U.S. Secret Service director seeks funding to build fake White House for training

The U.S. Secret Service on Tuesday sought to solicit 8 million U.S. dollars to build a mock- up White House as a training venue in the state of Maryland as the agency was grappling with yet another scandal that put its reputation as stake.

Secret Service Director Joseph Clancy told the House Appropriations Committee in the agency's budget hearing on Tuesday that the establishment of a replica of the White House would be conducive to scenario-based training exercises.

"We feel that's important. Right now, we train on a parking lot, basically," Clancy said. "We put up a makeshift fence and walk off the distance between the fence at the White House and the actual house itself ... We don't get a realistic look at the White House. "

Clancy said a true replica of the White House would benefit the integrated training between the uniform division officers, the agents and the tactical team.

Clancy's request this time was believed to be a move that followed recommendations by a special Department of Homeland Security panel appointed by Homeland Security chief Jeh Johnson last year after a series of security lapses in the agency, including a breach of the White House by a knife-wielding man, raised concerns about training problems within the agency.

The panel also recommended U.S. President Barack Obama to pick an outsider as new director to root out deep-seated problems plaguing the agency. Obama did not follow the recommendation.

During his first hearing after taking office, Director Clancy, an insider and a veteran of the Secret Service, was grilled about how he would change "the culture" of the agency that was under heated criticism these days after U.S. media revealed that two Secret Service barreled through a scene of an active bomb investigation near the White House in a government car after a late-night party earlier this month and ended up crashing into a White House barricade.

Clancy acknowledged that he was kept in dark for five days until a whistleblower informed him of the alleged misconduct by email, an indication of lack of trust on the leadership within the agency.

"It's going to take time to change maybe some of this culture. There's no excuse for this information not to come up the chain. That's going to take time because I'm going to have to build trust with our workforce," said Clancy. "And the best way for me to work or earn that trust with our workforce is by my actions."

Clancy's remarks incurred indignation from committee members, who doubted whether Clancy was willing to take drastic reforms within the agency.

"You don't have to earn their trust ... They're supposed to earn your trust," said House Representative Chris Stewart. "And the way you earn their trust is to hold them accountable, and then the others who aren't out there driving through barricades and laying drunk in corridors of hotels in overseas locations know that they're going to be held accountable." Endite