WASHINGTON — The Secret Service director and the couple who crashed the Obama administration's first state dinner have been called to testify before Congress on Thursday about the incident.

Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., the top Democrat on the House Homeland Security committee, said today he wants answers about the Secret Service's security deficiencies that allowed Michaele and Tareq Salahi into the Nov. 24 White House dinner, even though they were not on the guest list.

"This is a time for answers," Thompson said in a statement today. "This is not the time for political games or scapegoating to distract our attention from the careful oversight we must apply to the Secret Service and its mission."

Some lawmakers have called for criminal charges to be brought against the couple, but the Secret Service has yet to do so.

The Secret Service declined to comment on whether Director Mark Sullivan would testify on Thursday.

The ranking Republican on the House Homeland Security committee, Rep. Peter King of New York, told NBC's "Today" show this morning that a full investigation is necessary "to find out exactly what the Secret Service is doing to make sure this never happens again."