The House Homeland Security Committee next week will examine the Boston Marathon bombing and its implications for U.S. homeland security.

Michael McCaul, R-Texas, said "Two weeks ago, our country was attacked by radical Islamist terrorists," McCaul said in a statement. "Four lives were lost and hundreds of others were forever changed. As our nation recovers, it is imperative that we understand what happened, what signs may have been missed and what we can improve."

Scheduled to testify before the committee are Former Sen. Joseph Lieberman, I-Conn., Massachusetts undersecretary for homeland security Kurt Schwartz and Boston Police Commissioner Ed Davis.

"This will be the first in a series of hearings, as part of a broader investigation into the Boston Marathon bombings," McCaul said. "The investigation will look at how law enforcement addressed the area after the attack; how federal, state and local officials communicated with their counterparts at other agencies regarding the suspects before and following the event; and the challenges associated with securing our country since 9/11.

 "Ultimately," he continued, "the investigation will assess how our efforts have evolved to meet the dynamic terrorist threat of foreign-inspired attacks on our soil, and what changes may be necessary to protect the homeland."