The new director of the Secret Service is facing questions from a House of Representatives committee today about recent scandals that have plagued the organization. New York’s senior senator is one of many lawmakers that feel there should be an extensive investigation into the Secret Service,
In Syracuse Monday, Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY) says he believes that some of the Secret Service’s tough standards have slipped.
"When such a high up person in the Secret Service -- the number two person on the presidential detail -- crashes into a barrier because he’s intoxicated on the White House lawn, something’s very wrong,” said Schumer.
The senator is referring to an incident that allegedly occurred earlier this month.
Schumer says the Secret Service needs to be set straight.
"Obviously something happened in the Secret Service a while back,” said Schumer. “They’ve been a great origination for decades.... And somebody’s got to look into it and find out why.”
Today’s Congressional hearing will look at a number of high-level instances at the Secret Service in recent years.
While in Syracuse, Schumer also weighed in on a controversial open letter to Iran’s leaders from a group of Senate Republicans. The Democrat says he agrees with the intent of the letter, which noted that Congress should have a role in ongoing nuclear discussions between the Obama administration and Iran. But he says this was the wrong way to get the message across. Schumer says he would rather send a message legislatively.
"There’s legislation which I’ve supported by Sen. Corker, the head of the Foreign Relations committee, he’s a Republican, but he has bipartisan support that once they come to an agreement, Congress ought to review it, and I support that legislation.”
Republican letter to Iran
Forty-seven Republican senators signed the letter that warned any deal negotiated by the Obama administration could be revoked in the future by Congress or the next president.
