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We found this course description for a Georgetown University four-day course designed to “increase the participants’ understanding of Congress’s role in the creation and oversight of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).”

Uh-huh. Four-day course? Seems like a four-year degree would be more appropriate. With more than eighty committees and subcommittees claiming competing and often conflicting jurisdiction over the Department of Homeland Security, reform of congressional oversight of DHS remains one of the most glaring failures of Congress in terms of implementing the recommendations of the 9/11 Commission.

This four-day course is designed for personnel from the Department of Homeland Security, as well as individuals from any other department, agency, or organization with an interest in Congress and homeland security issues.

The purpose of the course is to increase the participants’ understanding of Congress’s role in the creation and oversight of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), as well as in Congress’s interactions with other departments and agencies with respect to issues of homeland security. By becoming better informed as to how Congress is organized and operates on issues of homeland security, participants can increase their effectiveness in the policymaking environment both within their own agencies and before Congress.