5 Sweeping Changes Recommended for Secret Service After Fence Jumper Enters WH

— -- A bipartisan, independent panel scrutinizing the U.S. Secret Service after a man with a small knife in his pocket jumped the perimeter fence and made it deep inside the White House is recommending sweeping changes at the agency.

The Secret Service's “paramount mission” of protecting the president and other high-ranking officials “allows no tolerance for error,” and a “single miscue, or even a split-second delay, could have disastrous consequences for the nation and the world,” warns the panel's final report, commissioned by DHS Secretary Jeh Johnson after the September breach.

After speaking with 50 officials from the Secret Service and as many as 70 others from other federal agencies, state agencies, and the White House, the panel's report makes these “important” recommendations:

1. A TALLER, “BETTER” FENCE

2. A “STRONG” LEADER FROM OUTSIDE

3. A NEW BUDGET

4. MORE TALENT AND MORE AGENTS

5. MORE ACCOUNTABILITY

After the recommendations were released, Secretary Johnson called them "astute, thorough, and fair," saying, "Fundamental change is needed at the Secret Service." And the head of the House Judiciary Committee, Rep. Bob Goodlatte, R-Virginia, said it's “imperative that the Secret Service begin to review and implement the recommendations ... as soon as possible."

The four panelists – former top Justice Department officials Thomas Perelli and Mark Filip, and former White House officials Joseph Hagin and Danielle Gray – were directed to take a broad look at how to revamp an agency scarred by recent scandals. Two of the panelists served under the Obama administration, the other two served under the Bush administration.

A separate internal DHS probe, led by Deputy Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, detailed the multiple failings and missed opportunities that led to the Sept. 19 incursion allegedly carried out by 42-year-old Omar Gonzalez. The results of that probe were released last month.