Chairman David Price
Congressman David Price (D-NC) became the chairman of the Homeland Security Subcommittee at the beginning of the 110th Congress. As a result he plays the lead role in the U.S. House of Representatives in determining the budget for one of the largest departments in the federal government with more than 170,000 employees and a budget of more than $30 billion. Price has served as a member of the Appropriations Homeland Security Subcommittee since it was created in 2002.
He was first elected to Congress in 1986. Prior to his election to Congress he was a professor of political science at Duke University and also taught at Yale University where he received his Ph.D. Price has authored four books on the Congress. The Almanac of American Politics calls him "an interesting blend of political scientist, practical politician and a lay Baptist minister."
In his first year as chairman of the Homeland Security Subcommittee, he conducted extensive oversight including more than 20 hearings on the status of the new department. In a report accompanying the fiscal 2008 appropriation for the department, Price and his subcommittee colleagues noted:
"While the security of our nation has improved since 9/11, many wonder why, six years after that terrible day, we are not further along in reducing known vulnerabilities."
They further commented:
"Since the Department was created, the organizational integrity of its constituent agencies has been insufficiently protected and valued. The result has been time and energy wasted on interagency turf battles and a DHS workforce that is among the most demoralized in Federal government. According to a recent governmentwide survey of Federal employees, the Department ranks last in job satisfaction, last on results-oriented performance culture, next to last on leadership and knowledge management, and third from last on talented management. No organization can thrive unless it recruits, retains and inspires competent personnel."
Price serves the House Democratic Caucus as Assistant Whip. He co-chairs the Democratic Budget Group, a forum on national fiscal priorities and policies, as well as the Democratic Caucus Faith Working Group.