Brooklyn, N.Y. – Congresswoman Yvette D. Clarke released the following statement on the disclosure of multiple security breaches at the White House, into which the Committee on Oversight and Government Regulation has started an investigation.

In September, a man armed with a knife jumped the fence and ran into the White House, which he entered through an unlocked door. In 2011, a man fired a semiautomatic rifle at the White House, shattering a window into the residence of President Obama and his family. In both instances, the Secret Service did not immediately disclose the full extent to which the security of the White House had been compromised.

“I am astounded by the massive breaches in security that have occurred at the White House this month and I am deeply concerned about the failure of the Secret Service to fully protect President Obama and his family and their residence from the threat of potentially violent intruders,” said Congresswoman Clarke. “As an engaged member of the Committee on Homeland Security, I will work with my colleagues in the House of Representatives to do a thorough investigation of these security breaches, and to implement all measures required to protect President Obama and his family from harm. We cannot as a nation risk such threats to our Head of State and Commander in Chief.”

U.S. Representative Yvette D. Clarke is a member of the House Committee on Small Business, Ethics, and Homeland Security, where she is the Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Cybersecurity, Infrastructure Protection, and Security Technologies. She represents many neighborhoods in central and southern Brooklyn, NY which include Brownsville, Crown Heights, East Flatbush, Flatbush, Gerritsen Beach, Madison, Midwood, parts of Park Slope and Flatlands, Prospect Heights, Prospect-Lefferts Gardens, Sheepshead Bay, and Windsor Terrace.