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WASHINGTON, March 24 (UPI) -- House Oversight Committee leaders on Tuesday called for more transparency from the Secret Service and criticized Director Joseph Clancy for being the only person to testify. "I'm simply disappointed we will not hear from the other Secret Service witnesses invited here," Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md., said. "No other committee is doing more on this issue than ours."
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Clancy has testified at multiple Congressional committees. The agency has recently come under further scrutiny after a pair of agents crashed a government vehicle into a security barricade near the White House residence on March 4. The agents had allegedly been drinking at a bar before the incident.
Committee Chairman Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, was also critical of Clancy.
"Reforming the United States Secret Service is not a partisan issue," Chaffetz said. "The most important mission for the secret service is protecting the president and his family."
"I don't think your appearance alone is sufficient for this hearing today," he said of Clancy.
The oversight committee panels follows widespread criticism of the Secret Service after a man armed with a knife was able to scale a fence, climb through bushes and make his way into the depths of the White House before being stopped by agents and officers in September. Clancy was appointed by President Barack Obama in February following a shake-up at the agency.
President Barack Obama recently said he was "disappointed" in two senior members of the U.S. Secret Service, identified as Mark Connolly and George Ogilvie -- one of whom is second in-command of his protective detail -- for their involvement in an alleged drunk driving incident near the White House.
Previous incidents include agents soliciting prostitutes in Colombia, a drunk agent passed out in a hallway in Amsterdam, a shooting at the White House in 2011 and sexual harassment by male agents toward a female subordinate.
Ben Hooper and Doug G. Ware contributed to this report.
