Geesh! The three of us actually all agree here! "IF" I were King, the first thing I would do is get rid of DHS.....
On Sat, Feb 28, 2015 at 9:53 AM, plainolamerican <[email protected]> wrote: > shut'er down ... starting with the politicians in DC. > > > On Saturday, February 28, 2015 at 8:30:25 AM UTC-6, Travis wrote: > >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> Sums it up brilliantly...it was a nonsense move from the beginning. >> >> >> >> B >> >> >> >> ========================== >> >> http://foreignpolicy.com/2015/02/26/who-needs-the-department-of-homeland- >> security-anyway/?utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_ >> term=Flashpoints&utm_campaign=2014_FlashPoints%20RS2%2F26# >> >> >> >> Who Needs the Department of Homeland Security Anyway? >> >> >> >> Why the case against a shutdown isn't a slam dunk. >> >> • BY JOHN HUDSON >> >> • FEBRUARY 26, 2015 >> >> >> >> With two days left until funding for the Department of Homeland Security >> dries up, Jeh Johnson has been pleading with Republicans to save his >> department from a partial shutdown. >> >> >> >> That job might be easier if the 12-year-old department weren’t so widely >> derided on Capitol Hill and beyond for its size and clumsiness. >> >> >> >> Misgivings about DHS, held by members of both parties, have been steadily >> growing in the years since then-President George W. Bush proposed the >> creation of a new agency assembled from a motley collection of disparate >> parts ranging from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to the >> Coast Guard to the Secret Service. >> >> >> >> To be sure, this week’s standoff stems from Republican opposition to >> President Barack Obama’s executive actions on immigration, but the fact >> that so many Republicans do not view the department as sacrosanct is making >> Secretary Johnson’s life dramatically harder. Skepticism about the >> department also highlights the continued debate over Bush’s legacy as his >> younger brother Jeb considers a presidential run. The creation of DHS was >> one of Bush’s signature accomplishments, but it has come under fire from >> libertarian-leaning Republicans in the House and Senate. >> >> >> >> On Wednesday, Johnson made an unusual appeal to conservatives by >> enlisting his Republican predecessors, Tom Ridge and Michael Chertoff, in a >> news conference at DHS headquarters. The three men spoke in succession >> about the “critical” role DHS plays in keeping the United States safe. >> >> >> >> “There are concrete, dramatic consequences for the homeland security of >> this nation if we allow the funding of the department to lapse,” Johnson >> said. >> >> >> >> “Having a shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security is going to >> cause a lot of pain and difficulty for American citizens,” warned Chertoff. >> >> >> >> “Given what is going on in the world … we cannot afford to be distracting >> the men and women on the front line of our homeland security,” said Ridge. >> >> >> >> But even the entreaties of the two Republican heavyweights weren’t enough >> to stop a letter campaign by 30 House conservatives urging House Speaker >> John Boehner to “stand firm against these unlawful executive actions” and >> reject an emerging funding deal brokered by Senate Majority Leader Mitch >> McConnell. >> >> >> >> McConnell has proposed getting around the immigration impasse by first >> passing a “clean” bill that would fund the rest of the department and then >> seeking to undo the immigration executive orders in a separate bill. >> >> >> >> McConnell’s plan may be a tough sell, in large part because Johnson’s >> dire warnings about the impact of a budget cutoff ring hollow. One reason >> is practical: 80 percent of DHS employees are deemed “essential” to >> national security and would still show up to work in a shutdown — albeit >> without pay. All core functions of agencies such as Customs and Border >> Protection, the Transportation Security Administration, and the Secret >> Service would remain intact; the only people from the department’s >> 240,000-person workforce who would be furloughed would be 30,000 >> nonessential employees, mostly office workers. >> >> >> >> But another reason for the lack of urgency boils down to one word: >> respect. >> >> >> >> Forged in 2002 in the panicked aftermath of the 9/11 attacks, the >> department remains the source of the least cost-effective spending in the >> federal government. Many outside DHS view it as a superfluous layer of >> bureaucracy in the fight against terrorism and an ineffective player in the >> ongoing efforts to handle natural disasters and other emergencies at home; >> FEMA’s performance in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina was so poor that >> many from both parties called for the emergency-response organization to be >> removed from DHS and be allowed to operate independently. >> >> >> >> Views are just as bad inside DHS, which suffers from the lowest morale of >> any major federal agency. In the past five years, turnover at the >> department was almost twice the rate in the federal government overall, and >> senior-level positions often remain unfilled for months. One key position, >> inspector general, was vacant for two years before John Roth assumed the >> job in March 2014. >> >> >> >> The fact that the FBI, the agency tasked to “protect and defend” against >> “terrorist and foreign intelligence threats” is housed outside DHS >> indicates the department’s awkward and uncertain place in America’s >> national security bureaucracy. >> >> >> >> “DHS’s biggest problem is that it is still less than the sum of its >> parts,” said Daniel Byman, a professor of security studies at Georgetown >> University and a contributor to Foreign Policy. “The whole point of it was >> integration of homeland security functions, but it is still a divided >> organization with few synergies — so it has the problems of a big >> organization without the benefits.” >> >> >> >> Even the department’s name — spawned from the German word Heimatland— >> strikes many as “creepy.” >> >> >> >> “The name is very redolent of fascism and is an unfortunate misnomer,” >> Rep. Alan Grayson (D-Fla.) told Foreign Policy as lawmakers neared closer >> to a shutdown. >> >> >> >> The department’s defenders say it is too often blamed for the failures of >> other arms of the government, such as the FBI or the State Department. They >> also say it is hopelessly bogged down by Congress’s outdated oversight >> architecture. A dizzying array of 90 committees and subcommittees maintain >> some jurisdiction over DHS — three times the number of panels that oversee >> the Pentagon. The amount of preparation required for the endless onslaught >> of congressional hearings and briefings inhibit the department from doing >> its actual job, according to officials. >> >> >> >> When Foreign Policy asked Johnson at the news conference whether DHS’s >> problems on the Hill also reflect the department’s long-derided structural >> problems, the secretary said he “couldn’t disagree more strongly” and cited >> the benefits of bringing the disparate collection of agencies under one >> roof in a crisis situation. >> >> >> >> “Just in my 14 months, I have seen the efficiency brought about by having >> in one department at one conference table the persons responsible for >> aviation security, border security, securing of our seaports and so forth, >> in dealing with various situations we’ve had to deal with over the last >> year,” he said. >> >> >> >> Ridge, a DHS secretary under the Bush administration, told FP that the >> department is too often a scapegoat. “The department gets blamed for things >> over which it has no control,” he said, citing the 2013 Boston Marathon >> bombing and the 2009 failed bombing of Northwest Airlines Flight 253 over >> Detroit. In the two cases, he cited failures by the FBI and State >> Department in notifying DHS of the threat posed by the Tsarnaev brothers, >> believed responsible for the Boston attack, and Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, >> the Nigerian man who confessed to detonating plastic explosives hidden in >> his underwear. >> >> >> >> But not everyone is sympathetic to Ridge’s blame-shifting. >> >> >> >> “The irony in that complaint is that the very reason DHS was founded was >> to deal with the problem of insufficient coordination within the >> government,” said Jeremy Shapiro, a fellow at the Brookings Institution. >> “If DHS failed to solve that problem, it’s unclear why it exists.” >> >> >> >> Even strong defenders of the department acknowledge that more needs to be >> done to shore up support for DHS, but there’s very little agreement on how >> that should be done. >> >> >> >> “In the last four years, they’ve come a long way in intelligence and >> terrorism and cyber,” Rep. Dutch Ruppersberger (D-Md.), the former ranking >> member of the Intelligence Committee, told FP. “But if they’re going to get >> where they need to be to be effective, they’re going to need a lot more >> money.” >> >> >> >> That may be difficult to muster given the department’s spendthrift >> reputation. In 2002, the federal budget allocated about $20 billion to >> Homeland Security agencies. That figure rose to almost $60 billion in 2013 >> and continues to climb higher. >> >> >> >> One of DHS’s most controversial initiatives is its grant program to >> improve the preparedness of states and cities, widely criticized for its >> lack of cost-effectiveness. Economist Veronique de Rugy highlighted an >> example of this in discussing a $557,400 grant given to North Pole, Alaska >> — a town of 1,570 people — for homeland security and communications >> equipment. “If power companies invested in infrastructure the way DHS and >> Congress fight terrorism, a New Yorker wouldn’t be able to run a hairdryer >> but everyone in Bozeman, Montana, could light up a stadium,” de Rugy >> charged. >> >> >> >> Another concern is that the department, forged in a fearful post-9/11 >> environment, owes its existence to a wildly exaggerated understanding of >> the terrorist threat to the United States. As Charles Kenny, a senior >> fellow at the Center for Global Development, has pointed out, Americans are >> substantially more endangered by threats such as infectious disease, gun >> violence, and drunk driving than terrorism. In fact, the odds of being >> killed in a terrorist attack in the United States or abroad are 1 in 20 >> million. >> >> >> >> “This low risk isn’t evidence that homeland security spending has worked: >> It’s evidence that the terror threat was never as great as we thought,” >> wrote Kenny. >> >> >> >> This outlook hasn’t benefited DHS’s reputation across other departments >> of the federal government. One official speaking to FP described the >> frequent occurrence of interagency meetings where DHS officials show up in >> large numbers and the Pentagon or State Department may have only one or two >> representatives. “It feeds the impression that they don’t have anything >> better to do,” said one State Department official. >> >> >> >> Clearly, morale issues are a problem. In September, the Washington Post >> reported extensively on the near-constant turnover of top-level officials >> at the department due to a “dysfunctional work environment, abysmal morale, >> and the lure of private security companies.” >> >> >> >> A top executive of one of those security companies was present at >> Wednesday’s news conference: Chertoff, the former DHS secretary and CEO of >> the Chertoff Group, a security consulting firm. His company can afford to >> double or triple the $180,000 salaries earned by many officials at DHS, and >> it has successfully pulled away some of the department’s top talent. >> >> >> >> Johnson seemed willing to forgive Chertoff for poaching skilled DHS >> officials in exchange for the former secretary’s public support during the >> budget debate. And Chertoff gladly stepped up on Wednesday to endorse the >> importance of keeping his former workplace alive. “I’m delighted to join >> with Secretary Johnson and Secretary Ridge [in a] bipartisan approach in >> saying, let us fund DHS and let them do the job that’s most important to >> all of us, protecting America,” he said. >> >> >> >> Although a shutdown still looms, most observers expect House Republicans >> to cave in to political pressure and pass a “clean” funding bill by the end >> of the week. Either way, at a time when U.S. media attention on terrorist >> threats is at an all-time high, it’s ironic that a department dedicated to >> homeland security has such a hard time justifying its existence. And until >> it finds more solid footing within the national security bureaucracy, that >> problem isn’t likely to go away soon. >> >> >> >> Photo credit: JIM WATSON/AFP/Getty Images >> >> >> >> >> >> >> __._,_.___ >> ------------------------------ >> Posted by: "beowulf" <[email protected]> >> ------------------------------ >> >> >> Visit Your Group >> <https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/grendelreport/info;_ylc=X3oDMTJmdmg4a2llBF9TAzk3MzU5NzE0BGdycElkAzIwMTk0ODA2BGdycHNwSWQDMTcwNTMyMzY2NwRzZWMDdnRsBHNsawN2Z2hwBHN0aW1lAzE0MjUwODI0ODk-> >> >> - New Members >> >> <https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/grendelreport/members/all;_ylc=X3oDMTJnMHJoOTRyBF9TAzk3MzU5NzE0BGdycElkAzIwMTk0ODA2BGdycHNwSWQDMTcwNTMyMzY2NwRzZWMDdnRsBHNsawN2bWJycwRzdGltZQMxNDI1MDgyNDg5> >> 1 >> >> [image: Yahoo! 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