the United States, to pursue criminal charges against illegal alien criminals, and   regain operational control of the border from cartels and smugglers.  President Trump also organized the FEMA Review Council to advise and report on potential reorganization of FEMA, leading to potentially, as the President has discussed, more state authority.  Refocusing the federal government's disaster response efforts on helping Americans, including by investing greater power in state governments to perform disaster response is long overdue.

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