The Michigan senator who chairs the Homeland Security Committee called it "a shocking departure" from practice.

Both bodies have been accused of side-stepping the "opportunity for public accountability" regarding how they Americans safe.

Chair of the Senate Homeland Security Committee Gary Peters criticized the leaders of the FBI and Department of Homeland Security for refusing to publicly testify in a scheduled Thursday hearing about worldwide threats to the nation,

U.S. House of Representatives passed the Social Security Fairness Act, a bipartisan bill set in motion to eliminate two long-standing provisions that currently reduce Social Security benefits for public sector employees.

The leaders of the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security declined to testify publicly at a scheduled Senate committee hearing Thursday on global threats to national security, a break from standard protocol of open testimony before the panel.

In a statement, Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee Chairman Gary Peters called their refusal to publicly testify a "shocking departure" that runs counter to 15 years of precedent.