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S. HRG. 114–288 

NOMINATION OF PETER V. NEFFENGER 

TO BE ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF THE 

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY 

AND ADMINISTRATOR FOR THE 

TRANSPORTATION SECURITY ADMINISTRATION 

HEARING 

BEFORE THE

COMMITTEE ON COMMERCE, 

SCIENCE, AND TRANSPORTATION 

UNITED STATES SENATE 

ONE HUNDRED FOURTEENTH CONGRESS 

FIRST SESSION 

MAY 21, 2015 

Printed for the use of the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation 

( 

(II) 

SENATE COMMITTEE ON COMMERCE, SCIENCE, AND TRANSPORTATION 

ONE HUNDRED FOURTEENTH CONGRESS 

FIRST SESSION 

JOHN THUNE, South Dakota, Chairman 

ROGER F. WICKER, Mississippi 

ROY BLUNT, Missouri 

MARCO RUBIO, Florida 

KELLY AYOTTE, New Hampshire 

TED CRUZ, Texas 

DEB FISCHER, Nebraska 

JERRY MORAN, Kansas 

DAN SULLIVAN, Alaska 

RON JOHNSON, Wisconsin 

DEAN HELLER, Nevada 

CORY GARDNER, Colorado 

STEVE DAINES, Montana 

BILL NELSON, Florida, Ranking 

MARIA CANTWELL, Washington 

CLAIRE MCCASKILL, Missouri 

AMY KLOBUCHAR, Minnesota 

RICHARD BLUMENTHAL, Connecticut 

BRIAN SCHATZ, Hawaii 

EDWARD MARKEY, Massachusetts 

CORY BOOKER, New Jersey 

TOM UDALL, New Mexico 

JOE MANCHIN III, West Virginia 

GARY PETERS, Michigan 

DAVID SCHWIETERT, Staff Director 

NICK ROSSI, Deputy Staff Director 

REBECCA SEIDEL, General Counsel 

JASON VAN BEEK, Deputy General Counsel 

KIM LIPSKY, Democratic Staff Director 

CHRIS DAY, Democratic Deputy Staff Director 

CLINT ODOM, Democratic General Counsel and Policy Director 

(III) 

C O N T E N T S 

Page 

Hearing held on May 21, 2015 ............................................................................... 1 

Statement of Senator Thune ................................................................................... 1 

Statement of Senator Nelson .................................................................................. 4 

Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 4 

Statement of Senator Blumenthal .......................................................................... 26 

Statement of Senator Klobuchar ............................................................................ 28 

Statement of Senator Sullivan ............................................................................... 34 

WITNESSES

Hon. Janice Hahn, U.S. Representative from California ..................................... 2 

Peter Vance Neffenger, Vice Commandant, United States Coast Guard ........... 5 

Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 7 

Biographical information ................................................................................. 9 

APPENDIX

Response to written questions submitted to Vice Admiral Peter V. Neffenger 

by: 

Hon. John Thune .............................................................................................. 39 

Hon. Roy Blunt ................................................................................................. 42 

Hon. Steve Daines ............................................................................................ 42 

Hon. Richard Blumenthal ................................................................................ 43 

(1) 

NOMINATION OF PETER V. NEFFENGER 

TO BE ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF THE 

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY 

AND ADMINISTRATOR FOR THE 

TRANSPORTATION SECURITY 

ADMINISTRATION 

THURSDAY, MAY 21, 2015 

U.S. SENATE, COMMITTEE ON COMMERCE, SCIENCE, AND TRANSPORTATION, Washington, DC. 

The Committee met, pursuant to notice, at 11:04 a.m. in room 

SR–253, Russell Senate Office Building, Hon. John Thune, Chairman of the Committee, presiding. 

Present: Senators Thune [presiding], Sullivan, Nelson, 

Klobuchar, and Blumenthal. 

OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. JOHN THUNE, 

U.S. SENATOR FROM SOUTH DAKOTA 

The CHAIRMAN. This nomination hearing will come to order. I 

apologize to our nominee for the tardy start. We had some things 

going on on the floor, some business we were trying to take care 

of over there. We are delighted to have you with us today. 

Today, we are going to consider the nomination of Vice Admiral 

Peter Neffenger to be the next Administrator of the Transportation 

Security Administration. The TSA Administrator position has been 

vacant since last December when John Pistole resigned. 

In January, I along with Ranking Member Nelson, Senators 

Ayotte, Cantwell, and Fischer called on President Obama to send 

us a qualified, experienced, and dedicated individual to serve as 

TSA Administrator. 

Late last month, Admiral Neffenger was nominated by the President to head this important agency, which has been without Senate 

confirmed leadership for too long. 

While disappointed at the length of time it took the President to 

send us a qualified nominee, I am encouraged by Admiral 

Neffenger due to his qualifications and service to our country. 

Admiral Neffenger currently serves as the Vice Commandant of 

the United States Coast Guard. He has had a long and distinguished career, serving over 33 years in a wide range of positions, 

each with more responsibility and importance than the last. 

During an assignment in Mobile, Alabama, he helped to lead the 

multi-agency response to the 1993 Amtrak Sunset Limited train 

2 

derailment into a remote waterway in the Mobile River Delta 

which killed 47 people. This is a particularly significant experience 

in light of last week’s tragic Amtrak derailment in Philadelphia. 

Admiral Neffenger also has substantial experience serving right 

here in the Senate, having been a Coast Guard Fellow and Detailee 

for 2 years at the Senate Appropriations Committee. 

As some of my colleagues from the Gulf Coast can attest, Admiral Neffenger also served as Deputy National Incident Commander 

for the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. In that role, Admiral Neffenger 

coordinated and led over 50,000 people from Federal, state, and 

local agencies, tribal representatives, non-governmental organizations, and the private sector throughout five Gulf Coast states in 

the clean-up and response effort. 

Admiral Neffenger has proven himself as a leader, and the TSA 

is an agency in need of strong leadership. Former Administrator 

Pistole deserves credit for improving the agency’s use of risk-based 

approaches to security and implementing programs to streamline 

the screening of travelers who pose little or no threat to the public. 

At the same time, just last week, the Department of Homeland 

Security’s Inspector General testified in the House, and I quote, 

‘‘Unfortunately, although nearly 14 years have passed since TSA’s 

inception, the IG’s Office remains deeply concerned about its ability 

to execute its important mission.’’ 

That is unusually blunt testimony from a government witness 

and underscores the need to get a qualified and capable leader in 

place at TSA, especially with the evolving security threats our Nation faces. 

This committee will do its part to make that happen. I look forward to a meaningful exchange with Admiral Neffenger today, as 

well as written questions for the record following today’s hearing. 

Then if members are satisfied with the nominee’s responses, we 

will likely hold a markup to consider the nomination during our 

first week back after the Memorial Day recess. 

That will be followed by a previously agreed upon referral to the 

Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, 

as has been done for the last several nominees to head the TSA. 

I look forward to working with Chairman Johnson who is also a 

valued member of this committee, to ensure timely consideration of 

this nomination. In both settings, as well as in personal meetings 

with senators, Admiral Neffenger will have a chance to address important policy issues and how he will address the challenges facing 

TSA if confirmed. 

With that, I want to get us going here. Our Ranking Member, 

Senator Nelson, I assume will be here momentarily, but in his absence, we will proceed. We have with us today Representative Janice Hahn, who is here to introduce her nominee. 

Congresswoman Hahn, very nice to have you here, welcome, and 

please proceed. 

STATEMENT OF HON. JANICE HAHN, 

U.S. REPRESENTATIVE FROM CALIFORNIA 

Ms. HAHN. Thank you very much, Chairman Thune. It is very 

good to be with you today. Mr. Chairman, I appreciate being invited to speak in support of the nomination of Peter Neffenger to 

3 

be the Administrator of the Transportation Security Administration. 

I understand the importance of the TSA at a time when our nation continues to face potential attacks on our homeland, and 

therefore, the need for an Administrator who has demonstrated the 

highest standards of excellence and leadership in previous roles. 

I wholeheartedly and enthusiastically support Vice Admiral 

Neffenger for this position. 

As the Commander of the Coast Guard’s sector, Los Angeles/ 

Long Beach, the largest port complex in the country, Vice Admiral 

Neffenger simultaneously served as the captain of the port and 

Federal Maritime Security Coordinator, when I was on the Los Angeles City Council and represented the port at that time. 

Peter and I worked closely together on port security in the years 

following the tragic terrorist attacks of 9/11. Before 9/11, the Federal Government did not have an agency or administration specifically responsible for securing our transportation systems. 

As you know, this very committee created TSA, which now has 

the role of securing our transportation system while ensuring the 

free flow of goods and services. 

Ranking Member Nelson, good to see you. 

Vice Admiral Neffenger has the right experience and abilities to 

implement TSA’s mission as demonstrated by his professional and 

personal qualifications. 

Over the years, I have found him also to be very even keeled. I 

think this is crucial for the person at the helm of our Nation’s 

transportation security. We need a person in charge who can decide 

with Congress where limited resources should be spent, and to balance security and commerce, while at the same time protecting 

America’s public. 

Since I have come to serve in Congress as a representative of our 

Nation’s largest port complex and the co-founder and co-chair of 

the Port Caucus in the House of Representatives, Vice Admiral 

Neffenger has continued to brief me about security at our Nation’s 

port, and to be a resource for me on port security. 

I think the President has selected the right person to lead our 

Nation’s Transportation Security Administration. Vice Admiral 

Neffenger brings the right set of experiences to TSA, his qualifications are exemplary. His knowledge, his character, and his strategic thinking are first rate. 

His unique experiences, which are broader than aviation, will 

help TSA complete its mission of protecting the nation’s transportation system, to ensure freedom of movement for people and commerce. 

Our ports, I think, are still a vulnerable part of our transportation system, and I can see the Port of Los Angeles from my backyard, and that security gap sometimes keeps me awake at night. 

That is why I think more than ever we need someone with Vice Admiral Neffenger’s background, that understands and knows our 

ports as well as the entire transportation system. 

Knowing that such a highly qualified person is protecting our 

Nation’s transportation system will give us all great comfort and 

confidence. I urge you to confirm his nomination. Thank you so 

much for letting me be here. 

4 

The CHAIRMAN. Thank you, Congresswoman Hahn, very much 

for that testimonial. I am certain that our nominee very much appreciates those great words, and we appreciate you coming over. 

Thank you for being here and for sharing that with us. 

Senator Nelson is here, and I am going to turn to him before we 

turn to Vice Admiral Neffenger, and let him make his opening remarks. Senator Nelson? 

STATEMENT OF HON. BILL NELSON, 

U.S. SENATOR FROM FLORIDA 

Senator NELSON. Congresswoman, thank you for your comments, 

and in the interest of time, since we have had the delay because 

of the trade vote, I will submit my statement for the record. 

Let me just say that the Admiral worked very hard in a major 

disaster that we had, the oil spill at Deepwater Horizon in the 

Gulf, that has had such long lasting effects. He obviously is skilled. 

He is obviously experienced with his 34 years, and he takes over 

an agency that if we make a mistake, it could be fatal, and we need 

strong leadership. 

If you look at some of the vulnerabilities in the airports, last December they discovered for a 6-month period people were getting on 

airplanes in the Atlanta Airport and transporting guns on commercial airliners to New York, over a 6-month period. It is unacceptable. 

Just this past week, the Secretary talked about a drug running 

gang in California among baggage handlers. It is unacceptable. 

Admiral, you have a real job, and we appreciate you offering 

yourself for your continued public service. 

[The prepared statement of Senator Nelson follows:] 

PREPARED STATEMENT OF HON. BILL NELSON, U.S. SENATOR FROM FLORIDA

Thank you Admiral Neffenger for joining us today to discuss your nomination to 

be the next Administrator of the Transportation Security Administration. And I 

want to thank you for your continued public service. 

We’ve worked together in the past on the response to one of the Nation’s worst 

environmental disasters ever, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, 

where you played an important leadership role as the Deputy National Incident 

Commander. 

I expect that your 34 years of service with the Coast Guard has prepared you to 

lead TSA in its critical, 24/7 security mission. 

As you know, TSA is tasked with protecting our transportation systems and the 

traveling public, while also ensuring the flow of commerce. Though TSA is most visible to the public at 450 commercial airports across the nation, the agency’s security 

responsibilities cut across all modes of transportation; including transit, railroads, 

pipelines, and maritime. 

As threats to our transportation systems evolve, TSA must respond to meet new 

challenges and anticipate future risk. 

For instance, last December it was discovered that a few employees at the Atlanta 

Airport had developed a scheme that exploited the limited screening of employees 

at that airport to transport guns to New York onboard commercial airplanes. 

Earlier this week, Homeland Security Secretary Johnson announced that baggage 

handlers in Oakland are being charged with illegally transporting drugs. It appears 

these individuals used the same scheme as in Atlanta. 

The employees in both cases used their secure access badges to bring contraband 

into the sterile area of the airport, then transferred the drugs or guns to a passenger on an outboard flight, who had already passed through TSA security. 

In both Atlanta and Oakland, these were criminals and not terrorists, but this 

is exactly what we are trying to prevent: weapons getting on airplanes. 

5 

Secretary Johnson has directed TSA to implement recommendations made by the 

Aviation Security Advisory Committee, including steps to improve the screening and 

vetting of all airport-based employees. 

One of those recommendations is to reduce the number of secure area access 

points at airports and increase screening, as they did in Orlando and Miami years 

ago. 

There are also ways to improve passenger screening, and I hope that we can discuss ways to strengthen the TSA PreCheck program. 

Vice Admiral Neffenger, I look forward to hearing how you would approach these 

issues, and how your experience at the Coast Guard has prepared you to lead this 

50,000 member workforce and protect our transportation networks. 

Thank you. 

The CHAIRMAN. Thank you, Senator Nelson. Admiral Neffenger, 

please proceed. 

STATEMENT OF PETER VANCE NEFFENGER, VICE 

COMMANDANT, UNITED STATES COAST GUARD 

Admiral NEFFENGER. Thank you, Chairman. I have a short opening statement, and I have a written statement for the record, with 

your permission. 

Good morning, Chairman Thune, Ranking Member Nelson, distinguished members of the Committee. I am deeply privileged to 

appear before you today as the President’s nominee to head the 

Transportation Security Administration. 

I am honored by the President’s call to serve in this important 

position and by the support of Secretary Jeh Johnson, who has provided strong leadership of our Department. 

I especially want to thank my friend, Representative Janice 

Hahn, who graciously gave up her time to introduce me today. I 

had the great privilege of working with her during my tenure as 

Commander of Coast Guard Sector Los Angeles/Long Beach. 

She directly helped me as we brought together leaders from industry, labor, government, first responder agencies, and the local 

community to tackle the daunting challenge of securing the ports 

of Los Angeles and Long Beach. 

This experience reinforced my belief in the critical importance of 

partnerships in protecting our nation’s transportation systems. 

Thank you again, Janice. Thank you. 

I would also like to thank the 50,000 men and women of the 

United States Coast Guard and the 30,000 members of the volunteer Coast Guard Auxiliary, with whom I have been privileged to 

serve for more than three decades, and from whom I have learned 

important lessons about leadership and about service to the nation, 

commitment to excellence, and duty to people, and to the dedicated 

men and women of TSA, I want you to know that I am deeply honored to potentially join your ranks and to serve with you and the 

American people in securing our Nation’s transportation systems. 

During my nearly 34 years of active service, I have been assigned 

to a broad variety of operational, staff, and leadership positions culminating in my current duties as Vice Commandant and second in 

command of the Coast Guard, the nation’s fifth armed service, and 

its premiere maritime law enforcement agency. 

Each assignment has brought greater and more complex responsibilities and challenges, and if confirmed, I will apply the leadership skills I have gained as well as my extensive experience in law 

enforcement, maritime transportation security, and management of 

6 

a large complex agency to ensure the protection of our nation’s 

transportation systems. 

Nearly 14 years after 9/11, we must recognize that the global terrorist threat has evolved. Today, this threat is more decentralized, 

more diffuse, and more complex. Certain terrorist groups remain 

intent on striking the United States and the West, and we know 

that some of these groups are focused on commercial aviation. 

Moreover, we see a growing threat. The threats are persistent 

and evolving, and they are TSA’s most pressing challenge. 

Workforce training, retention, and accountability are a second 

challenge facing TSA. If confirmed, I will pay close attention to the 

development of the TSA work force. I will examine how to use the 

TSA Academy established by John Pistole to further improve performance and to instill an ever greater sense of pride in the agency 

and its critically important mission. 

I will continue to focus on customer service. Travelers expect efficient and effective screening, and they deserve to be treated with 

respect. 

A third challenge is ensuring that TSA continually fields the 

tools it needs to address the persistent and evolving terrorist 

threat. We must question ourselves. We must evolve our capabilities. We must adapt faster than those who wish to harm us. We 

must envision what comes next and direct investments appropriately. 

As such, if confirmed, I will commit myself to ensuring that TSA 

remains a high performing, highly capable counterterrorism organization guided by a risk based strategy, that TSA employs multi-layered intelligence driven operations, that TSA recruits and retains 

a skilled and highly trained workforce while placing a premium on 

professional values and individual accountability. 

That TSA pursues advanced capabilities with adaptation central 

to its acquisition strategy, and that TSA continues to strengthen its 

integration in the intelligence community, with the private sector, 

with its stakeholders, and among Federal, state, and local partners. 

If confirmed, I will follow this strategy, engage and lead the 

workforce, and adapt and invest appropriately. 

I believe I have a proven record of leading people and carrying 

out complex missions. I have an extensive background in applying 

risk based security principles to port operations and maritime 

threats, principles that translate effectively and directly to other 

transportation modes. I have a proven record of leading through 

crises. 

Finally, throughout my career, I have remained aware of the 

need to balance desires for greater security with the protection of 

the liberties and rights we cherish. If confirmed, safeguarding civil 

liberties and privacy interests of all Americans will remain a top 

priority. 

I look forward to partnering with this committee on a range of 

initiatives to enhance the safety of the traveling public, and to 

achieve this balance. 

In closing, I again thank President Obama and Secretary Johnson for their confidence in my ability. 

7 

Mr. Chairman, Ranking Member Nelson, thank you for the opportunity to appear before you today, and I look forward to answering your questions. 

[The prepared statement and biographical information of Admiral Neffenger follow:] 

PREPARED STATEMENT OF VICE ADMIRAL PETER V. NEFFENGER, NOMINEE FOR

ADMINISTRATOR, TRANSPORTATION SECURITY ADMINISTRATION, U.S. DEPARTMENT

OF HOMELAND SECURITY

Good morning Chairman Thune, Ranking Member Nelson, and distinguished 

Members of the Committee. I am deeply privileged to appear before you today as 

the President’s nominee to head the Transportation Security Administration (TSA). 

I am honored by the President’s call to serve our Nation in this important leadership position and by the support of Secretary Jeh Johnson, who has provided strong 

and inspired leadership to the Department of Homeland Security. 

With your indulgence, I would like to express my sincere appreciation to my fellow members of the United States Coast Guard, with whom I served for more than 

three decades of my professional life and from whom I have learned many lessons 

on leadership. They were and are always ready—to protect the maritime economy 

and the environment, to defend our maritime borders, and to save those in peril. 

They have inspired my service and I am eternally grateful for the opportunity to 

have worked alongside them and to have led them as they safeguard our maritime 

interests in the heartland, at the ports, at sea, and around the globe. And to the 

men and women of TSA, I want them to know how deeply honored I am to potentially join their ranks and to serve them and the American people in securing our 

Nation’s transportation systems. 

If confirmed for the position to which I have been nominated, it would be my 

privilege to follow in the footsteps of my longtime mentor and one of TSA’s first Administrators, Admiral James Loy, who was the Coast Guard Commandant from 

1998 to 2002 and TSA Administrator from 2002 to 2003. I have been similarly privileged to serve our Nation as a senior commissioned officer in the United States 

Coast Guard. During my nearly 34 years of active service, I have been assigned a 

broad variety of operational, staff and leadership positions culminating in my current duties as Vice Commandant and second in command of the Coast Guard; the 

Nation’s fifth armed service and premier maritime law enforcement agency. Each 

successive assignment has brought greater and more complex responsibilities in executing the Coast Guard’s mission to secure America’s waters and to protect the 

country against maritime threats. If confirmed, I will have the opportunity to apply 

this leadership experience and my law enforcement and security skills to one of the 

most challenging jobs in our Nation; protecting our transportation systems—especially aviation—from terrorists. 

Since its creation after the attacks of 9/11/01, TSA has played an invaluable and 

pivotal role in securing our transportation systems from these threats. Still, more 

than thirteen years since, we face threats from terrorist groups around the world 

and from homegrown terrorists who are not affiliated with a particular network, but 

who, nonetheless are inspired by a message of hatred and violence. A persistent 

number of terrorist groups remain intent on striking the United States and the 

West, and we know that some of these groups are focused on commercial aviation. 

And, we must recognize that we have evolved to a new phase in the global terrorist 

threat. Today the terrorist threat is more decentralized, more diffuse, and more 

complex. And today’s terrorists no longer build bombs in secret; they have now publicized their instruction manual and are calling for people to use it. 

These persistent threats are TSA’s most pressing challenge. Our enemies will continually adapt, and so must we. TSA must leverage intelligence, technology, the experience of our front-line operators and our private sector partners to ensure we employ effective, efficient and ever-evolving procedures to stop those who would harm 

us. We should pay particular attention to the insider threat. I’m encouraged by the 

thoughtful recommendations provided by the Aviation Security Advisory Committee 

and, if confirmed, will commit to closely reviewing and pursuing the long-term enhancements recommended. 

Retention, training and accountability are a second significant challenge facing 

TSA. Front-line managers and screeners are critical to the success of TSA. Agency 

culture, morale and effectiveness are a direct result of consistent and career-long 

training, recognition and accountability. If confirmed, while we should further rightsize our workforce consistent with the implementation of risk-based security prinVerDate Nov 24 2008 10:49 Jun 29, 2016 Jkt 075679 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6621 S:\GPO\DOCS\20553.TXT JACKIE
8 

ciples, I will pay close attention to training and workforce development, to include 

how to leverage the TSA Academy to improve individual performance and to instill 

a greater sense of pride in the agency and its mission. 

A related challenge to address is customer service, which is a critical success factor. TSA interacts with millions of travelers each day—travelers who expect efficient 

and effective screening with minimal delay, and who deserve to be treated with respect. Through my current career, I have routinely interacted with the public and 

have learned that an organization must continually reinforce this message of dignity 

and respect in order to embed it into an agency culture. 

A third organizational challenge for TSA is ensuring it is continually fielding the 

tools and equipment the workforce needs to address this persistent and adaptive 

threat today, while envisioning longer term the investments necessary to recapitalize and modernize security of our Nation’s transportation system. 

As such, if confirmed, I will commit myself to ensuring that TSA remains a highperforming, highly-capable counterterrorism organization that is guided by a riskbased strategy to prevent attacks and safeguard legitimate travel and commerce; 

that TSA employs a multi-layered, intelligence-driven operation and one that discards a one-size-fits-all approach; that TSA recruits and retains a highly-trained 

workforce, one that has the opportunity for career growth and development while 

placing a premium on professional values and individual accountability to high 

standards of performance and customer service; that TSA pursues advanced capabilities with innovation and adaptation central to its acquisition strategy to counter 

evolving threats; and that TSA will continue to invest in and strengthen its integration in the intelligence community, in the private sector, with its stakeholders, and 

among DHS, federal, state, and local partners. To protect aviation, mass transit, 

rail, highways, ports, and pipeline systems, I will follow this strategy, engage and 

lead the workforce, adapt and invest appropriately, and remain focused on these 

critical success factors. 

I have a proven record of leading people and carrying out complex missions and 

priorities. As Vice Commandant of the Coast Guard, I serve as the Vice Service 

Chief, Chief Operating Officer and Component Acquisition Executive responsible to 

train, equip and organize over 50,000 men and women who keep our Nation’s waters safe, secure and protected. I approve and certify acquisition programs of record 

for the Service, and oversee compliance with the Chief Financial Officer and Federal 

Financial Reform Act of 1990, with the Coast Guard achieving a clean audit opinion 

for two consecutive years. I currently serve as the senior authority for all resource 

requests and budget submissions for the Service. I have an extensive background 

in applying the strategic principles of security to port operations and maritime 

threats, principles that translate effectively to other transportation modes. I served 

as Commander of the Ninth Coast Guard District overseeing all Coast Guard operations on the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Seaway and along the Northern Border 

with Canada. I also commanded Sector Los Angeles-Long Beach and served as the 

Federal Maritime Security Coordinator and Captain of the Port for the Nation’s 

largest port complex in addition to leading Coast Guard operations throughout approximately 300 miles of California coast and coastal waters. In both commands, I 

worked closely with interagency and international partners, industry and the private sector, citizens groups and non-governmental organizations, and federal, state 

and local law enforcement to develop risk-based methods for screening vessels, cargo 

and people operating in our ports and waterways. I focused on determining highest 

risk commerce while facilitating legitimate activities. I also established one of the 

Nation’s first interagency Area Maritime Security Committees which brought together leaders from industry, labor, government, first responder agencies and the 

local community to tackle the critical challenge of securing the vital Los Angeles 

and Long Beach ports and maritime approaches to the West Coast of the United 

States. 

In addition, I have a proven record of leading through crises. I served as Deputy 

National Incident Commander for the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill in 2010 following the tragic explosion, the loss of eleven lives, and the sinking of the Deepwater Horizon Mobile Offshore Drilling Unit which precipitated the largest and 

longest oil spill in U.S. history. At the national level, I helped to ensure a coordinated, unified, whole-of-government effort to respond to the massive spill. I led over 

50,000 people from federal, state and local agencies; tribal representatives; non-governmental organizations; and the private sector throughout five Gulf Coast states. 

I regularly briefed the President, Members of Congress, Cabinet Secretaries, state 

Governors and regional elected officials on progress and milestones, including appearing before Congressional Committees on multiple occasions. 

Finally, throughout my years of service I have remained aware of the need to balance desires for greater security with the protection of the liberties and rights we 

9 

cherish as Americans. If confirmed, safeguarding the civil liberties and privacy interests of all Americans will remain a top priority. I look forward to partnering with 

this Committee on a range of initiatives to enhance the safety of the traveling public 

and to achieve this balance. 

I applaud the work the men and women of TSA perform each and every day, 

along with the outstanding work performed by Mel Carraway while he has served 

as Acting Administrator. It would be my great honor to join them and have the 

privilege of leading this team of committed patriots. 

In closing, I again thank President Obama and Secretary Johnson for their confidence and faith in my ability to lead TSA. Mr. Chairman, Ranking Member Nelson, I thank you for the opportunity to appear before you today and I look forward 

to answering your questions. 

A. BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION

1. Name (Include any former names or nicknames used): Peter Vance Neffenger. 

2. Position to which nominated: Assistant Secretary for Homeland Security, 

Transportation Security Administration. 

3. Date of Nomination: April 28, 2015. 

4. Address (List current place of residence and office addresses): 

Residence: Information not released to the public. 

Office: Information not provided. 

5. Date and Place of Birth: August 21, 1955; Salem, OH. 

6. Provide the name, position, and place of employment for your spouse (if married) and the names and ages of your children (including stepchildren and children 

by a previous marriage). 

Spouse: Gail Rosemary Staba 

Place of Employment: Transportation Research Board, The National Academy 

of Sciences, Washington, DC. 

Position: Senior Program Officer. 

No children. 

7. List all college and graduate degrees. Provide year and school attended. 

1977: Baldwin-Wallace University, Bachelor of Arts, Magna Cum Laude, with 

distinction, in English. 

1986: Central Michigan University, Master of Arts in Business Management 

1995: Harvard University, Kennedy School of Government, Master of Public Administration. 

2003: U.S. Naval War College, Master of Arts in National Security & Strategic 

Studies, with distinction. 

8. List all post-undergraduate employment, and highlight all management-level 

jobs held and any non-managerial jobs that relate to the position for which you are 

nominated. 

Post-undergraduate employment: 

1977–78: Assistant to the Director, Betterway Inc (community-based corrections), Elyria, OH. 

1979–80: Student Affairs Consultant, AFS International, New York, NY. 

1980–81: Director, English-in-Action (ESL program), New York, NY. 

1981–Present: United States Coast Guard. 

Management and Non-Managerial Positions: 

2014–Present: Vice Commandant, United States Coast Guard, Washington, D.C. 

2012–2014: Deputy Commandant for Operations, United States Coast Guard, 

Washington, D.C. 

Director of Strategic Management and Doctrine, United States Coast Guard, 

Washington, D.C. 

2010 (May–Oct): Deputy National Incident Commander, BP Deepwater Horizon 

Oil Spill Response. 

2008–2010: Commander, Ninth Coast Guard District, Cleveland, OH. 

2006–2008:Chief, Office of Budget & Programs, USCG Headquarters, Washington, D.C. 

10 

2003–2006: Sector Commander, USCG Sector Los Angeles—Long Beach, CA. 

2002–2003: Student, U.S. Naval War College, Newport, RI. 

1999–2002: Executive Officer, USCG Marine Safety Office San Francisco Bay, 

CA. 

1997–1999: Fellow on detail to U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee, Subcommittee on Transportation. 

1995–1997: Program Analyst, Office of Casualty Investigations, USCG Headquarters, Washington, D.C. 

1994–1995: Student, Harvard University, Kennedy School of Government, Cambridge, MA. 

1991–1994: Chief of Marine Inspection/Chief of Port Operations, USCG Marine 

Safety Office, Mobile, AL. 

1989–1991: USCG Liaison Officer to the Territory of American Samoa. 

1985–1989: Marine Inspector/Marine Investigator, USCG Marine Safety Office, 

New Orleans, LA. 

1983–1985: Student Engineer, U.S. Coast Guard Cutter GALLATIN (WHEC 

721). 

1982–1983: Training Officer, Office of Reserve, Eighth Coast Guard District, 

New Orleans, LA. 

1981–1982: USCG Officer Candidate School, Yorktown, VA. 

1980–1981: Director, English-in-Action (TESL program), New York, NY. 

1979–1980: Student Affairs Consultant, AFS International, New York, NY. 

1977–1978: Assistant to Director, Betterway, Inc. (community based corrections), Elyria, OH. 

9. Attach a copy of your resume. 

My official Coast Guard biography and resume ́ are attached. 

10. List any advisory, consultative, honorary, or other part-time service or positions with Federal, State, or local governments, other than those listed above, within the last ten years: None. 

11. List all positions held as an officer, director, trustee, partner, proprietor, 

agent, representative, or consultant of any corporation, company, firm, partnership, 

or other business, enterprise, educational, or other institution within the last ten 

years: None. 

12. Please list each membership you have had during the past ten years or currently hold with any civic, social, charitable, educational, political, professional, fraternal, benevolent or religious organization, private club, or other membership organization. Include dates of membership and any positions you have held with any organization. Please note whether any such club or organization restricts membership 

on the basis of sex, race, color, religion, national origin, age, or handicap. 

2002–2014: Member, Women’s Transportation Seminar (WTS International). 

2003–2006: Member, Propeller Club of the United States, Port of Los AngelesLong Beach. 

2003–2006: Member, Homeland Security Advisory Council, Los Angeles, CA. 

2003–2006: Member, Advisory Board, International Trade Education Programs, 

Los Angeles, CA. 

2005–present: Member, Pacific Council on International Policy. 

2008–2010: Member, City Club of Cleveland. 

2009–2010: Member, Cleveland Council on World Affairs. 

2013–present: Member, The Army and Navy Club, Washington, D.C. 

None of these organizations restricts membership on the basis of sex, race, color, 

religion, national origin, age, or handicap. 

13. Have you ever been a candidate for and/or held a public office (elected, nonelected, or appointed)? If so, indicate whether any campaign has any outstanding 

debt, the amount, and whether you are personally liable for that debt: No. 

14. Itemize all political contributions to any individual, campaign organization, 

political party, political action committee, or similar entity of $500 or more for the 

past ten years. Also list all offices you have held with, and services rendered to, a 

state or national political party or election committee during the same period: None. 

15. List all scholarships, fellowships, honorary degrees, honorary society memberships, military medals, and any other special recognition for outstanding service or 

achievements. 

11 

National Honor Society 

F. E. Harris Scholarship, Baldwin-Wallace College 

Dayton C. Miller Honor Society, Baldwin-Wallace College 

USCG Foundation, Admiral James S. Gracey Award for Professionalism 

U.S. Department of Justice Certificate of Appreciation for assistance in prosecuting environmental crimes 

U.S. Naval War College James F. Forrestal Award for Excellence in Strategy 

& Force Planning 

Military Awards: 

Department of Homeland Security Distinguished Service Medal 

USCG Distinguished Service Medal 

Legion of Merit (4 awards) 

Meritorious Service Medal (3 awards) 

USCG Commendation Medal with Operational Distinguishing Device (3 awards) 

Transportation 9–11 Medal 

Presidential Unit Citation 

USCG Achievement Medal (2 awards) 

USCG Commandant Letter of Commendation with Operational Distinguishing 

Device 

Department of Transportation Outstanding Unit Award 

Coast Guard Unit Commendation with Operational Distinguishing Device (3 

awards) 

Coast Guard Meritorious Unit Commendation (4 awards) 

Coast Guard Meritorious Team Commendation with Operational Distinguishing 

Device (5 awards) 

Coast Guard Bicentennial Unit Commendation 

National Defense Service Medal (2 awards) 

GAVOT Service Medal 

Humanitarian Service Medal (2 awards) 

Coast Guard Special Operations Service Ribbon (2 awards) 

Coast Guard Sea Service Ribbon 

Coast Guard Overseas Service Ribbon 

Rifle Marksmanship Ribbon 

Pistol Sharpshooter Ribbon 

16. Please list each book, article, column, or publication you have authored, individually or with others. Also list any speeches that you have given on topics relevant to the position for which you have been nominated. Do not attach copies of 

these publications unless otherwise instructed. 

‘‘Safeguarding Our Hemisphere,’’ U.S. Naval Institute Proceedings, October 

2013. 

‘‘Merging the Missions: Ensuring Maritime Homeland Security and Defense 

Through Effective Command and Control:’’ Paper submitted to the U.S. Naval 

War College in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Master 

of Arts in National Security and Strategic Studies, June 2003. 

As Sector Commander, Captain of the Port and Federal Maritime Security Coordinator, USCG Sector Los Angeles—Long Beach from 2003–2006, delivered 

various speeches to civic and business organizations, industry and veterans 

groups, government agencies, academic institutions, symposia and conferences 

on general Coast Guard themes, missions and responsibilities. 

As Ninth District Commander from 2008–2010, delivered various speeches to 

civic and business organizations, industry and veterans groups, government 

agencies, academic institutions, symposia and conferences on general Coast 

Guard themes, missions and responsibilities. 

As Deputy National Incident Commander, BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill, delivered various speeches to civic and business organizations, academic institutions, government agencies and conferences on leadership during large-scale crises. 

12 

As Deputy Commandant for Operations and as Vice Commandant, delivered 

various speeches to government, civic and business entities, academic institutions and conferences. 

(Please also see attached spreadsheet for a list of specific speeches) 

17. Please identify each instance in which you have testified orally or in writing 

before Congress in a governmental or non-governmental capacity and specify the 

date and subject matter of each testimony. 

Appearances at Congressional Hearings: 

17 May 2010: Assessing the Nation’s Response to the Deepwater Horizon Oil 

Spill, Senate Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs Committee 

18 May 2010: Economic and Environmental Impacts of the Recent Oil Spill in 

the Gulf of Mexico, Senate Environment & Public Works Committee 

19 May 2010: The Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill, House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee 

26 May 2010: Deepwater Horizon: BP Oil Spill in the Gulf of Mexico, House 

Natural Resources Committee 

12 Jul 2010: Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Chain of Command: An Examination 

of Information Sharing Practices During a Spill of National Significance, House 

Homeland Security Committee, Subcommittee on Management, Investigations 

& Oversight (Field Hearing in New Orleans, LA) 

22 Sep 2010: DHS Planning & Response: Preliminary Lessons from Deepwater 

Horizon, House homeland Security Committee 

10 Jul 2012: A Review of Federal Maritime Domain Awareness Programs, Coast 

Guard & Maritime Transportation Subcommittee of the House Committee on 

Transportation & Infrastructure 

26 Feb 2013: Coast Guard Mission Balance, Coast Guard & Maritime Transportation Subcommittee of the House Committee on Transportation & Infrastructure 

23 Jul 2014: Implementing U.S. Policy in the Arctic, Coast Guard & Maritime 

Transportation Subcommittee of the House Committee on Transportation & Infrastructure 

18. Given the current mission, major programs, and major operational objectives 

of the department/agency to which you have been nominated, what in your background or employment experience do you believe affirmatively qualifies you for appointment to the position for which you have been nominated, and why do you wish 

to serve in that position? 

I have been privileged to serve our Nation for over 33 years as a commissioned 

officer in the United States Coast Guard. During these years I have been assigned 

to a broad variety of operational, staff and leadership positions culminating in my 

current duties as Vice Commandant and second in command of the Coast Guard, 

the Nation’s fifth armed service and premier maritime law enforcement agency. 

Each successive assignment has brought greater and more complex responsibilities. 

As Vice Commandant, I serve as the Vice Service Chief, Chief Operating Officer 

and Component Acquisition Executive responsible to train, equip and organize over 

50,000 men and women who keep our Nation’s waters safe, secure and protected. 

I approve and certify all acquisition programs of record for the Service. I oversee 

compliance with the Chief Financial Officer and Federal Financial Reform Act of 

1990 (the Coast Guard is the first Armed Service to achieve a clean audit opinion— 

an achievement we have maintained for two consecutive years). I serve as the senior 

authority for all resource requests and budget submissions for the Service. 

I have served as a senior DHS field commander. I commanded the Ninth Coast 

Guard District encompassing all operations on the Great Lakes and St Lawrence 

Seaway and the Northern Border with Canada. I commanded Sector Los AngelesLong Beach and served as the Federal Maritime Security Coordinator and Captain 

of the Port for the. Nation’s largest port complex in addition to approximately 300 

miles of California coast and coastal waters. In both commands, I worked closely 

with interagency and international partners, with industry and private sector, with 

citizens groups and with non-governmental organizations to develop risk-based 

methods for screening vessels, cargo and people operating in our ports and waterways. I focused on determining highest risk commerce while facilitating legitimate 

activities. 

I also established one of the Nation’s first interagency Area Maritime Security 

Committees which brought together leaders from industry, labor, government, first 

responder agencies and the local community to tackle the critical challenge of securVerDate Nov 24 2008 10:49 Jun 29, 2016 Jkt 075679 PO 00000 Frm 00016 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6621 S:\GPO\DOCS\20553.TXT JACKIE
13 

ing the vital Los Angeles and Long Beach ports and maritime approaches to the 

West Coast of the United States. 

I have earned three Masters Degrees: in Business Management, Public Administration, and National Security and Strategic Studies. I served as Detailee for two 

years to the Senate Appropriations Committee, Subcommittee on Transportation. I 

have extensive experience in budget formulation and program review, having served 

as the Coast Guard Budget Officer from 2006–2008. In this role I helped to establish 

the framework for new accounting controls and management policies to ensure they 

were sound, well-understood and practiced uniformly throughout the Coast Guard. 

I served as Deputy National Incident Commander for the BP Deepwater Horizon 

Oil Spill in 2010 following the tragic explosion and sinking of the Deepwater Horizon Mobile Offshore Drilling Unit, which precipitated the largest and longest oil 

spill in U.S., At the national level, I helped to ensure a coordinated, unified, wholeof-government effort to respond to the massive spill. I led over 50,000 people from 

federal, state and local agencies, tribal representatives, non-governmental organizations, and the private sector throughout five Gulf Coast states. I regularly briefed 

the President, Members of Congress, Cabinet Secretaries, state Governors and regional elected officials on progress and milestones. 

I have traveled and served extensively, domestically and internationally, throughout my Coast Guard career in representation of my Service and the Nation, most 

recently as Head of the U.S. delegation to the Arctic Council symposium in Russia 

and as Head of the U.S. delegation to the International Maritime Organization. 

If confirmed for the TSA Administrator position to which I have been nominated, 

I will have the privilege and opportunity to apply my law enforcement and security 

experience and skills to one of the most challenging jobs in our nation: protecting 

our transportation systems—especially aviation—from terrorists. 

I9. What do you believe are your responsibilities, if confirmed, to ensure that the 

department/agency has proper management and accounting controls, and what experience do you have in managing a large organization? 

The Administrator is solely responsible for the financial performance and accountability of the agency. As Administrator I would be responsible for sound stewardship 

of precious public resources. The American public puts great trust in its public servants and we must never violate that trust. Given this, the Administrator must also 

ensure transparency through independent review of financial records and organizational performance milestones. The Administrator must also ensure that financial 

and managerial teams have the required training and skills to meet these mandates. 

I have been privileged to serve our Nation for over 33 years in the United States 

Coast Guard. During these years I have been assigned to a broad variety of operational, staff and leadership positions culminating in my current duties as Vice 

Commandant and second in command of the Coast Guard, the Nation’s fifth armed 

service and premier maritime law enforcement agency. I train, equip and organize 

over 50,000 men and women who keep our Nation’s waters safe, secure and protected. I approve and certify all acquisition programs of record for the Service. I 

oversee compliance with the Chief Financial Officer and Federal Financial Reform 

Act of 1990 (the Coast Guard is the first Armed Service to achieve a clean audit 

opinion—an achievement we have maintained for two consecutive years). I serve as 

the senior authority for all resource requests and budget submissions for the Service. 

The knowledge and experience I have gained over my years of service have helped 

me to understand the motivations and the needs of a dynamic and distributed workforce, the workings of our government, and the importance of sound and prudent 

fiscal management as we strive to provide the highest quality and most efficient 

service to the American public. 

20. What do you believe to be the top three challenges facing the department/ 

agency, and why? 

Threat: Threats to our transportation systems are real and persistent, and our 

transportation systems will remain targets of our enemies. We can never assume 

we have found ‘‘the security answer.’’ Our enemies will continually adapt, so we 

must continually adapt. We must leverage intelligence, technology and the experience of our front-line operators and private sector partners to ensure we employ effective, efficient and ever-adapting procedures to stop those who would harm us. 

Customer Service: TSA interacts with millions of travelers each day—travelers 

who expect efficient and effective screening with minimal delay, and who expect to 

be treated with respect. In my current career I have routinely interacted with the 

public and have learned that an organization must continually reinforce this message of dignity and respect in order to make it part of an agency culture. 

14 

Retention, Training and Accountability; Front-line managers and screeners are 

critical to the success of TSA. Agency culture, morale and effectiveness are a direct 

result of consistent and career-long training, recognition and accountability. 

B. POTENTIAL CONFLICTS OF INTEREST

1. Describe all financial arrangements, deferred compensation agreements, and 

other continuing dealings with business associates, clients, or customers. Please include information related to retirement accounts. 

Please see my nominee PFDR. 

2. Do you have any commitments or agreements, formal or informal, to maintain 

employment, affiliation, or practice with any business, association or other organization during your appointment? If so, please explain: No. 

3. Indicate any investments, obligations, liabilities, or other relationships which 

could involve potential conflicts of interest in the position to which you have been 

nominated. 

Any potential conflicts of interest will be resolved in accordance with the terms 

of an ethics agreement that I entered into with DHS’s Designated Agency Ethics 

Official and that has been provided to this Committee. 

4. Describe any business relationship, dealing, or financial transaction which you 

have had during the last ten years, whether for yourself, on behalf of a client, or 

acting as an agent, that could in any way constitute or result in a possible conflict 

of interest in the position to which you have been nominated. 

In connection with the nomination process, I consulted with the U.S. Office of 

Government Ethics and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Designated Agency Ethics Official to identify potential conflicts of interest. Any potential conflicts of interest will be resolved in accordance with the terms of an ethics 

agreement that I entered into with DHS’s Designated Agency Ethics Official and 

that has been provided to this Committee. I am not aware of any other potential 

conflicts of interest. 

5. Describe any activity during the past ten years in which you have been engaged 

for the purpose of directly or indirectly influencing the passage, defeat, or modification of any legislation or affecting the administration and execution of law or public 

policy: None. 

6. Explain how you will resolve any potential conflict of interest, including any 

that may be disclosed by your responses to the above items. 

See response to question 4 above. 

C. LEGAL MATTERS

1. Have you ever been disciplined or cited for a breach of ethics, professional misconduct, or retaliation by, or been the subject of a complaint to, any court, administrative agency, the Office of Special Counsel, professional association, disciplinary 

committee, or other professional group? If yes: 

a. Provide the name of agency, association, committee, or group; 

b. Provide the date the citation, disciplinary action, complaint, or personnel action 

was issued or initiated; 

c. Describe the citation, disciplinary action, complaint, or personnel action; 

d. Provide the results of the citation, disciplinary action, complaint, or personnel 

action. 

No. 

2. Have you ever been investigated, arrested, charged, or held by any Federal, 

State, or other law enforcement authority of any Federal, State, county, or municipal entity, other than for a minor traffic offense? If so, please explain: No. 

3. Have you or any business or nonprofit of which you are or were an officer ever 

been involved as a party in an administrative agency proceeding, criminal proceeding, or civil litigation? If so, please explain. 

Divorce granted February, 11, 1999, by the District Court of Montgomery County, 

Texas, 9th Judicial District. 

4. Have you ever been convicted (including pleas of guilty or nolo contendere) of 

any criminal violation other than a minor traffic offense? If so, please explain: No. 

5. Have you ever been accused, formally or informally, of sexual harassment or 

discrimination on the basis of sex, race, religion, or any other basis? If so, please 

explain: No. 

6. Please advise the Committee of any additional information, favorable or unfavorable, which you feel should be disclosed in connection with your nomination. 

No additional information. 

15 

D. RELATIONSHIP WITH COMMITTEE

1. Will you ensure that your department/agency complies with deadlines for information set by congressional committees? Yes. 

2. Will you ensure that your department/agency does whatever it can to protect 

congressional witnesses and whistle blowers from reprisal for their testimony and 

disclosures? Yes. 

3. Will you cooperate in providing the Committee with requested witnesses, including technical experts and career employees, with firsthand knowledge of matters 

of interest to the Committee? Yes. 

4. Are you willing to appear and testify before any duly constituted committee of 

the Congress on such occasions as you may be reasonably requested to do so? Yes. 

ATTACHMENT

Relevant Speeches 2005 to Present 

Title/Topic Date Place/Audience 

# of 

Attendees 

U.S. Coast Guard update to 

American Waterways Operators 

Annual Meeting 

10/6/05 American Waterways Operators, 

Chicago, IL 

50 

U.S. and Canada maritime safety 

and security cooperation 

4/4/09 Canada-U.S. Law Institute Conference, 

Great Lakes Science Center, Cleveland, OH 

50 

Maritime commerce on the Great 

Lakes 

10/1/09 John Carroll University, Cleveland, OH 120 

Maritime Security 1/12/11 MIT Lincoln Labs, MA 100 

Maritime Risk 11/7/11 Maritime Risk Symposium, DHS Center of 

Excellence, Rutgers University, NJ 

200 

Effective Emergency Management 8/6/12 Los Angeles City and County Emergency 

Management Conference, Los Angeles, CA 

150 

Diversity and Leadership 8/7/12 Association of Naval Services Officers 

Annual Conference, San Diego, CA 

200 

U.S. Coast Guard Update 8/27/12 Harbor Safety Committee/Area Maritime 

Security Committee Annual Conference, 

Pittsburg, PA 

250 

Coast Guard Operations 10/19/12 European Commission Arctic and Fisheries 

meeting, Brussels, Belgium 

25 

International AMVER Awards for 

rescue at sea: Recognizing those that 

participate 

10/23/12 International Propeller Club, Athens, 

Greece 

650 

Arctic Region: Overview, Strategy, 

and Initiatives 

3/8/13 RAND Corporation, Arlington, VA 50 

U.S. Coast Guard Role in the Arctic 4/11/13 Arctic Council Meeting, Salekhard, Russia 40 

Coast Guard role in Ocean 

Stewardship, 

5/14/13 Blue Vision Summit, Carnegie Institution 

for Science, Washington, DC 

100 

U.S. Coast Guard Arctic Strategy 9/27/13 Panel Discussion, Center for Strategic and 

International Studies, Washington, DC 

50 

Arctic Challenges 10/3/13 Propeller Club of the United States, 

Washington, DC 

50 

Coast Guard Arctic Strategy 10/28/13 Washington Homeland Security Roundtable, 

Washington, DC 

50 

U.S. Coast Guard Strategic Priorities 6/18/14 Nor-Shipping biennial conference, Oslo, 

Norway 

150 

U.S. Coast Guard safety and security 

update 

6/26/14 American Petroleum Institute Meeting, 

Austin, TX 

300 

16 

Relevant Speeches 2005 to Present—Continued 

Title/Topic Date Place/Audience 

# of 

Attendees 

Diversity and Leadership 7/9/14 National Naval Officers Association, 

Quantico, VA 

100 

Diversity and Leadership 7/25/14 USCG Women’s Leadership Initiative, 

Arlington, VA 

150 

Keynote remarks, USCGC JOSHUA 

JAMES commissioning ceremony 

8/19/14 Huntington Ingalls Shipyard, Pascagoula, 

MS 

500 

Arctic Challenges and Adaptation 9/18/14 U.S. Navy International Sea Power 

Symposium, Newport, RI 

500 

RADM Richard Bennis Award 

Presentation 

10/8/14 NY/NJ Port Authority, New York, NY 50 

Remarks to the Corps of Cadets on 

Leadership 

10/10/14 Mary Baldwin College, Staunton, VA 150 

Security Challenges to the Maritime 

Transportation System 

10/16/14 Propeller Club of the United States, 

Los Angeles/Long Beach, Los Angeles, CA 

60 

Arctic Futures 10/19/14 Panel Discussion, Pacific Council on 

International Policy, Santa Monica, CA 

35 

Coast Guard Regulation of the 

Cruise Line Industry 

11/13/14 Cruise Line Industry Association meeting, 

Miami FL 

150 

Importance of a Name (Why we 

name our ships after heroes) 

11/14/14 Bollinger Shipyards USCG Fast Response 

Cutter Heroes Dinner, New Orleans, LA 

60 

RESUME ́ OF VICE ADMIRAL PETER V. NEFFENGER

VICE COMMANDANT U.S. COAST GUARD

Vice Admiral Peter Neffenger assumed the duties as the 29th Vice Commandant 

in May 2014. 

Prior to this Vice Admiral Neffenger served as the U.S. Coast Guard’s Deputy 

Commandant for Operations, where he directed strategy, policy, resources and doctrine for the employment of Coast Guard forces globally. He is a recognized expert 

in crisis management, port security, maritime law enforcement and oversight of the 

commercial maritime industry. Formally qualified as a Type I Incident Commander, 

he most notably served as the Deputy National Incident Commander for the 2010 

BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill crisis, the largest and most complex oil spill in U.S. 

history. Other Flag assignments include Director of Coast Guard Strategic Management and Doctrine, and Commander of the Ninth Coast Guard District in charge 

of Coast Guard operations along the Northern Border and throughout the Great 

Lakes. 

Vice Admiral Neffenger also served as Commander of Coast Guard Sector Los Angeles/Long Beach, where he was Captain of the Port, Federal Maritime Security Coordinator, Federal On-Scene Coordinator and Officer-in-Charge of Marine Inspection 

for the Nation’s largest and most economically significant port complex. Additionally, he was the Budget Officer of the Coast Guard, the Coast Guard Liaison Officer 

to the Territory of American Samoa, and a student engineer on U.S. Coast Guard 

Cutter GALLATIN among other operational and staff assignments. 

Commissioned in 1982 through Coast Guard Officer Candidate School, Vice Admiral Neffenger holds an MPA from Harvard University, an MA in National Security 

and Strategic Studies from the U.S. Naval War College, and an MA in Business 

Management from Central Michigan University. He earned his BA from Baldwin 

Wallace University. Vice Admiral Neffenger is a member of the Pacific Council on 

International Policy and a former fellow on the Senate Appropriations Committee. 

17 

LETTERS OF SUPPORT

May 14, 2015 

Hon. JOHN THUNE, Chairman, 

U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, 

Washington, DC. 

Hon. BILL NELSON, Ranking Member, 

U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, 

Washington, DC. 

Dear Chairman Thune and Senator Nelson, 

I write in support of Vice Admiral Peter Neffenger for his nomination as Administrator of the Transportation Security Administration. At the outset, I admit to a certain bias. The Coast Guard breeds leaders who bring both a strategic and operational perspective to their varied tasks and Vice Admiral Peter Neffenger is certainly among the best. 

Of particular note is the Admiral’s service as Budget Officer of the Coast Guard. 

Having overseen a multitasked organization that, in my opinion, never received the 

level of funding it deserved, I am confident he will extract great value and effectiveness from the dollars the U.S. Congress appropriates to TSA. 

His experience is broad. His reputation is superb. His commitment to public service is profound and unquestionable. I respectfully and highly recommend this exceptional leader for TSA Administrator. 

Sincerely, 

TOM RIDGE, 

First Secretary, 

U.S. Department of Homeland Security, 

Former Governor of Pennsylvania. 

THE CHERTOFF GROUP

Washington, DC, May 11, 2015 

Hon. JOHN THUNE, 

Chairman, 

U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, 

Washington, DC. 

Hon. BILL NELSON, 

Ranking Member, 

U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, 

Washington, DC. 

Dear Chairman Thune and Senator Nelson, 

I write in support of Vice Admiral Peter Neffenger for his nomination us Administrator of the Transportation Security Administration. 

Admiral Neffenger has broad operational and command experience with the Coast 

Guard. He has held command positions at the Great Lakes and the Port of Los Angeles, and was deputy national Incident commander for the 2010 Deepwater Horizon 

oil spill In the Gulf of Mexico. In the former capacities, the Admiral has dealt with 

the kind of multi-stakeholder transportation security issues which lie at the core of 

the TSA’s mission. Particularly in a complex environment such as the busy Port of 

Los Angeles, the Captain of the Port must coordinate among multiple private service providers while also addressing intergovernmental and international issues. 

These arc exactly the types of experiences that prepare Admiral Neffenger for the 

challenges of administering the TSA. 

Equally important is the nominee’s crisis management experience, recently honed 

in the crucible of the BP oil spill. From time to time, the TSA Administrator must 

manage security crises, making swift operational decisions, reconciling the interests 

of stakeholders, and inspiring confidence in the public. Admiral Neffenger’s pivotal 

role as incident commander in the Gulf provides unmatched preparation for managing emergencies that may arise in the future. 

Finally, I believe that it is beneficial to have an Administrator who has grown 

up with DHS since its formation. The network of relationships that the Admiral will 

have developed over the past dozen years will be of value in enabling him to draw 

18 

on Department-wide resources and In positioning him to integrate with and contribute to the leadership of the entire Department. 

I highly recommend Vice Admiral Peter Neffenger for TSA Administrator. Please 

contact me if you have any questions or comments. 

Sincerely, 

MICHAEL CHERTOFF. 

UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA

Oakland, Ca, May 12, 2015 

Hon. JOHN THUNE, 

Chairman, 

U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, 

Washington, DC. 

Hon. BILL NELSON, 

Ranking Member, 

U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, 

Washington, DC. 

Dear Chairman Thune and Senator Nelson: 

I am pleased to write in support of Vice Admiral Peter Neffenger’s confirmation 

as Administrator of the Transportation Security Administration. 

During my tenure as the Secretary of Homeland Security, I worked closely with 

Admiral Neffenger on issues ranging from our Nation’s port security operations, and 

our maritime emergency response capabilities, to oversight of the U.S. Coast 

Guard’s annual budget and recapitalization efforts. It was in working together that 

I came to see and admire Admiral Neffenger’s leadership skills in action. He has 

an uncommon way of solving complex problems and a management style that brings 

people together. Nowhere was this more evident than when he ably served as the 

Deputy National Incident Commander for the 2010 BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill. 

In that role, he provided critically important and strong leadership in coordinating 

the government’s role addressing the largest and most complex oil spill in our Nation’s history. In my view, his efforts were indispensable in the prompt and successful resolution of that crisis. 

I have every confidence that Admiral Neffenger will use his considerable knowledge and government experience in overseeing the Transportation Security Administration to great effect. His significant experience in our country’s counter-terrorism 

efforts and his judgement, energy, and leadership skills will ensure that the TSA 

continues to be extremely effective in its mission to protect our Nation’s transportation safety and infrastructure. 

I highly recommend Vice Admiral Neffenger as the next TSA Administrator, and 

I urge his prompt confirmation. Please do not hesitate to be in touch with me if you 

have any questions or concerns. 

Yours very truly, 

JANET NAPOLITANO, 

President. 

cc: Senior Vice President Peacock 

Associate Vice President Falle 

19 

Arlington, VA, May 10, 2015 

Hon. JOHN THUNE, Chairman, 

U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, 

Washington, DC. 

Hon. BILL NELSON, Ranking Member, 

U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, 

Washington, DC. 

Dear Chairman Thune and Senator Nelson, 

I write to endorse the nomination and urge the rapid confirmation of Admiral 

Peter V. Neffenger to lead the Transportation Security Administration (TSA). I have 

known Pete since 2009 when I assumed duties as Deputy Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). I also know TSA extremely well and can say 

without hesitation that he is the right man for this job. 

Pete Neffenger is not only superbly qualified to lead TSA, he also serves as exemplar for precisely the kind of individuals we seek out for positions of great responsibility in public service. I know Pete well, having collaborated with him on nearly 

every dimension of Homeland Security operations—from preventing terrorist attacks 

in the United States, to responding to the Deep Water Horizon Oil Spill, to the daily 

operations of the Coast Guard. He is extremely smart, articulate, and direct—he always speaks honestly, even when his views diverge from others. 

Moreover, he has that rare ability to think strategically while operating effectively. When writing the first ever white paper for the Coast Guard, Pete oversaw 

an effort that at once did honor to the proud tradition of this Service that has been 

in continuous operations since 1990, while at the same time cast its ongoing value 

to the Country in clear, operational, and compelling terms. He has an encyclopedic 

knowledge of the transportation infrastructure and challenges facing the Nation and 

he is highly respected by many, many professional colleagues across government 

and the private sector who seek out his counsel and deeply value their engagement 

with him. I count myself among their number. 

Admiral Neffenger is a man of character, intelligence, and compassion, and the 

qualities that make him such an effective leader combine with his considerable experience to make him pragmatic as well as inspirational. The American people can 

have confidence that he will put their security first. In him, the TSA workforce will 

find a leader who will care for them, inspire them, and motivate them to perform 

their best every day for the American public. 

I urge you to confirm him without delay. 

Thank you for the privilege to register my support for Admiral Neffenger’s nomination and continuation to lead TSA. If I can be of further service, please do not 

hesitate to call on me. 

Sincerely, 

JANE HOLL LUTE, 

Former Deputy Secretary, 

Homeland Security. 

COHEN GROUP

Washington, DC, May 12, 2015 

Hon. JOHN THUNE, 

Chairman, 

U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, 

Washington, DC. 

Hon. BILL NELSON, 

Ranking Member, 

U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, 

Washington, DC. 

Dear Chairman Thune and Senator Nelson, 

I write in support of Vice Admiral Peter Neffenger for his nomination as Administrator of the Transportation Security Administration. 

VADM Neffenger would complete a distinguished 33 year career with the U.S. 

Coast Guard if he is confirmed for this position. He has consistently demonstrated 

the leadership capacity necessary to lead TSA. The position requires a balance of 

20 

focused purpose and customer service. VADM Neffenger’s Coast Guard career has 

been dominated by assignments where he excelled because he recognized the value 

of reaching to others for input that would make an outcome a better one. He is an 

established leader in transportation security and has led Coast Guard participation 

with state, local, private sector, international and other Federal agencies to provide 

enlightened policy on one hand and effective operational execution and command on 

the other. His service as the Deputy National Incident Commander for the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill is a perfect example of his skills as a collaborative leader. 

As the Administrator of TSA in 2002–2003, I can attest to the requirement for consistency of mission purpose and an ability to work productively with the multiple 

stakeholders who make up the commercial aviation industry. VADM Neffenger has 

those skills. He is a brilliant and focused leader. He is also clearly aware of the 

value of strategic planning and intelligence driven and risk-based decisionmaking. 

He is very simply perfectly equipped for this very demanding position. 

I highly recommend Vice Admiral Peter Neffenger for TSA Administrator. Please 

contact me if you have any questions or comments. 

Sincerely, 

JAMES M. LOY, ADM (RET.) 

Senior Counselor. 

HARVARD—KENNEDY SCHOOL

Cambridge, MA, May 11, 2015 

Hon. JOHN THUNE, 

Chairman, 

U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, 

Washington, DC. 

Hon. BILL NELSON, 

Ranking Member, 

U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, 

Washington, DC. 

Dear Chairman Thune and Senator Nelson, 

I write in support of Vice Admiral Peter Neffenger for his nomination as Administrator of the Transportation Security Administration. I know of no one more qualified, versatile, and generous to lead an agency in transition. 

As former Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security for Intergovernmental Affairs, I got to know and work with Vice Admiral Neffenger during the course of the 

BP Oil Spill response. We have remained friends. During the spill, Vice Admiral 

Neffenger was appointed Deputy National Incident Commander (NIC) while I was 

chosen to be the Director of intergovernmental and interagency coordination. Both 

were positions within the NIC and both reported to Admiral Thad Allen who led 

the response. We worked closely throughout. 

To say it was an intense experience is an understatement. I have come to believe, 

with the benefit of hindsight, that there were two oil spills: the oil spill response 

and the oil spill event. I want to talk about the latter because the oil spill was more 

than just closing the well or picking up the oil; it required skills of its leadership 

that cut across simple operational needs. An entire government apparatus was engaged on the Federal level. We also worked with five governors offices, numerous 

local officials, and a Federal apparatus that included over 60 agencies and departments. Fishermen and off-shore oil workers feared for the future. The media offered 

non-stop assessments. An entire way of life was threatened for families and the Gulf 

region. The spill response required skills of leadership, but also nimbleness. No 

amount of training or incident command could prepare anyone in the Coast Guard 

for what was happening. 

Vice Admiral Neffenger was tasked to manage this historic event. More often than 

not, we worked together and I saw firsthand his capacity to talk honestly, make 

changes, fix errors and sometimes even just ‘‘go with the flow’’ if that was required. 

He could just as equally brief the President on what to anticipate with the oil spill 

as talk to a grocery store owner about how to fill out a claim form. Every morning, 

for over 100 days, we both hosted a Governor’s call with the five governors offices 

so that we could inform them of the status of response. Those were not easy calls, 

often, and Vice Admiral Neffenger was calm, explaining the response in ‘‘civilian’’ 

terms, not hiding behind acronyms or a military lingo. He also listened well, wanting to hear what could be fixed or changed to make the response faster or simply 

answer a question. 

21 

A perfect example is his leadership with the local liaisons program. At some stage 

during the spill, the NIC command recognized that local leaders throughout the 

Gulf were not getting essential information from the state. This was as much a consequence of how the Oil Pollution Act, the legal framework for spill response, focuses on statehouses as it was history and politics. Allen, Vice Admiral Neffenger 

and I proposed placing Coast Guard officials in each local government office so that, 

for example, each parish president would have their own ‘‘go to’’ Coast Guard liaison. It is not something that was ever done before, nor something the Coast Guard 

had planned for. But Vice Admiral Neffenger explained to his team why it should 

be done, and we drove for two days across the coast placing his people in each local 

political office (parish presidents, mayors, county commissioners, etc.). It was a necessary fix, and one that worked as we were more able to hear from local leadership 

and respond in real time to their questions and concerns. It was Vice Admiral 

Neffenger’s capacity to think outside the box, deploy resources where they were 

needed to help the spill response, and convince his team it was worth this unusual 

effort that stand out as historic in nature. 

And while Vice Admiral Neffenger had to spend a lot of time in stakeholder engagement and White House briefings, he was also accessible, always, to his own 

team. The Coast Guard was under tremendous stress, and the emotional impact was 

withering. Vice Admiral Neffenger always took the time to talk to his own people, 

to give them emotional support (and sometimes even a kick in the back if necessary), but to always let them know he had their back. That is essential at the 

Department. 

Vice Admiral Neffenger knows that true leadership in homeland security is one 

that engages the entire enterprise—communities and customers, the White House 

and a parish president, Congress and a state representative, and also the brave men 

and women who work for an agency that is committed to the public’s safety and 

security. Vice Admiral Peter Neffenger is someone who understands and reflects 

those basic needs. 

Without question, I highly recommend Vice Admiral Peter Neffenger for TSA Administrator. Please contact me if you have any questions or comments. 

Sincerely, 

JULIETTE KAYYEM, 

Lecturer in Public Policy. 

CITY OF NEW YORK—THE POLICE COMMISSIONER

New York, NY, May 11, 2015 

Hon. JOHN THUNE, 

Chairman, 

U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, 

Washington, DC. 

Hon. BILL NELSON, 

Ranking Member, 

U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, 

Washington, DC. 

Dear Chairman Thune and Senator Nelson: 

I write in support of Vice Admiral Peter Neffenger for his nomination as Administrator of the Transportation Security Administration. I first met and worked with 

Vice Admiral Neffenger when I served as the Chief of the Los Angeles Police Department. September 11 was a fresh wound when I assumed that position, and one 

of the first things we sought to do was strengthen L.A.’s counterterrorism posture. 

In this, I collaborated extensively with the Vice Admiral on enhancing the security 

of the port, and I can attest to his professionalism, competence, and dedication. 

Later, as the Vice Chair of the Homeland Security Advisory Council, I worked 

closely with Administrator John Pistole. Owing to this, I have an understanding of 

the TSA and the duties and obligations of its leader. I have complete confidence that 

Vice Admiral Neffenger can fulfill the role, and do so in exemplary fashion. 

I highly recommend Vice Admiral Peter Neffenger for TSA Administrator. Please 

feel free to contact me if you have any questions or comments. 

All the best, 

WILLIAM J. BRATTON, 

Police Commissioner. 

22 

THE AMERICAN WATERWAYS OPERATORS

Arlington, VA, May 12, 2015 

Hon. JOHN THUNE, 

Chairman, 

U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, 

Washington, DC. 

Hon. BILL NELSON, 

Ranking Member, 

U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, 

Washington, DC. 

Dear Chairman Thune and Senator Nelson, 

I write in support of Vice Admiral Peter Neffenger for his nomination as Administrator of the Transportation Security Administration. 

I have known Vice Admiral Neffenger for most of his professional career as a 

Coast Guard officer. We have worked together extensively on the common challenges of marine safety and maritime security that face his agency and my industry. 

He is one of the finest Coast Guard leaders who I am privileged to know. 

Vice Admiral Neffenger is a leader with an unwavering commitment to America’s 

homeland security, an extraordinary capacity for strategic vision, and an effective 

partner who works collaboratively to get important things done for the benefit of 

our Nation. Each of these attributes will serve him well as he works with Congress, 

industry and the flying public to accomplish the important security objectives of the 

TSA. 

Vice Admiral Neffenger is also a man of deep integrity. His relationships with 

Congress, industry and the public will be characterized by trust and open communication. I know that based not only on my personal experience with him, but also 

based on the experience of hundreds of individual AWO members around the country who have worked with him for more than 30 years. 

America’s homeland security will be strengthened and enhanced with Vice Admiral Neffenger at the helm of the Transportation Security Administration. I highly 

and unequivocally recommend Vice Admiral Peter Neffenger for TSA Administrator. 

Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions about my strong support 

for Vice Admiral Neffenger. 

Sincerely, 

THOMAS A. ALLEGRETTI, 

President and CEO. 

CRUISE LINES INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION

Washington, DC, May 12, 2015 

Hon. JOHN THUNE, 

Chairman, 

U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, 

Washington, DC. 

Hon. BILL NELSON, 

Ranking Member, 

U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, 

Washington, DC. 

Dear Chairman Thune and Senator Nelson, 

I write in support of Vice Admiral Peter Neffenger for his nomination as Administrator of the Transportation Security Administration. 

Vice Admiral Pete Neffenger would serve as Administrator, Transportation Security Administration with great distinction just as he has served the United States 

Coast Guard with great distinction during his thirty-three year military career. The 

Cruise lines International Association wholeheartedly supports his nomination by 

the President for such an important position that is critical for our national security. 

At the Cruise lines International Association, we have had the pleasure of working with VADM Neffenger for many years as he progressed through his Coast 

Guard career. We know firsthand of the depth and breadth of experience he has illustrated in his senior leadership positions that included security and other key responsibilities. Specifically, his leadership and pragmatism in emerging areas of polVerDate Nov 24 2008 10:49 Jun 29, 2016 Jkt 075679 PO 00000 Frm 00026 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6621 S:\GPO\DOCS\20553.TXT JACKIE
23 

icy development, including Transnational Crime, Arctic Operations, and Passenger 

Vessel Safety and Security are second to none. 

Prior to his promotion to flag level, we also worked closely with VADM Neffenger 

in his leadership capacity in the Port of Los Angeles/Long Beach. That particular 

port addresses a wide range of challenging security issues on any given day. His 

professionalism and intellect are hallmarks of his character and both were always 

front and center, irrespective of whether we were in alignment or not on the underlying policy equities. This is absolutely essential for success in working collaboratively with the regulated community. It is difficult to envision someone better 

equipped to understand and communicate with those whose enterprises are deeply 

influenced by the effectiveness or ineffectiveness of TSA. 

On a personal level, I worked closely with VADM Neffenger during my own Coast 

Guard career. This included serving as his legal advisor when he was a Director 

responsible the Coast Guard’s resourcing and working side-by-side with him during 

the extraordinarily complex Deepwater Horizon incident in 2010. If the Nation were 

to ever again encounter a major transportation security crisis, we could not be in 

better hands than those of VADM Neffenger. 

I greatly appreciate the opportunity to provide you with the views of the Cruise 

Lines International Association on the nomination of VADM Neffenger. Please do 

not hesitate to contact me if I can answer any additional questions or be of any further assistance. You can reach me on my direct dial or by cell. 

Sincerely, 

CHARLES V. DARR, 

Senior Vice President, 

Technical & Regulatory Affairs, 

Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA}. 

The CHAIRMAN. Thank you, Admiral, for those opening remarks. 

I will start with a couple of questions and then turn to our other 

colleagues who are here. 

As I noted in my opening remarks, DHS Inspector General John 

Roth testified before the House Oversight Government Reform 

Committee last week regarding TSA. He said, and I want to quote, 

‘‘I am deeply concerned about TSA’s ability to execute its important 

mission.’’ 

Among other things, Mr. Roth’s testimony highlighted vulnerabilities and challenges related to PreCheck, passenger and baggage 

screening, access controls to secure areas, workforce integrity, and 

operations that you as TSA Administrator will have to confront, 

should you be confirmed. 

Specifically, Mr. Roth testified that TSA did not concur with the 

majority of the OIG’s 17 recommendations to address vulnerabilities in the PreCheck program, and he said this represents, and 

again I quote, ‘‘TSA’s failure to understand the gravity of the situation.’’ 

That testimony raises some serious questions. My question is 

how will you seek to ensure that the core mission of the TSA, to 

protect the Nation’s transportation systems, will be carried out effectively in light of the concerns that have been identified by Mr. 

Roth? 

Admiral NEFFENGER. Thanks for that question, Senator. I met 

with Mr. Roth earlier this week, because I read the testimony, and 

I have read the IG reports that were the basis of that testimony. 

I wanted to understand what his concerns were and what his concerns were with respect to the responsiveness of TSA to those concerns. 

I told him that I saw great value in the oversight activities of the 

Inspector General and I saw great value in having an entity outVerDate Nov 24 2008 10:49 Jun 29, 2016 Jkt 075679 PO 00000 Frm 00027 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6601 S:\GPO\DOCS\20553.TXT JACKIE
24 

side an agency looking hard at the agency’s purpose and its actions. 

I see a great work list of issues to attend to. I think the Inspector 

General has raised exactly the kinds of questions that if confirmed, 

I would ask going into TSA, irrespective of an Inspector General 

report out there. 

When I look at the world of security, I think in terms of first of 

all, what is the threat that we are facing, and how is that threat 

evolving over time. There is a big intelligence component of that. 

What are the risks or what are the vulnerabilities in the system 

that create the risk of that threat acting, and more importantly, 

what are the capabilities we have to address those vulnerabilities 

and to eliminate that threat if necessary or if possible, or reduce 

it to an acceptable level if it cannot be fully eliminated. 

Finally, how does the workforce field those tools, how do you 

train the workforce appropriately to do that, and then how do I ensure that workforce stays trained and continually adapts and 

evolves? 

The questions that were raised by the Inspector General are 

questions about ability to adapt to threat, ability to understand the 

intelligence behind the threat, ability to understand vulnerabilities 

in the system, and more importantly, an understanding of a security system as a whole and the various layers and pieces associated 

with that. 

If confirmed, I intend to look at those issues carefully. I take the 

IG’s reports very seriously. I promised Inspector General Roth that 

I would be back to talk with him in more detail if I had the opportunity to do so. 

The CHAIRMAN. If you are confirmed, would you pledge to a follow-up meeting with Senator Nelson, me, and other interested 

members of the Committee to talk about some of the concerns that 

have been raised—certain TSA policies? 

Admiral NEFFENGER. Mr. Chairman, I would very much look forward to working with this committee on those issues. 

The CHAIRMAN. On March 17, 2015, a bipartisan group of committee members, including myself, Ranking Member Nelson, Senators Ayotte and Cantwell, sent a letter regarding multiple serious 

security lapses involved in the use of secure identification display 

area or SIDA badges. 

The incidents range from a Delta ramp agent in Atlanta using 

a SIDA badge to facilitate an interstate gun smuggling operation 

to a report that thousands of SIDA badges at Hartsfield-Jackson 

Atlanta International Airport were unaccounted for. 

Just yesterday, we learned about criminal charges brought by 

the FBI, the IRS, and the U.S. Attorneys Office against 14 baggage 

handlers and co-conspirators in California for using their SIDA 

badges to bypass TSA check points in illegally transporting drugs 

across the country over nearly a 3-year period. 

TSA’s response to our March letter indicated the agency does not 

maintain any record of lost or unaccounted for SIDA badges, leaving the airports responsible for the maintenance of such records. 

Should you be confirmed, what will you do to ensure that TSA 

does more to oversee and enforce the regulatory requirements and 

25 

security directives regarding SIDA badges so that we do not continue to discover these abuses? 

As a follow-up to that, how will you hold airports accountable for 

these very serious security lapses? 

Admiral NEFFENGER. Senator, I appreciate the fact that your 

staff shared with me the correspondence you have had with TSA 

on this matter. I had a chance to read your letters as well as the 

response from TSA. 

I share your concern with the breaches of security that have been 

discovered over the past months. I am encouraged by the Aviation 

Security Advisory Committee report that looked at this issue, and 

I think there are a number of recommendations that came out of 

that which deserve some attention. 

With a population that is supposed to be known, vetted, and 

trusted comes the responsibility to ensure that you take that trust, 

but you verify periodically that trust is warranted in those individuals. 

I know there are a number of airports out there, two in Mr. Nelson’s state, that are doing 100 percent screening. I believe it is 

Miami Dade and Orlando. I would like to visit those airports and 

understand what 100 percent screening of the trusted population 

looks like, how is it done, and how is it done in a way that encourages us that it is effective. 

I think there is a lot to be said for reducing the number of access 

points to airports. Certainly, immediately introducing randomized 

screening of employees so there is an expectation that you might 

be screened when you go there. 

What I would like to say is I want to look at how this is currently being done, I want to understand truly what TSA’s authorities are with respect to oversight of the SIDA badge issue, and 

what are the airport authorities’ responsibilities, and how are those 

being overseen and how are those being enforced, what are the 

standards nationwide that are being set for that. 

Then what is the insider threat, what are the processes to try to 

identify insider threats in the future, so you do not discover after 

the fact that you have had an operation like what was happening 

in Atlanta. 

The CHAIRMAN. You mentioned the advisory committee report. 

Obviously, you are familiar with it. Do you believe it offers a good 

blueprint of actionable items that could be undertaken to enhance 

security? 

Admiral NEFFENGER. I think it does, Senator. 

The CHAIRMAN. My time has expired. I will turn now to Senator 

Nelson for questions he might have. 

Senator NELSON. Again, in the interest of brevity, I will submit 

most of the questions for the record. 

I am delighted to hear you say you will come to Miami and Orlando, so you can see how practically speaking it was implemented, 

and it has worked in Miami since 1999, and in Orlando, since 2009. 

It is bearing a cost, and that is putting up screening of all the 

airport employees coming onto the premises, by taking hundreds of 

entry points and boiling it down to a handful, and then checking 

them like you would be checking a passenger. 

26 

When you check it out, then the question is, for example, on the 

magnetometer, how much do they tune it up. Do they tune it up 

to the point at which you are screening airport employees to the 

same degree that you are screening passengers, and what other 

checks and balances are there, swiping the card, having the employee enter an identification number, so it is another check to 

make sure that the employee is who they say they are going into 

the secure space, which of course, was the problem in Atlanta. 

The employees could get in and then they had this prearrangements whereby then they would go into the sterile area of the passengers, and in the men’s room, switch out the guns into an empty 

backpack of the prearranged passenger, who then carried these 

guns—unbelievably—including a carbine. The last time they arrested him, he had 16 handguns in his backpack. Thank goodness 

he was a criminal and not a terrorist. 

It again shows the whole airport security is one thing, TSA security is another, but this is clearly a case where one affected the 

other. 

Thank you for offering to come, and I hope that you can learn 

something that could be applied to the other 448 airports in the 

country that are not doing this. 

Admiral NEFFENGER. Thank you, Senator. I look forward to the 

visit, and I look forward to learning what those best practices are. 

Senator NELSON [presiding]. I am going to turn to the Senator 

from Connecticut. 

STATEMENT OF HON. RICHARD BLUMENTHAL, 

U.S. SENATOR FROM CONNECTICUT 

Senator BLUMENTHAL. Thank you. Thanks for being here, Admiral. Thanks for your service to our Nation. 

I want to focus, if I may, on security in rail and transit. Our 

country’s public transportation and passenger rail systems are used 

by tens of millions of people every day, and they are the backbone 

of economic activity throughout our Nation. 

We have only to look at the consequences of the Philadelphia 

tragedy to see the losses that can occur when our rails are shut 

down, $100 million a day to the Northeast region alone. 

Our rails carry five times as many people per day as our airlines 

do. Penn Station in New York City handles half a million passengers a day, making it busier than all of our airports, and in 

your city regional airports combined. It is the busiest transportation hub in our country. 

The special commission investigating 9/11 urged vigilant protection of, and I am quoting, ‘‘Neglected parts of our transportation security system, like rail and transit, just as much as we protect 

aviation.’’ That commission said ‘‘Surface transportation systems 

such s railroads and mass transit remain hard to protect because 

they are so inaccessible and extensive.’’ 

I posed some questions during one of our hearings, in fact, back 

in March, on the TSA. I asked TSA in a question for the record 

when the mandates from the 2007 law—it is called Implementing 

Recommendations of the 9/11 Commission Act, Public Law 110– 

53—when those mandates would be approved. 

27 

I received a very broad nebulous statement in response. I would 

appreciate a commitment from you that you will answer specifically 

about those mandates, when they will be implemented. The mandates, for example, include approving security plans for all railroads that are considered vulnerable, high risk targets for terrorist 

attacks, issue regulations that establish training standards on potential security threats, provide a framework for conducting name 

based security background checks and immigration status checks. 

These recommendations were due that year, but it is now May 

2015, approaching 8 years since the deadline, and we still have no 

final action on those requirements. 

I am asking you for a commitment to give me specific time lines. 

Admiral NEFFENGER. Senator, I share your concern for the security of our surface transportation systems. This is the world I have 

spent most of my career in, primarily maritime transportation, but 

also the intermodal connections to that, the rail connections, the 

trucking connections, and the like, and the fact that the surface 

transportation systems that I am familiar with are directly connected and co-located with large population centers. 

I understand the concern with respect to that. Our surface transportation, as you know, is a much more diverse and dispersed set 

of elements, and you have many, many types of elements in that 

world, from buses and trucks and the like to light rail, heavy rail, 

and passenger rail. 

I think it is important to understand what the various threats 

are out there. I go back to the concern about the intelligence, and 

then more importantly, I think the initiatives that are outlined in 

Public Law 110–53, as you noted, are fairly straightforward. Security plans, you do need to understand how you are going to respond 

to something if you have an event. 

You need to have a common set of standards across the systems. 

Those standards may differ from mode to mode, but they should be 

consistent within the mode, and they should be based upon what 

we understand of the threat, and they should evolve over time. The 

easiest security system to defeat is the one that assumes you got 

the answer right. 

There are a lot of partners involved in this as well, so what is 

the connection to your private sector partners, the other public sector partners, and then how are those connections and those partnerships maintained over time. 

I intend to look very hard at this if confirmed, and understand—— 

Senator BLUMENTHAL. I am asking for a commitment that you 

will give us some time lines as to when there will be compliance 

with the law. That seems like a basic request. Can I interpret your 

remarks as yes? 

Admiral NEFFENGER. I will look hard at this law, and how TSA 

has addressed its commitments and its responsibilities under the 

law. What I will tell you is I believe very strongly in applying the 

law of the land as it was intended. 

Senator BLUMENTHAL. I hope you do. You are going to be taking 

an oath of office to faithfully execute those laws. 

Admiral NEFFENGER. Yes, sir. 

28 

Senator BLUMENTHAL. You have done that repeatedly as a member of our Armed Services. I know you take them very seriously. 

Admiral NEFFENGER. Yes, sir. 

Senator BLUMENTHAL. These measures were approved by this 

Congress 8 years ago. They still have not been implemented. I am 

asking you for a commitment to develop time lines for implementing. I am not asking for them to be done on your first day in 

office. I am asking for a commitment to take them seriously and 

provide time lines. 

Admiral NEFFENGER. Senator, I will look hard at what the current time lines are that have been provided. I assume you have 

been given some indication to date. I would like to find out what 

that is. 

Senator BLUMENTHAL. I will give you the opportunity to respond 

in writing, if you would. 

Admiral NEFFENGER. I would do that; yes, sir. 

Senator BLUMENTHAL. I do not mean to hit you cold with a request of this nature, but I do think it is important to your confirmation that you commit to providing some sense of when there 

will be compliance with the law. I think that is a pretty reasonable 

response. 

Admiral NEFFENGER. I will look at what it takes to comply with 

the law. 

Senator BLUMENTHAL. I am sorry, I think that is a pretty reasonable request. 

Admiral NEFFENGER. Yes, sir. I really do look forward to working 

with you on ensuring I answer that question. 

Senator BLUMENTHAL. In that spirit, I would like to ask you 

whether you would be willing to come to one of our rail stations 

and/or airports in Connecticut to give us some idea of what you 

think the security threats are, either in New Haven, Stamford, or 

Harvard. 

Admiral NEFFENGER. Senator, I would be happy to do that, and 

if confirmed, I look forward to getting out quite a bit to understand—not only to talk about what the current threats are but to 

see how individual components of the system are addressing those 

threats and working collectively to ensure the security—— 

Senator BLUMENTHAL. I appreciate your commitment to come to 

Connecticut. I will be in touch with your office if you are confirmed, 

and I look forward to receiving more information from you in writing about the implementation of Public Law 110–53. 

Admiral NEFFENGER. Thank you, Senator. 

The CHAIRMAN [presiding]. Thank you, Senator Blumenthal. Senator Klobuchar? 

STATEMENT OF HON. AMY KLOBUCHAR, 

U.S. SENATOR FROM MINNESOTA 

Senator KLOBUCHAR. Thanks so much, Mr. Chairman, and thank 

you, and congratulations on your nomination. 

Obviously, you have a very important job, and it is often said it 

is one of the hardest jobs in Washington, and I think that is reflected in some of the questions you have gotten today. 

In my home state, as you probably know, we have had several 

people charged since November with traveling or attempting to 

29 

travel to the Middle East to join ISIS, and before that, we had a 

number indicted, and actually a number convicted for trying to join 

al-Shabaab, and that continues to be an issue for our state, both 

groups. 

If you are confirmed, how will you ensure that information such 

as no fly lists or biometric data be disseminated amongst allies to 

prevent someone believed to have been trained by terrorists from 

boarding a plane heading to the U.S. and how will you ensure that 

TSA works with domestic agencies and international partners to 

respond to threats? 

Admiral NEFFENGER. Thank you, Senator Klobuchar, for the 

question. You are at the heart of the challenge with respect to understanding the threat, so it is about information sharing and sharing it appropriately and expeditiously, and to the right people at 

the right time, so that you do not have—so that if you have somebody attempting to travel unlawfully through the system or worse, 

that you know about that before that attempt happens. 

I have had some briefings with respect to how this is currently 

done. There are a lot of players in that world, not the least of 

which are the other Federal law enforcement agencies and some of 

the intelligence agencies of this nation. 

As you know, the Coast Guard has been a member of the intelligence community for quite some time. I have worked closely in 

that world. I am familiar with the ways in which you have to take 

national level intelligence and turn it into intelligence that can be 

shared with your local partners and even your overseas partners. 

If confirmed, what I would like to do is take a deeper dive into 

how that information is currently moving in the transportation security world, particularly how it gets processed into TSA, how it 

gets processed out of TSA, and then more importantly, how it gets 

sent to the very people who need to know it the most, which are 

those front line agents and officers who have to actually make a 

decision on the spot as to whether or not somebody is a threat. 

Senator KLOBUCHAR. One other thing related to flying, I just 

wanted to make sure you are aware of, in 2012, Senator Blunt and 

I got passed and signed into law the No Hassle Flying Act. It allows the TSA to waive domestic baggage rescreening for luggage 

that has already been screened, which is key, by U.S. Customs and 

Border Protection at a foreign airport that meets our standards, 

such as one of the eight airports in Canada that has pre-clearance 

facilities. 

I asked Acting Administrator Carraway about the implementation of this program, and just wanted to let you know that I hope 

it will continue under your leadership. 

Admiral NEFFENGER. Thank you. It sounds like a good program, 

Senator. 

Senator KLOBUCHAR. Yes, we worked hard on that one. Another 

air-related thing, I head up the Travel Caucus and do a lot of work 

in tourism, and again, Senator Blunt and I got the Brand USA reauthorized, so I understand this mix of security protection, but as 

well as trying to make these experiences for travelers as we look 

at bringing people in, so many foreign travelers that want to follow 

the law and visit our shores, how important that is to our economy, 

one of the biggest industries in the country. 

30 

Customs and Border Protection has actually worked with private 

sector companies like Disney, and there has been a number of airports that have partnered with different private sector partners to 

improve traveler experiences and our efficiencies at our port of 

entry. 

This is not just people waiting in line. It is also about how they 

are treated when they get there. It is also about the possibility of 

having videos of our country that play while they are waiting in 

line and other things. 

I just wondered about your views on that. This is completely outside of just the security portion, which of course has to be respected, but that does not mean when people come to the airport, 

that we do not want them to have a good experience so they want 

to come back again. 

Can you talk about some of your ideas or what you know about 

this subject? 

Admiral NEFFENGER. I will, Senator. As you know, the Coast 

Guard has a very public face to it as well. We interact quite a bit 

with the public. Sometimes those interactions are probably not 

what the public wants. 

I can remember as a junior officer boarding a recreational boat 

to determine if they had the proper safety equipment onboard and 

they were operating in a safe manner, and I am sure I interrupted 

a family’s enjoyable afternoon on the water. It was up in the Great 

Lakes, as a matter of fact. 

Customer service is important to me, and the way in which we 

interact. The public is as much a part of the system as the people 

there to protect the public. 

In the Coast Guard, every single member of the Coast Guard 

who comes in is read a letter that Alexander Hamilton, first Secretary of the Treasury, sent to the first 10 skippers of the Revenue 

Cutter Service, the first 10 commanding officers. The Revenue Cutter Service was the precursor to the modern day Coast Guard. 

It was a long letter and it laid out all sorts of duties and responsibilities, it said what the law was, but if you think about this, 

these revenue cutters were designed to do something for the first 

time, for the brand new United States of America, that had never 

been done, which is to stop merchant vessels at sea and collect duties on the cargo they were bringing in. Something that was probably not expected or welcomed by the people bringing them in. 

In that letter, the most important line, there is one line in there 

where he says ‘‘Always keep in mind that your countrymen are free 

men and as such are impatient of everything that bears the least 

mark of a dominating spirit.’’ 

He goes on to explain because you have the law on your side, and 

he also goes on to explain that if I find out you have mistreated 

people, then you will have me to answer to. 

That is always in the back of my mind, and over the years— 

every time I have advanced somebody in rank or promoted them, 

I always read this letter to them after they take the oath of office, 

and I read this section, and I remind them that first and foremost 

our job is to protect and safeguard the public that we serve, it is 

the public that we serve that put us in our job, and they expect 

to be treated with respect and dignity. 

31 

That is the approach that I bring, if I get confirmed at TSA. I 

look to instill that same sentiment. 

Senator KLOBUCHAR. The idea here is to work with the Commerce Department, you have to figure this out when you get in the 

job, but to work on some of these issues. 

I think there has been improvement with how TSA has been 

treating people. It is not as much my issue as just looking at how 

we can make things as efficient as possible in those port of entries, 

but also how we can partner with the private sector to actually 

make them look better. They are entering our country for the first 

time. 

This may be a bit of a luxury we have now because the economy 

is improving, but we are having more and more foreign visitors on 

our shore, we are finally advertising in other countries, and we 

want them to come back and spend money in the U.S., because 

that means jobs in the U.S. 

Thank you very much, appreciate it. 

Admiral NEFFENGER. Thank you. 

The CHAIRMAN. Thank you, Senator Klobuchar. Let me just do 

one more follow-up question regarding some of the issues that are 

going to be directly under your jurisdiction. 

We had in 2010 an appearance before this committee of TSA Administrator Pistole to rate the effectiveness of the TWIC program 

as 3 out of 10. In addition, the GAO has issued harsh criticisms 

of the program. This committee has repeatedly expressed its concerns with delays in issuing TWIC cards to individuals, and the 

long delay in releasing a final rule to regulate the TWIC readers. 

Just yesterday, this committee passed legislation that would provide for an outside review of the program with the goal of developing a corrective action plan to make improvements. 

Your role in the Coast Guard working on port security issues 

provides you with unique insight into the value of the program. 

Could you please provide us with your thoughts and your plan for 

improving the management of this program? 

Admiral NEFFENGER. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I will start by 

saying I think there is great value in having a known trusted vetted population moving in and out of areas that we think may have 

vulnerabilities or security challenges, and the port environment is 

one of those, very dynamic and very open environments, and there 

is a lot of moving in and out. 

I think the goal of a vetted understood population is a laudable 

one and a good one. 

The TWIC program itself has been challenging over the years, 

and although I have not in the Coast Guard been directly involved 

in the various components, I have had oversight responsibility for 

aspects of it. 

The reader rule, as you know, is a Coast Guard owned rule, and 

that is in the process of coming to fruition now, which would allow 

us to actually read the biometric on the chip. 

I am in favor of independent reviews on a periodic basis because 

I think they can raise issues that you might become blind to over 

time, as you are working through the implementation of a project. 

This was a challenging project, I know, over time because in 

some senses it was maybe the largest issuance of a Federal I.D. to 

32 

a private workforce that will then be privately enforced at multiple 

locations around the Nation. There are challenges associated with 

that. 

I am interested in looking at delving deeper into the GAO concerns, meeting with the GAO. I have not had a chance to sit down 

with the General Accountability Office yet, but I intend to do so 

over the coming weeks, and in particular, take a harder look at the 

current status of TWIC. 

I know in the briefings I have had with TSA, they have done a 

lot of things to improve the throughput and the turn around time 

on the TWIC, but ultimately what you want is an I.D. card that 

can be trusted, and that can verify the individual who is presenting 

it is in fact that individual. 

The CHAIRMAN. This is a little bit off topic, at least with your 

nomination for TSA, but would you like to share with the Committee your understanding of the Coast Guard response to the oil 

spill near Santa Barbara? 

Admiral NEFFENGER. That is an ongoing spill response. As you 

know, it happened over the—it was a pipeline spill, a pipeline rupture. It has put a fair amount of oil into the water. I forget the 

exact number of gallons, but it is significant enough to have caused 

some shore line impacts. 

The response is fairly straightforward in terms of the techniques 

that are used, and I think from the response standpoint, I think 

the responders are doing everything they can do at this point. 

The real challenge is in the long term clean up as well as the 

long term mitigation efforts that might follow as a result of that, 

and then holding the company accountable for that and the costs 

associated with the spill. 

I know we have a number of responders. I do not know the exact 

count. The local Coast Guard Captain in that region is responding 

to that. We are quite concerned; there are some highly sensitive 

areas along the California coast there. We want to make sure we 

have addressed the potential for any follow on spills that come out 

of that. 

I can provide the Committee with detail on that, and I would be 

happy to do so for the record. 

[The information referred to follows:] 

1. The Responsible Party’s worst case estimate is 101,000–140,000 gallons, with 

an estimated 21,000 gallons reaching the ocean. Source: http://www.refugio 

response.com 

2. At the height of the spill response, approximately 1,400 personnel were in the 

Incident Command Post and the field conducting response operations (June 29, 

2015). At present (August 30, 2015), 91 responders and incident management personnel are conducting maintenance and monitoring. 

3. The spill occurred on May 19, 2015 and transitioned to Phase III (with approval 

of the Guidelines for Maintenance and Monitoring) on August 7, 2015 (81 days). 

Maintenance and monitoring activities are ongoing. 

4. Key partners involved: 

a. U.S. Department of Transportation 

b. USCG 

c. EPA 

d. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 

e. NOAA 

f. California (CA) Department of Fish and Wildlife 

g. Office of Spill Prevention and Response 

33 

h. Santa Barbara County 

i. Chumash Indian Tribe 

j. 55 local environmental non-government organizations 

5. Future plans: Per Phase III (Guidelines for Maintenance and Monitoring), 

teams will continue to survey and monitor from Arroyo Hondo to Rincon Point following the Shoreline Cleanup Assessment Technique (SCAT) process. The SCAT 

process characterizes and documents the nature and extent of oiling and recommends appropriate treatment within the affected areas. SCAT surveys will be 

conducted using standardized protocols by teams on foot for accessible shorelines in 

the affected area. 

SCAT teams will: 

• Survey for buried oil that has been uncovered through sand erosion; 

• Conduct periodic oil sampling throughout the Santa Barbara response area and 

compare oil samples to the oil that was discharged from Line 901; 

• Search for and sample oil in areas after the first significant storm event (storms 

erode beaches and may reveal previously unknown oil deposits); 

• Conduct sampling in December 2015 and May of 2016; 

• Determine cleanup needs if Line 901 oil is found; and 

• Monitor progress in areas where scientists determine that further cleanup 

would do greater harm to the environment versus natural recovery/remediation 

processes. 

The CHAIRMAN. You were the on-the-scene coordinator for the BP 

oil spill, which this committee just had a hearing on, on its anniversary. Can you give us maybe a sense of the Coast Guard response with state and other partners there? 

Admiral NEFFENGER. As you know, the BP oil spill was the largest oil spill in our history, and what made it particularly challenging is it was an ongoing spill for 75 consecutive days. We had 

the equivalent of a spill the size of the Exxon Valdez every single 

day for 75 days, so matter what you did 1 day, you were looking 

at a huge volume of oil the following day. 

That one taxed all the resources available. At one point we had 

2,500 miles of boom stretched out. I think given its scope, given the 

complexity of that spill, it stretched across five Gulf states, it impacted many different types of wildlife, shore line, and habitat. We 

put to bear pretty much every type of oil clean up technique and 

equipment type you could have, over 50,000 people responding. 

I think in retrospect, given the severity of the spill and given the 

fact that any time you have that much of an oil spill, you are going 

to have damage and environmental impact. 

I think the responders did truly a remarkable job of limiting the 

amount of damage done. That is not to say there is not damage and 

there is not going to be some ongoing assessments with respect to 

how severe that damage was. 

I think when you look in retrospect at how much was done and 

how much had to be done, it is remarkable that we did not see 

even more damage from that spill. 

The CHAIRMAN. All right. I think we have exhausted the people 

who want to ask you questions. Maybe not. The Senator from Alaska has arrived. We will give him a minute. I think you may be here 

on the hot seat for at least a few more minutes. Senator Sullivan? 

34 

STATEMENT OF HON. DAN SULLIVAN, 

U.S. SENATOR FROM ALASKA 

Senator SULLIVAN. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Admiral, thanks. 

Sorry about the tardy arrival here. 

One thing that I just wanted to start with, first, thanks for your 

outstanding career with the Coast Guard. I always like to ask candidates or nominees for these important positions the very basic 

question of why you want the job. 

You know, TSA, if you get confirmed, you are going to come back 

to this committee. There will be hiccups and things you are going 

to have to answer for. You probably are going to have the cameras 

rolling and some senator beating the living daylights out of you on 

TV. 

Why do you want to do this? 

Admiral NEFFENGER. Senator Sullivan, thank you. That is a 

great question. That is a question I asked myself. I wind up with 

the same answer that had me join the Coast Guard in the first 

place. 

As corny as it may sound—I was 5 years old when John Kennedy 

was inaugurated as President. I grew up with the ‘‘ask what you 

can do for your country’’ tag line, and it was drilled into us by 

every teacher I had throughout my grade school and elementary 

school experience. My parents reminded me of that repeatedly. 

I grew up with this idea of public service. I really believe in public service. I believe it is an important—there are important missions in serving the public. 

Some of this is when your country asks you for something, I 

think you owe it to your country to consider it. Then I looked at 

the agency itself. I thought how would I fit into the Transportation 

Security Administration, and there are a remarkable number of 

similarities between the Coast Guard and TSA in these terms, it 

is a mission-focused agency, it has a really, really important mission. In many respects, it is a no fail mission. 

I am impressed by people who have already raised their hand 

and taken an oath and said I want to do that, I want to do this 

really hard job that this Nation has to offer me. I know it is going 

to be a tough job. It might not even be a job where I am well liked. 

I look at the men and women who are on the front line at TSA 

every day, and I think that is really a tough, tough job, and they 

deserve somebody who respects and admires them for the work 

they do. 

I like that idea. I like the idea of building an agency culture 

around mission. I like the idea of reminding people of the importance of those missions, and then I am familiar with these geographically diverse and dispersed workforces. It is a relatively junior workforce in terms of their relative place in the organization. 

How do you engage a workforce like that, and how do you get them 

to feel a part of something. 

We have some pretty remote Coast Guard locations, you know 

yourself, you have some really remote Coast Guard locations in 

Alaska. There is a great story about a guy who got sent to St. Paul 

once and he thought it was Minnesota and found out it was Alaska 

and told his family that—— 

35 

Senator SULLIVAN. I was just with a bunch of Alaskans in St. 

Paul yesterday. Great Americans. 

Admiral NEFFENGER. He spent most of the time moving a rock 

from one side of the island to the other to try to get a little closer 

to home. 

I look at that and I think how do you touch people, how do you 

trust them to do the job. They are very young, they are junior. You 

are giving them in many respects some of the most challenging 

missions they could have, and you tell them you cannot fail, and 

then you leave them all alone on their own. 

I think all of that looks like a way of thinking that applies directly to the Transportation Security Administration, and as I said, 

it looked more and more intriguing the more I saw it, and I believe 

in public service. 

Senator SULLIVAN. Great. Thank you for that. I appreciate that 

heartfelt answer. It is good to hear. 

I want to talk about emerging threats and how you believe TSA 

is keeping ahead of those threats, do you think they are? What do 

you think we need to do? 

There has been a lot of criticism of the agency, that you if confirmed will be leading. I think any time you stand up a brand new 

agency, particularly in the kind of circumstances that we stood up 

TSA after 9/11, there is going to be hiccups, there is going to be 

bumps in the road. 

I always go out of my way in Alaska to compliment our TSA 

agents who I think are doing a good job, not perfect. There are 

some issues that a lot of Alaskans have concerns about. I had an 

address to our state legislature, one of the leaders in the state legislature had concerns about the TSA becoming much more kind of 

law enforcement as opposed to security. 

How do you mix those and stay in front of these emerging 

threats? As you say, we cannot afford to fail in that mission the 

TSA has. 

Admiral NEFFENGER. That is the challenge, I think, facing TSA. 

As I think about security and I think about what makes for an effective security system, clearly, there has to be a number of layers 

in that security system, and no one single layer can be expected to 

stop all threats from getting through. 

Then how does that system evolve over time. We know those who 

would exploit or do harm are those who would try to bypass the 

system or game the system will do so if it is static over time. How 

do you evolve that system, how do you understand how the threat 

is changing. 

As I look at the threat streams, and I have had a number of 

briefings on the current threat to the transportation systems, specifically the aviation systems, and we know that threat is evolving. 

It evolved immediately after 9/11. You saw Richard Reid, the 

shoe bomber, very shortly after 9/11, and Abdulmutallab, the underwear bomber case. All of those things tell us that you have a 

learning enemy, and the enemy does get a vote in this as well. 

I think it is important that you have a clear and strong connection to the intelligence community, that your intelligence community is focused on understanding the threat and how it might be 

36 

evolving, that you pay attention to what the intelligence community is saying, and that you disseminate that. 

You have to get that training into the workforce, and then you 

have to have a system that adapts to the threat, so that if, for example, you have some element of your security system that no 

longer addresses some specific new threat, then what are the other 

layers of your system that can compensate for that until you can 

get that element back up to where it needs to be. 

If confirmed, I intend to ask lots of questions about that, and I 

would really want to focus on this evolving adaptable nature. I 

think that has to be built into the culture of the organization. It 

has to be a learning organization, an adapting organization, one 

that never thinks it got the question right. 

The security system today does not necessarily mean that is the 

security system of tomorrow. In fact, I want to know what the security system tomorrow looks like, next year, and the year after, so 

it stays ahead of the enemy that would exploit the system. 

Senator SULLIVAN. Let me ask one final question. This is a little 

bit more kind of Alaska and regional specific. After 9/11, Congress 

mandated that airports install explosive detective systems. There 

was a promise of Federal cost sharing, that 90 to 95 percent, I 

think most airports have abided by that, have implemented that. 

I also think most airports have not received in return the promise of reimbursements. I think in Alaska, the Anchorage Airport 

has about a $20 million reimbursement. For an airport our size, 

that is a significant amount of money. It is obviously much larger 

in some of the bigger airports. 

Would you consider making sure these outstanding reimbursements are part of the President’s budget request if confirmed? 

Right now, I believe that is an issue that has not come up in the 

budget, even though there was a reliance by many, many airports 

throughout the country on that promise. 

Admiral NEFFENGER. As I understand it, I think you are referring to in line baggage systems in particular in airports and the 

program that would allow airports to seek reimbursement or Federal matching funding for that. 

I am not familiar with the specific case in Anchorage. I have 

been briefed in general on that program. If confirmed, I want to 

understand first of all how much money has been allocated to that, 

what is the appropriation, and are the resources that have been 

currently appropriated adequate to support the program, and what 

are the ways in which that program operates, what is the process 

for doing that, and how well understood is that process and how 

well has it been done. 

What I would like to do is look at that, and promise to come back 

to you, Senator, and tell you what I found afterwards. 

Senator SULLIVAN [presiding]. Great. That concludes the hearing. 

The hearing record will remain open for two weeks. During this 

time, Senators are asked to submit any additional questions for the 

record. Upon receipt, the witnesses are requested to submit their 

written responses and answers to the Committee as soon as possible. 

37 

Senator SULLIVAN. I want to thank you, Admiral, for your desire 

to serve your country, for your great service to your country. I have 

not even asked you if you have served in Alaska. Have you? 

Admiral NEFFENGER. Unfortunately, I never had the chance to be 

stationed there. 

Senator SULLIVAN. I will not hold that against you. 

Admiral NEFFENGER. I spent a lot of time in Alaska. In fact, I 

was up in Barrow just about 4 months ago. 

Senator SULLIVAN. The Coast Guard does fantastic work up 

there. We just want more Coasties, not less, in Alaska. 

This hearing is now adjourned. Thank you very much. 

[Whereupon, at 12:02 p.m., the hearing was adjourned.] 

(39) 

A P P E N D I X 

RESPONSE TO WRITTEN QUESTIONS SUBMITTED BY HON. JOHN THUNE TO

VICE ADMIRAL PETER V. NEFFENGER

Question 1. In March of this year, Senator Nelson and I sent a letter to the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) regarding the revelation that the agency 

had allowed a convicted domestic terrorist to qualify for expedited screening. Clearly, an incident like this reflects the necessity for the TSA to continually revise its 

screening processes and risk assessment rules in order to reduce vulnerabilities. 

Should you be confirmed as TSA Administrator, what would you do to improve riskbased, expedited screening initiatives to reduce security vulnerabilities? 

Answer. A risk-based approach to security requires continuous assessment, adaptation to threats, and adjustments to the security regime to ensure the system remains responsive, unpredictable, and layered. Recognizing that the vast majority of 

the people, goods, and services moving through our transportation system are legitimate and appropriate, the key elements are to segregate risks, identify less risky 

populations, and then apply a range of capabilities tailored to each operating location and to each population. This approach requires continuous assessment of the 

threat, a focused and on-going effort to continue to partition risk, an aggressive 

process to understanding and mitigating the system’s vulnerabilities, a nimble operational concept, a rapid development process for new capabilities, and vigorous testing and training of the workforce. If confirmed, my intent would be to ensure such 

a system is in place. I would work to strengthen our self-assessment capabilities, 

evaluate our vulnerability mitigation plans, closely review operations and training, 

include the efficacy of expedited screening operations, and I would ensure we have 

a process to continually measure the appropriateness and effectiveness of the various layers and tools of security currently in use. 

Question 2. In March 2015, an investigative report documented misconduct among 

some Federal Air Marshals who were inappropriately reassigned from their allotted 

flights as part of a scheme to facilitate improper relationships with other employees 

or to get better routes and travel to cities they preferred. I wrote a letter last month, 

along with Sen. Nelson, to the Department of Homeland Security’s Inspector General (IG) asking him to investigate any criminal activity that occurred and any high 

risk flights that should have been covered by the Federal Air Marshals that were 

not staffed appropriately as a result of the misconduct. The IG responded that his 

office has joined the criminal investigation into misconduct currently being led by 

TSA’s Office of Inspections and the Department of Justice. With this and other serious instances of employee misconduct reported in the media in recent months, how 

do you intend to ensure that TSA maintains a culture of integrity? 

Answer. Based on my experiences in leadership and public service I believe that 

an organization must continually set and reinforce the standards of dignity, respect, 

integrity, and professionalism in order to embed them into an agency’s culture. An 

agency must set clear standards of behavior, train and operate to those standards, 

and hold its members appropriately accountable when they violate those standards. 

If confirmed, I will follow these proven lessons of leadership and apply a similar effort in conveying the values of the organization, to further instill them into the daily 

behavior of every employee throughout the TSA workforce, and to hold individuals 

accountable when behavior falls short of these expectations. 

Question 3. Serious allegations about employee misconduct at TSA have a negative effect on employee morale. How do you intend to work on improving employee 

morale at TSA with its large workforce of over 50,000 personnel? 

Answer. My experience reflects that strong and positive morale results directly 

from a positive leadership approach. In this approach, leaders care about what matters to those we lead. Successful leaders have an awareness of what compels employees to commit their talents, energy, and effort to any endeavor. In my view, regardless of the generation, what drives motivations of the employees in a workforce 

is knowing that what they do matters, that the work is meaningful, and that each 

40 

employee can provide value and make a difference. Thus, if confirmed, it will be my 

intent to ensure that each member of TSA has a clear, well-defined purpose, that 

they know the importance of their mission, that they are trained and empowered 

to perform their duties, that they are valued and supported in doing that mission, 

and that leadership provides equitable and consistent accountability at all levels, as 

well as appropriate recognition for performance. Another significant component of 

morale and performance is the recognition in the workforce that the leaders appreciate the challenges of their employees’ work and that the leaders are responding 

to those challenges. Leaders must create opportunities to listen to the workforce, to 

understand workforce challenges, and to act upon concerns both to advance the mission and to support employees in executing their duties. This can take the form of 

new training, better tools, and improved procedures or it can mean that we have 

their back when we ask them to do difficult things as part of their no-fail mission. 

This is the approach I have taken in my current career, and, if confirmed, it is the 

approach I will bring to TSA. 

Question 4. While the focus at TSA is largely on commercial aviation, international terrorist attacks have proven that ‘‘soft’’ targets like passenger rail, transit 

systems, and pipelines are also attractive for terrorist groups and lone wolves. How 

will you allocate resources to these potentially more vulnerable targets in a risk 

based manner? 

Answer. Surface transportation comes in many forms—buses, ferries, passenger 

rail, heavy rail, light rail, subways, and other similar conveyances. These modes are 

widely distributed and, by their nature and design, are more open and accessible 

than the aviation sector. Still, delivering security to these systems requires a similar 

approach to the one employed in securing aviation. These modes require a continuous evaluation of the strategic security environment, as well as an understanding 

of the threats and how they are evolving. They also require that we field appropriate capabilities to address these threats. These capabilities are responsive to the 

distributed nature of these transportation modes. Ultimately, in the surface sector, 

security is best delivered through a network of interconnected capabilities and, by 

necessity, includes partnerships with state and local transportation security providers. TSA plays an important role in developing standards and best practices in 

leveraging this distributed capability, as well as sharing information among these 

entities. If confirmed, I will examine the nature and extent of these partnerships, 

seek to understand their challenges and effectiveness, and provide the oversight and 

standards needed to ensure there are appropriate and effective protections in place. 

Question 5. On May 6, 2015, TSA resubmitted to Congress two controversial fee 

proposals. The first would increase the Aviation Passenger Security Fee from $5.60 

per one-way trip to $6.00 in the second quarter of FY2016, and would continue to 

increase the fee up to $7.50 in FY2019. The second proposal would, in FY 2017, reinstate the Aviation Security Infrastructure Fee, which was repealed under the Bipartisan Budget Act that the President signed last year. What are your thoughts 

on the current proposals put forward by the TSA to increase the Aviation Security 

Passenger Fee and reinstate the Aviation Security Infrastructure Fee? Will you commit to working with this Committee and others in Congress when such issues arise, 

should you be confirmed? 

Answer. I am aware that passenger fees are used to help fund the TSA mission 

in addition to annual appropriated funds. If confirmed, I look forward to examining 

both the current execution of the FY15 appropriated budget and the FY16 budget 

request to ensure the agency is suitably resourced for its important mission. Also, 

if confirmed, I look forward to working with this Committee and the Congress to 

strike an appropriate balance among fee-based and appropriated funding approaches. 

Question 6. TSA serves as the face of the Federal Government to millions of 

Americans every day. You mentioned in your reply to the Committee’s questionnaire 

that customer experience is among the top challenges you see facing the TSA. What 

will you do to improve customer experience should you be confirmed as TSA Administrator? How will you engage with stakeholders like airports and technology companies to improve the relationship with TSA in order to effectively and reliably secure 

transportation systems? 

Answer. Through my current career, I have routinely interacted with the public 

in enforcing maritime safety and in conducting the Coast Guard’s law enforcement 

missions. I have learned that an organization designed to enforce rules and the law 

must do so with respect for the public that it serves, and a commitment to doing 

so professionally and dispassionately. We live in a nation that cherishes its rights 

and liberties, and our workforce must respect these rights and liberties while performing its security mission. While security is inherently intrusive, TSA must exerVerDate Nov 24 2008 10:49 Jun 29, 2016 Jkt 075679 PO 00000 Frm 00044 Fmt 6601 Sfmt 6621 S:\GPO\DOCS\20553.TXT JACKIE
41 

cise its authorities with the highest degree of dignity and respect. In my experience 

in the Coast Guard, continually reinforcing this message and ensuring that leaders 

at all levels reinforce those expectations can be successful in embedding them into 

an agency’s culture. If confirmed, reinforcing and instilling this mindset into the 

TSA workforce will help to ensure a positive experience without compromising the 

effectiveness or success of the security mission. 

The security of our transportation system also depends upon strong partnerships 

at all levels of government, with the private sector and with the traveling public. 

If confirmed, I envision communication, genuine collaboration, information sharing 

and involving stakeholders in developing solutions to the challenges we face as key 

elements of the approach I would take in leading TSA and in protecting our national 

transportation system. I have had extensive experience in working across government, with the private sector and with the public in setting and achieving security 

goals, and if confirmed, will continue to employ this collaborative approach. 

Question 7. TSA has faced significant challenges in the past in developing and responsibly acquiring new security technologies. Given how important cutting edge 

technology is to securing our Nation’s critical transportation systems, how should 

TSA’s limited resources be focused to develop and acquire better technology and how 

can the current process be responsibly streamlined to ensure that taxpayer dollars 

are not being wasted? 

Answer. Science, technology, research, and product development will continue to 

provide invaluable tools to support the TSA security mission. In my current role as 

Vice Commandant of the Coast Guard, I serve as the Component Acquisition Executive. I have been directly involved in managing this system as well as participating 

in a variety of system and process improvements over the past decade. I understand 

how critical a sound, defensible, and responsive acquisition program is to mission 

results. It requires a deep understanding of the capabilities of potential technology, 

partnerships with industry and the private sector to ensure appropriate investment, 

flexible and adaptive systems that are responsive to the threat without sacrificing 

strong controls and program oversight, sound project management, and strict adherence to Federal law and DHS policies. In my preparation, I have been provided an 

overview of the TSA Acquisition Program and the program management process. If 

confirmed, I will apply my extensive experience in acquisition oversight to the TSA 

acquisition enterprise to ensure that our investments are appropriate, deliver results, and that they provide sound stewardship and a return on taxpayer investment. 

Question 8. TSA’s best-known risk-based security initiative is the PreCheck Application Program, which has been popular with travelers and has provided TSA with 

important cost savings. Although the PreCheck Application Program benefits both 

TSA and trusted travelers, there has apparently never been a marketing or technology plan developed and deployed to help drive greater numbers of enrollments. 

While any potential expansion of the program must involve appropriate vetting of 

enrollees, what are your views on PreCheck Application Program expansion, and do 

you see a role for airports and the private sector to facilitate such an expansion? 

If you are confirmed as Administrator, would you commit to pursuing more enrollment options and marketing the program to increase participation in a responsible 

manner? Acting Administrator Carraway told the Committee at a March 2015 oversight hearing that the TSA’s Request for Proposals related to PreCheck Application 

Program expansion would be reissued within a week, which did not occur. Will you 

commit to examining promptly and reissuing the RFP, if appropriate? 

Answer. I support the expansion of risk-based initiatives. It is my understanding 

that the PreCheck Program has helped TSA learn more about the traveling public 

and that it is a key element in the risk-based approach that allows TSA to focus 

its highest efforts on travelers whom we know less and who may pose a potentially 

higher security risk. If confirmed, I will review the RFP referenced above. If confirmed, I also intend to pursue methods to increase participation in a responsible 

manner, particularly in ensuring we have high confidence in the risk assessments 

this process delivers, as well as determining the feasibility of pursuing additional 

enrollment locations. 

Question 9. TSA is currently involved in longstanding patent infringement litigation with a small business known as SecurityPoint regarding airport security checkpoint advertising systems intended to save money for taxpayers and airports by offsetting costs. The Federal Government could potentially be liable for significant 

sums if the case is not settled and SecurityPoint’s patent is found to be valid. Moreover, as a result of the pending litigation, TSA has allegedly blocked SecurityPoint 

from contracting with additional airport authorities, thereby preventing the agency, 

taxpayers, and airport authorities from benefiting from the associated cost savings. 

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If true, TSA’s actions are troubling and raise broader concerns about the way TSA 

handles such matters and engages with the private sector. Have you been briefed 

on this litigation and/or TSA’s actions with respect to airport authorities seeking to 

enter into new contracts with the company? Will you commit to reviewing this matter and taking appropriate action to ensure that TSA resolves this issue in a way 

that minimizes the exposure of taxpayers and allows TSA to achieve cost savings 

and screening efficiencies from private sector technologies? 

Answer. I have not been briefed on this issue, and if confirmed, I commit to reviewing this further. 

RESPONSE TO WRITTEN QUESTION SUBMITTED BY HON. ROY BLUNT TO

VICE ADMIRAL PETER V. NEFFENGER

Question. Admiral Neffenger, TSA calculates and uses a Federal Cost Estimate 

(FCE) to set minimum acceptable bids in all Screening Partnership Program (SPP) 

solicitations. Yet, by its own admission, TSA does NOT include total cost to the Federal Government as-a-whole in its FCE, but instead includes only costs associated 

with TSA specifically. Such a FCE significantly underestimates total costs to provide airport security screening, and its use by TSA to set minimum acceptable bids 

for SPP solicitations creates an equally significant disincentive for potential SPP 

contractors to even submit bids for such contracts. Furthermore, by using this method to set artificially low minimum acceptable bids in solicitations, the potential is 

increased that important security corners will have to be cut in order to meet the 

artificially low cost requirement. If TSA continues to use a Federal Cost Estimate 

in this way, will you insist that the total costs to the Federal Government are included in its calculation? If not, why not? 

Answer. During my nomination proceedings, I have received briefings on the 

Screening Partnership Program. I understand that SPP has gone through a recent 

set of reforms providing for a more efficient application and procurement process. 

If confirmed, I look forward to reviewing the methodologies and cost estimates that 

are used to calculate the feasibility of a privatized screening workforce and to better 

understand how those decisions are made. 

RESPONSE TO WRITTEN QUESTIONS SUBMITTED BY HON. STEVE DAINES TO

VICE ADMIRAL PETER V. NEFFENGER

Question 1. In early 2012, TSA installed new Advanced Imaging Technology (AIT) 

millimeter wave full-body scanner at five airports in Montana, and one more was 

allocated to Great Falls upon completion of a security checkpoint expansion. One 

year later, TSA removed AITs from two Montana airports, Helena and Kalispell, as 

well as other small airports across the US. Airport operators were told that these 

new machines were being sent to larger airports to replace backscatter scanners 

being removed due to agency’s failure to meet the June 1, 2013 deadline set by Congress for privacy software upgrades. No plans were made to replace the new AIT 

machines at smaller airports. 

Additionally, recent GAO investigations indicate Red Team agents were able to 

get prohibited devices through security checkpoints more than 95 percent of the 

time. Would further AIT implementation have increased the success rate of TSA airport screeners? What will be your plan as Administrator to procure, deploy, and install AIT machines at smaller airports in Montana and across the US—especially 

for those that were removed or allocated and never received? Will this be expedited 

in light of recent investigations? How will AIT operators’ and screeners’ training be 

revised to ensure passenger safety is not compromised and public trust is regained? 

Answer. If confirmed, I will review and evaluate current TSA plans to procure, 

deploy and install AIT equipment at airports that do not currently have them. In 

the meantime, I will immediately address the vulnerabilities brought to light by the 

Inspector General’s covert testing. This will include carrying out Secretary Johnson’s recent directives while concurrently seeking to understand and correct the 

more systemic issues that may have given rise to the failures. Immediate directives 

are targeted at standards and training across the workforce—what must be done 

right away to close the gaps found, and what must be done in future? TSA must 

focus on the mission, understand what must be done to accomplish that mission, 

set and enforce high standards of training and accountability, and then test to ensure those standards are maintained. 

Question 2. Twenty-one airports nationwide participate in the TSA’s Screening 

Partnership Program (SPP). With nearly half of them in Montana, 9 of Montana’s 

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13 commercial service airports, participating in the private screening program. 

What steps will you take to expand SPP to ensure that Montanans maintain this 

service and it is expanded to other communities? 

Answer. I understand that airports can apply to TSA for private sector entities 

to perform passenger screening under the Screening Partnership Program. While I 

believe that it is critical to have a national set of standards for aviation security, 

and that there must be national oversight of the implementation of those standards, 

the option for private sector screeners may provide an opportunity to provide services at lower taxpayer cost. To that end, if confirmed, I will ensure that airports 

that wish to explore participation in the Screening Partnership Program are afforded the opportunity to do so, and that the program itself is well-understood and 

publicized as an option. 

Question 3. Montana airports continue to grow at a pace surpassing the national 

average. Bozeman’s airport enplanements has grown 26 percent since 2011 while 

nationally growth has only been 4 percent. It has just been named a ‘‘Small Hub’’ 

by the FAA. A lot of this growth comes in surges during the winter and summer 

tourist months. We welcome these visitors, but want to make sure that both visitors 

and residents don’t experience delays and inefficiencies during these busy times. 

What staffing steps would lead the TSA in to accommodate this growth and seasonal surges? 

Given the cap on TSA screener workforce, selectively deployed screening technology, and forecast passenger growth, how would you guide the TSA to achieve efficient thru-put at security checkpoints across the US, including rural airports, Small 

Hubs and larger airports? 

Answer. Our aviation security system must always remain attentive to the need 

to ensure the continued and efficient movement of passengers and cargo. If confirmed, I will examine TSA’s, and SPP contractors’, current airport staffing models 

to determine whether they are sufficient to meet demand. In particular, I will focus 

on seasonal surge needs. This will include a review of overall system design to determine whether there are more efficient methods of moving the traveling public 

through the system. 

RESPONSE TO WRITTEN QUESTIONS SUBMITTED BY HON. RICHARD BLUMENTHAL TO

VICE ADMIRAL PETER V. NEFFENGER

The need to complete mandates of the Implementing Recommendations of 

the 9/11 Commission Act 

Question 1. In 2007, Congress passed the Implementing Recommendations of the 

9/11 Commission Act (P.L. 110–53)—measures the 9/11 Commission urged Congress 

to adopt to ensure greater security. That legislation requires TSA to create a regulatory framework that addresses the threats facing our passenger and freight rail 

systems and transit agencies. Among other things, the legislation directs TSA to: 

• Approve security plans for all railroads that are considered vulnerable, highrisk targets for a terrorist attack (Section 1512); 

• Issue regulations that establish training standards on potential security threats 

and conditions for frontline employees at public transportation agencies, railroads and bus providers (Sections 1408, 1517 and 1534); and 

• Provide a framework for conducting name-based security background checks 

and immigration status checks on all frontline employees at public transportation agencies and railroads (Sections 1411, 1520 and 1522). 

The legislation was enacted in August 2007 and these items were all due within 

one year of that date. Yet as of May 2015—approaching eight year since the deadline—we still do not have final action on these requirements. Failure to complete 

all the mandates of the legislation raises questions about attention to urgent priorities and whether we are prepared for any and all emerging threats on the horizon. 

Vice Admiral Neffenger, after this committee’s March hearing on the TSA, I asked 

TSA in a Question for the Record when the mandates would be met. I did not receive any sort of concrete response—just broad statements that the mandates were 

being addressed. 

If you’re confirmed, when will they ALL be completed? 

Answer. If confirmed for this position, I will ensure that TSA responds to you with 

their best estimate as to the timeline for meeting the requirements of Public Law 

110–53—specifically, the Sections noted above. 

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Status of the Transportation Security Acquisition Reform Act 

Question 2. Last year, Congress passed the Transportation Security Acquisition 

Reform Act (P.L. 113–245), which requires TSA to ‘‘to implement best practices and 

improve transparency with regard to technology acquisition programs,’’ including development of a five-year investment plan in consultation with industry. 

I co-sponsored that measure in the Senate in order to ensure a better acquisition 

and procurement process at the TSA. 

Vice Admiral Neffenger, if confirmed, what attention will you put toward carrying 

out this legislation? 

Answer. If confirmed, I will closely examine TSA’s acquisition programs to ensure 

compliance with law, policy and best practices. I serve as the Component Acquisition Executive in my current role as Vice Commandant of the Coast Guard, and I 

have been directly involved in the reform of the Coast Guard acquisition program 

over the past decade. I understand how critical a sound, defensible and responsive 

acquisition program is to mission results. It requires strong controls and oversight; 

a rigorous requirements generation process; project management and sponsor separation; strict adherence to DHS and Federal rules and policies; and a continual, honest assessment of value, effectiveness and efficiency. If confirmed, I will apply my 

experience in acquisition oversight to TSA. 

Question 3. If confirmed, how will you ensure TSA is engaging with industry to 

develop a five-year investment plan? 

Answer. Strong industry partnerships linked to a robust agency requirements 

generation process are key to fielding effective technologies. If confirmed, I will meet 

with current equipment suppliers and engage with industry groups and will incorporate their expertise and input into a long-term investment plan. 

Question 4. If confirmed, how will you ensure TSA is working to expedite the approval process for next-generation security technologies? 

Answer. A transparent, defensible and well-understood acquisition approval process underpins an effective and responsive acquisition program. If confirmed, I will 

ensure a complete review of TSA’s current processes and will adjust these as needed 

to ensure that they are transparent, defensible, in compliance with law and policy, 

and that they have strong oversight controls. 

Æ 

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