Contact: Allison.Barker@mail.house.gov

Rep. Chris Stewart (R-Utah), a member of the House Homeland Security Committee and a former military officer, released the following statement regarding today’s hearing on the Boston Marathon Bombings:

“Over the past several weeks, I have been briefed about the Boston Marathon Bombings on several occasions. I applaud the efforts of the first responders and the Boston police that worked tirelessly to help the victims in the immediate aftermath of the bombing. While we have made significant improvements in preventing acts of terror since September 11, 2001, its clear from the events in Boston and even the events in Benghazi, that there is a breakdown in our nation’s terrorism prevention  system. As a former military officer, I know first-hand the importance of reviewing and learning from our mistakes to prevent future tragedies. This hearing was just what its title stated,  ‘a first look’ at what happened in Boston. I look forward to future in-depth hearings that will discuss more specifics about how to prevent these kind of terrorist acts. As I mentioned in the hearing, we cannot wait until the investigation is over to implement some of the suggested counter terrorism measures. I encourage the agencies to be aggressive in implementing these changes.”