Congressman Robert Hurt
Weekly Column 5/14/13
Like all Americans across our country, I was disturbed by the attack on the U.S Consulate in Benghazi which claimed the lives of four Americans. Equally as disturbing was the Obama Administration’s response to the attack. As the House of Representatives continues to uncover more information about the events in Benghazi last September, it is clear that the Administration has not been forthcoming with the American people.
The House of Representatives remains committed to finding answers about what led to this failure in intelligence gathering even as U.S. diplomats in Libya were warning the Administration of an anticipated terrorist attack. It is our Constitutional responsibility to ensure that this failure in properly defending Americans abroad does not happen again. However, we cannot prevent future failures if the Administration continues to withhold information about what occurred before, during, and after these failures that left Ambassador Stevens and three other Americans dead.
The American people and the victims’ families have a right to have answers to the questions that still surround the attack. The House of Representatives remains committed to continuing the investigation to bring to light the cause of the attack and the Administration’s prior knowledge of security concerns in Libya.
It is the responsibility of Congress to uncover the truth about Benghazi. To this end, I cosponsored House Resolution 36 which establishes a select committee to investigate and report on the attack on the United States consulate in Benghazi. There are still many unknowns from this tragic event including how many Americans were actually injured in the attack. With this investigative committee, Congress can finally get the full story and properly hold people accountable and honor the victims and heroes.
Additionally, just this past week, I attended the House of Representatives Oversight and Government Reform Committee Hearing, led by Chairman Issa, to allow State Department officials involved in the attacks to testify about what happened before, during, and after the Benghazi terror attacks. The witnesses –career diplomats and life-long public servants who were previously silenced by the Administration – revealed further inconsistencies with what the Administration has disclosed to the American people.
Many questions remain surrounding the Administration’s failure to respond to repeated requests for additional security in Libya. There are questions about the Administration’s decision to communicate non-factual information to the American people. And there are also questions about the failure of the Administration to take steps to secure the consulate and prevent this attack.
Acts of terrorism against the United States will not be tolerated and the House of Representatives remains committed to finding answer to questions the American people and the victims’ families have, holding those in the Administration accountable, and upholding our constitutional responsibility of working to prevent any further attacks.
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