Report: Alarm at GHW Bush home broken for 13 months

The alarm at former President George H W Bush's home was broken for at least 13 months before the US Secret Service fixed it, according to a report released today by the Homeland Security Department's investigator.
Inspector General John Roth said Secret Service agents assigned to protect Bush noticed a failure in the alarm system at Bush's Texas home in September 2013. A temporary alarm wasn't installed until April 2014.
Roth said the Secret Service used roving patrols and cameras to monitor the property while the alarm was broken and no intrusions were detected during that time.
The report is just the latest in a string of security missteps and scandals for the agency responsible for protecting the president and former presidents.

In September, a man armed with a knife was able to climb over a White House fence and run deep into the executive mansion before being apprehended. Lawmakers have been critical of the agency, including newly installed Director Joseph Clancy.
In a statement today, the top Republican and Democrat on the House Oversight Committee renewed that criticism.

"This adds to the growing list of significant concerns Congress has had with the management of the Secret Service," said Chairman Jason Chaffetz, a Republican, and Democrat Elijah Cummings.
"It is imperative that Director Clancy act swiftly on a host of fronts to restore the American people's confidence in this agency."

Bush's primary home, which is permanently secured, is in Kennebunkport, Maine.
Details of security efforts at the Texas home, beyond the alarm system, were removed from the public version of Roth's report.
According to Roth's report, the Secret Service determined in 2010 that the home alarm installed in 1993 had exceeded its life cycle and requested a replacement, but the request was denied in August 2011. Limited upgrades were later made to the system, which ultimately failed by September 2013.
Jim McGrath, a Bush spokesman, said today that the former president and former first lady Barbara Bush "have total confidence in the men and women of the Secret Service. Their trust in them is as unshakable as it is unbreakable."

Roth's report said the agency is also concerned about security equipment at other former presidents' homes. Their names were also removed from the public version of Roth's report.