Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Rep. Ed Royce (R-CA), Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, issued this statement following the Department of Homeland Security award of a lucrative federal immigration-related contract to US Investigations Services LLC (USIS), the firm that conducted the background check on Edward Snowden: 

“I am deeply troubled by reports that the Department of Homeland Security has awarded another contract, this time $190 million, to the same company charged with cutting corners in vetting people in sensitive security jobs and that checked-off on Edward Snowden.  Snowden – now a houseguest of Russian intelligence – has done irreparable damage to the national security of the United States, endangering the lives of Americans around the world.  Our nation’s top military officer has told Congress that the leaks of our ‘military capabilities, operations, tactics, techniques and procedures’ will take billions of dollars to overcome. 

“There is no good reason – bureaucratic or otherwise – why the United States should continue to do business with a company with this kind of track record, especially contracting with a key immigration agency.  I strongly urge the Administration to reconsider this award in light of this company’s past performance. A $190 million contract to a company that has so poorly served the United States is indefensible.”   

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