Portman encourages better information-sharing among law enforcement to stop terrorism

On Tuesday, U.S. Senator Rob Portman (R-Ohio), a member of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, questioned local law enforcement officials about what steps are being taken to expand intelligence sharing between state and federal officials in order to improve our frontline response to terrorism.

Portman called for improved intelligence sharing between local first responders and federal agencies in order to build the capacity of our local law enforcement agencies to stop the terrorist threat against the homeland.
 
Today’s hearing follows up on Portman’s questioning in November on what steps are being taken to ensure terrorists do not exploit the U.S. Syrian refugee resettlement program. Additionally, he questioned administration officials in December on how we can strengthen the visa waiver program.

Excerpts of Portman’s remarks are below.
 

“I was just in Ohio, meeting with some of our folks who are local law enforcement … and my question to them was the same I always ask our local law enforcement: are these fusion centers working as a two-way communication?

“My concern is, and what I’m hearing from local law enforcement is it’s sometimes a one way street. In other words, local law enforcement is providing information, which is important, but often has a difficult time getting information back.

“So what I’m interested in hearing today … is what kind of information flow do you see coming from the federal government back to you? Because that’s where I think we can be most helpful to you to ensure that the citizens we represent are safe.”