As the United States marks the 25th anniversary of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks that claimed nearly 3,000 lives, the House Committee on Homeland Security has released a comprehensive report calling for more than 20 new recommendations to strengthen the nation’s defenses against evolving threats.
The report, titled “25th Anniversary Report: National Security Improvements and the Domestic Threat Landscape 25 Years After 9/11/01,” evaluates progress made since the original 9/11 Commission Report of 2004 and assesses the current domestic threat environment. It was issued Thursday, September 10, ahead of the solemn anniversary commemorations.
Committee Chairman Andrew R. Garbarino (R-NY) stated in the report’s preface: “Twenty-five years later, significant progress has been made towards strengthening our national security and ensuring we never again allow such an attack to be perpetrated against the United States. This no-fail mission requires persistent vigilance and adaptation to keep pace with the contemporary threat environment.”
The committee, the only standing House panel established in direct response to the 9/11 attacks and charged with oversight of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), underscores that while major reforms implemented after 2001 have prevented another catastrophic attack on the scale of 9/11, new challenges demand urgent action.
The committee calls for these measures to be advanced quickly and on a bipartisan basis to ensure long-term certainty and stability for the homeland security enterprise.
Chairman Garbarino emphasized that the report is also intended to ensure younger generations and future national security leaders understand the enduring significance of 9/11 and the continuing imperative of the homeland security mission.
The recommendations draw on a year of hearings, briefings, roundtables, markups, and site visits examining transportation security, counterterrorism, critical infrastructure protection, and DHS operations.