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Homeland Security Week
August 25, 2004
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In this issue:
* Senators question FBI progress on reforms since 9/11 attacks
* FBI chief struggling to turn rhetoric into action
* 9/11 panel seeks billions more in federal spending
* Border and customs officials cite low morale, security gaps
* Senate chairman unveils intelligence reform proposal
* Chairman of 9/11 commission calls on Pentagon to support reform
* Agencies misuse classification authority, managers say
* Report urges defense to help with domestic technologies
* Tech companies procure federal experts for board slots
* Intelligence reform proposal finds little outright support
* Panel hears views on biometric passports, other ideas
* IG: Energy facilities lack complete continuity of operations plans
* Quote of the week
_____
1. Senators question FBI progress on reforms since 9/11 attacks
By Chris Strohm
Members of the Senate Judiciary Committee questioned whether the FBI has made enough
progress on reforms since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks during a hearing Thursday.
The hearing was held to consider recommendations by the 9/11 commission, which has
proposed sweeping reforms within the U.S. intelligence community. Commission members
believe the FBI is heading in the right direction under Director Robert Mueller, but
worry that reforms will not stick if there are leadership changes at the bureau.
"The commission's report strikes several familiar chords, showing we have much ground
yet to cover before we can say the FBI is as effective as Americans need the bureau to
be in preventing and combating terrorism," said Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., committee
ranking member.
Full story: { Link: http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/0804/081904c1.htm }
http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/0804/081904c1.htm
_____
2. FBI chief struggling to turn rhetoric into action
By Siobhan Gorman, National Journal
In just a month, the 9/11 commission's 567-page tome has shaken the walls of the
so-called intelligence "community," electrified the presidential campaign, shamed a
vacationing Congress into action, and jolted President Bush into nominating a new head
for the leaderless CIA. Yet, even as terror alerts mount, one agency has been calmly
and quietly riding out the report's political aftershocks: the Federal Bureau of
Investigation.
Despite its pre-9/11 mistakes and continuing problems, the FBI has emerged essentially
unscathed, thanks to the savvy salesmanship of its director, Robert Mueller, who has
mounted a steady and sustained lobbying campaign to convince those outside the FBI
that the bureau can and should be trusted to be the nation's top domestic intelligence
agency. "The [CIA's] Directorate of Operations has been grumbling mightily about that
-- that the FBI has gotten off the hook," says a former Directorate of Operations
official who talks regularly with his ex-colleagues there. "There is angst and
gnashing of teeth and wailing."
Mueller's survival strategy is a mix of personality and pre-emption. He listens. He's
deferential. He admits the bureau has made mistakes and has shortcomings. And perhaps
most important, he keeps careful watch on which way the political winds are blowing
and then proposes solutions to perceived problems before other solutions can be
foisted upon him.
Full story: { Link: http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/0804/082304nj1.htm }
http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/0804/082304nj1.htm
_____
3. 9/11 panel seeks billions more in federal spending
By Chris Strohm
A handful of recommendations from the 9/11 commission--such as accelerating a
biometric entry-exit system at the nation's borders and installing advanced explosives
detection machines at airports--would cost the federal government billions more in
spending if implemented.
Commissioners do not deny that they made several expensive recommendations, but say
federal agencies have no other choice but to make investments in order to protect the
public.
"What we have suggested calls for major change, and I must say is not inexpensive.
It's going to cost a lot of money," said former Rep. Lee Hamilton, D-Ind., the
commission's co-chairman.
Full story: { Link: http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/0804/081804c1.htm }
http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/0804/081804c1.htm
_____
4. Border and customs officials cite low morale, security gaps
By Chris Strohm
A majority of border and customs officials surveyed earlier this month by the American
Federation of Government Employees said they are demoralized and not getting the full
support they need to protect the country, according to a new report released Monday.
Sixty percent of officials surveyed said they have very low or somewhat low morale,
while 64 percent said they are not satisfied or are only somewhat satisfied with the
tools, training and support they have been given by the Homeland Security Department
to fight terrorism. The survey, sponsored by AFGE, the National Border Patrol Council
and the National Homeland Security Council, questioned 250 Border Patrol agents and
250 Customs and Border Protection officers.
"We are here today to give our nation's policymakers, lawmakers and all Americans a
message: The war on terror is in danger of being lost at the borders, the airports and
the seaports," Charles Showalter, president of AFGE's National Homeland Security
Council, said in releasing the survey.
Full story: { Link: http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/0804/082304c1.htm }
http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/0804/082304c1.htm
_____
Brought to you by Motorola
{ Link:
http://ad.doubleclick.net/clk;10269434;5622871;h?http://www.motorola.com/missioncritical
}
{Image: Brought to you by Motorola}
Mission critical communications are vital lifelines for first responders.
Motorola is helping to connect government agencies and responders with:
True interoperability enabling agencies to communicate as one.
Critical networks that are always available.
Mission critical data for the power of pre-emptive intelligence.
Discover how Motorola can help responders keep communities safer.
{ Link:
http://ad.doubleclick.net/clk;10269434;5622871;h?http://www.motorola.com/missioncritical
}
Click here to receive a copy of In the Event of: The Guide to Mission Critical
Communications
{ Link:
http://ad.doubleclick.net/clk;10269434;5622871;h?http://www.motorola.com/missioncritical
}
www.motorola.com/missioncritical
_____
5. Senate chairman unveils intelligence reform proposal
By Mike Nartker, Global Security Newswire
Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Pat Roberts, R-Kan., Sunday unveiled a sweeping
new intelligence reform proposal that would transfer sections of the CIA and
intelligence agencies controlled by the Defense Department to the direct control of a
new national intelligence director.
As described by the senator on CBS's "Face the Nation" and in media reports Monday,
Roberts' proposal envisions a national intelligence director that would oversee all 15
agencies that make up the U.S. intelligence community. The new director would have
full budgetary and personnel authority for the agencies, including the ability to
reprogram and transfer funding and line item budget authority.
Roberts has also proposed that the director lead a new National Intelligence Service,
which would be made up of existing sections of the CIA and several intelligence
agencies controlled by the Pentagon. Four deputy directors would be directly in charge
of collection, analysis, military support and research and technology branches,
according to reports.
Full story: { Link: http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/0804/082304gsn1.htm }
http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/0804/082304gsn1.htm
_____
6. Chairman of 9/11 commission calls on Pentagon to support reform
By Chris Strohm
The chairman of the 9/11 commission last week said he sensed resistance to
governmental reform coming from the Pentagon and called for a unified effort to make
needed changes.
"Reorganizing government is very, very hard. We recognized that when we made the
recommendation and we made the decision to [recommend] it anyway, because it's the
right thing to do," the panel's chairman, Thomas Kean, a former Republican governor
from New Jersey, told Government Executive. Kean said he sensed that the Pentagon's
leadership was resisting some of the commission's recommendations for overhauling the
intelligence community.
"I know that any time you move around power, you have resistance," he added. "We
believe that people have to work together. There has to be a unified intelligence
effort, and we believe we've recommended the right way to do that. But everybody's got
to participate,and everybody's got to be part of it, including the Defense Department."
Full story: { Link: http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/0804/081804c2.htm }
http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/0804/081804c2.htm
_____
7. Agencies misuse classification authority, managers say
By Chris Strohm
Government officials said on Tuesday that federal agencies improperly classify at
least half of all documents, adding that senior managers have a responsibility to set
a tone and provide adequate training that prevents abuse of classification authorities.
"It is no secret that the government classifies too much information," William
Leonard, director of the Information Security Oversight Office, told the House
Government Reform Subcommittee on National Security, Emerging Threats and
International Relations. He said the amount of improperly classified information has
been "disturbingly increasing" since last year in "clear, blatant violation" of
regulations.
A recent focus on classification issues has prompted reviews by federal agencies and
departments. For example, the Defense Department is reviewing whether it properly
classified information in reports on abuses at the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq, and
whether documents related to pre-war Iraq and Afghanistan can be declassified, said
Carol Haave, Defense undersecretary for counterintelligence and security.
Full story: { Link: http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/0804/082404c1.htm }
http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/0804/082404c1.htm
_____
8. Report urges defense to help with domestic technologies
By William New, National Journal's Technology Daily
The Defense Department should help the Homeland Security Department develop
technologies to fight disasters or terrorism, the National Academies of Science
National Research Council said in a report released Thursday.
"Many of the needs of emergency-response personnel could be addressed by technologies
developed by the Army and other military services, so [Homeland Security] and
[Defense] should partner to answer these needs," committee Chairman John Lyons said in
a statement. Lyons is a retired director of the Army Research Laboratory in Adelphi,
Md. The report identifies the Army as the service with the most experience in
providing support to civilian authorities.
The report, which is based on analysis from March, praised the Bush administration's
efforts on homeland security but criticized its lack of planning.
Full story: { Link: http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/0804/081904tdpm1.htm }
http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/0804/081904tdpm1.htm
_____
9. Tech companies procure federal experts for board slots
By Steve Seidenberg, for National Journal's Technology Daily
A growing number of information technology firms that want to win homeland security
contracts are naming board directors who have extensive experience in the federal IT
procurement process.
The federal government spends huge amounts of money on technology to bolster security
for military, government and major infrastructure sites, so IT companies that want to
benefit from the spending are looking for people who know how to do business with the
federal government.
It is a trend that began soon after Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, according to
Evan Scott, head of executive search firm The Evan Scott Group International. He said
companies of all sizes, from General Electric on down, are looking for executives with
federal experience.
Full story: { Link: http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/0804/082004tdpm1.htm }
http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/0804/082004tdpm1.htm
_____
10. Intelligence reform proposal finds little outright support
By Mike Nartker, Global Security Newswire
A far-reaching intelligence reform proposal unveiled Sunday by Senate Select Committee
on Intelligence Chairman Pat Roberts, R-Kan., has been met this week with reactions
ranging from cool to hostile from the White House, current and former administration
officials and lawmakers.
The most radical aspect of Roberts' proposal, which is supported by other Republican
members of the Senate intelligence panel, would convert the three main directorates of
the CIA into separate agencies and place them under the control of a national
intelligence director. The new director would also be given control over some
intelligence agencies and operations currently controlled by the Defense Department -
the National Security Agency, the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency and the
human intelligence service of the Defense Intelligence Agency.In addition, the
national intelligence director would have full budgetary and personnel authority over
the intelligence units of other Cabinet-level departments and the remaining DIA
analytical elements.
Roberts' proposal is the latest move in a debate on intelligence reform set off by the
release last month of the recommendations of the Sept. 11 commission, one of which was
the creation of a national intelligence director to oversee the entire U.S.
intelligence community.Most of the discussion on the proposed position has focused on
what level of budgetary and personnel authority the new director should have.
Full story: { Link: http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/0804/082404gsn1.com }
http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/0804/082404gsn1.com
_____
11. Panel hears views on biometric passports, other ideas
By Danielle Belopotosky, National Journal's Technology Daily
U.S. citizens should not be exempt from carrying biometric passports or other means of
verifying their identities, former Rep. Lee Hamilton, D-Ind., said Thursday in his
capacity as vice chairman of the panel that investigated the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist
attacks.
Speaking to the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing, he also urged the federal
government to set standards for issuing identification documents such as birth
certificates and driver's licenses.
The hearing focused on the future of the FBI, border security and the anti-terrorism
law known as the USA PATRIOT Act, and intelligence experts reported on their efforts
to make improvements over the past three years. As Congress considers the so-called
9/11 Commission's recommendations, average citizens soon may be impacted.
Full story: { Link: http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/0804/081904tdpm2.htm }
http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/0804/081904tdpm2.htm
_____
12. IG: Energy facilities lack complete continuity of operations plans
By Amelia Gruber
Several of the Energy Department's nuclear facilities aren't adequately prepared to
handle emergencies, according to a recent inspectors general report.
A year-long review of emergency procedures at five Energy Department laboratories,
including four nuclear sites, revealed that none had adequately tested
continuity-of-operations plans or listed essential duties. Only one of the five had
settled on a place to relocate in the event of an emergency.
Two of the sites lacked orders of succession for key jobs, and two weren't prepared to
protect records and databases, according to the Energy IG report (DOE/IG-0657). "As a
result, the department may face increased risks to its operations, employees and
surrounding communities during an emergency situation," the report cautioned.
Full story: { Link: http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/0804/081904a1.htm }
http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/0804/081904a1.htm
_____
13. Quote of the Week:
"Having brickbats lobbed at it is not an adequate response to this proposal. It
deserves a wrecking ball."
-- A senior intelligence official, { Link:
http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/0804/082304gsn1.htm }
criticizing a sweeping proposal by Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Pat
Roberts, R-Kan., to reorganize the intellligence community.
_____
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