From his perch on a congressional subcommittee, Florida Republican Congressman Gus Bilirakis insisted that the federal Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has a role to play in stimulating economic growth while still protecting the nation.
The U.S. House subcommittee on oversight, investigations and management conducted a hearing last Thursday to examine DHSs efforts to secure the nation and how the department's efforts often impact the private sector.
First elected to Congress in 2006, replacing his father Michael who held the seat for more than two decades, Bilirakis represents parts of Hillsborough, Pinellas and Pasco counties.
"I regularly visit with businesses throughout my congressional district," said Bilirakis on Thursday. "Too often, I hear from them that the federal government appears, at best, indifferent to the concerns of America's job creators."
The subcommittee, which is under the umbrella of the full U.S. House Committee on Homeland Security, listened to testimony from Brian Toohey,president of the Semiconductor Industry Association; Michael Russo,director of global security and product protection at Eli Lilly; attorney Mario Mancuso of Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson; and Jena Baker-McNeill, a homeland security policy analyst at the conservative Heritage Foundation.
When counterfeit prescription drugs enter the marketplace or cheap imitation parts breach a semiconductor manufacturing plant, it costs American businesses revenue and jobs, said Texas Republican Congressman Michael McCaul,chairman of the subcommittee. When sensitive equipment falls into the hands of rogue nations, it poses a threat to our national security. It is the responsibility of the DHS to protect intellectual property, safeguard against counterfeit goods, maintain the integrity of export supply chains, andensure that businesses are in compliance with our immigration laws in order to maintain a level playing field.
The subcommittee staff pointed to a number of counterfeit products and supply breaches, including 59,000 counterfeit microchips the military purchased from China, counterfeit pills including 6,500 loose Viagra tablets containing a substance used to manufacture sheetrock, and Iranian agents buying military equipment.
Bilirakis called for greater cooperation from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) with the private sector to secure the border and ensure American consumers do not receive counterfeit products from overseas. The Florida congressman insists that DHS should continue to ensure that, by protecting the borders, jobs in America will not go to illegal immigrants.
He also touched on the security aspects of DHS.
"In the global marketplace that we live and work in, we must ensure that sensitive products and services do not end up in the hands of those who wish to harm us, while at the same time allowing American employers and employees to compete with the rest of the world and create much-needed jobs," said Bilirakis.
Reach Kevin Derby at kderby@sunshinestatenews.com or at (850) 727-0859.
