Sec. 2. Findings
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Congress finds the following: Several recent failures have drawn negative attention to the protective mission of the United States Secret Service. Such key failures include lapses in responding appropriately to potential threats to the White House complex, United States Secret Service personnel exhibiting conduct that is unbecoming to the Service in several instances, and reports of United States Secret Service personnel misusing the authorities and resources of the Service. For example, on September 19, 2014, an individual obtained unauthorized access to the White House.
Such access was obtained after failures in five security layers by the United States Secret Service. In another example, on November 11, 2011, an individual fired multiple shots from a semiautomatic rifle at the White House complex. It was revealed that a total of seven bullets struck the exterior of the building. The Service failed to fully investigate the incident in a timely manner or to disclose it. On March 23, 2014, a Special Agent assigned to the Counter Assault Team was found intoxicated to the point of unconsciousness in a hotel in Amsterdam in advance of a Presidential visit.
In another example, on April 11, 2012, conduct unbecoming to United States Secret Service personnel was exhibited before a Presidential visit to Cartagena, Columbia. Nine personnel were involved in serious misconduct. Surveillance personnel from the Washington field office were diverted in 2011 from supporting the protective mission at the request of senior leadership in order to provide protection to a United States Secret Service employee at her home following a neighborhood dispute.
Such a diversion was outside the scope of the Service’s duties and violated the Standards of Ethical Conduct for Employees of the Executive Branch. Congress further finds that the protection of the President, Vice President, First and Second Families, and former Presidents is a matter of national security. Any issues that distract from the protective mission of the United States Secret Service are a threat to the national security of the United States.