Below is an excerpt of an opinion article published in today’s Washington Times. To read the article in full, visit the Times website. The article discusses the ongoing need to protect U.S. financial infrastructures as part of the overall homeland security strategy.
The recent report by DHS Inspector General Richard Skinner about the Federal Emergency Management Agency and its progress to institute reforms called for in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina underscores that federal preparedness not necessarily equate to national preparedness. DHS and FEMA have critical but not exclusive responsibility for advancing national preparedness. Thus, leaders in Washington have the responsibility to look for investments in national – not simply federal – solutions for addressing gaps and shortfalls.
To those who believe that DHS and TSA are simply fighting yesterday’s war, I point to the trial of the liquid explosive plotters (from August 2006) currently taking place in London. The details emerging from the trial are a reminder to all that terrorists remain interested in attacking the global iconic air transportation system.
All eyes are on Capitol Hill this week as General David Petraeus and Ambassador Ryan Crocker testify before Congress on Iraq War Policy for the first time since last September. The hot topic of the week is progress—military, political and economic. As expected, General Petraeus asked Congress on Tuesday to temporarily halt troop withdrawals. Current plans mandate that U.S. forces in Iraq will gradually decline to pre-surge levels by the end of July, and Petraeus thinks that a hold on troop reduction would help maintain the recent success and promote further progress in the region.
Yesterday, I participated in a Blogger Roundtable discussion with DHS Secretary Michael Chertoff that covered a range of topics including immigration reform, emergency preparedness, cyber security, REAL ID, and transition planning.
We’ve heard it being discussed for several years – a more streamlined, simplified and technologically advanced airport security checkpoint process. This past Monday, TSA unveiled the first version of its “Checkpoint Evolution,” designed to lower passenger agitation, increase passenger throughput and improve security by allowing TSO’s to better observe the public.
Senator Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) is hoping that Congress will do away with the Real ID Act of 2005, a law establishing minimum standards for state-issued driver’s licenses and identification cards that are intended to be used for federal purposed (such as passenger screening at U.S. airports). Alexander mimics many of the common critiques and concerts associated with Real ID, yet the criticism is largely misplaced.
The Bush Administration is making progress in cyber security through the creation of a new interagency group to gather information and assess cyber security breaches to various federal agencies, including the Department of Homeland Security, the FBI, the National Security Agency and the Department of Defense. According to a report by the Washington Post, the White House has selected Rod A. Beckstrom to head up the interagency group, which will be based in the Department of Homeland Security.
Despite the President’s budget to limit port security grant funding to $210 million for FY’09, the Senate passed its version of the Fiscal Year 2009 Congressional Budget Resolution last week (March 14) by a vote of 51-44. Originally, port security grant funding was not in the President’s budget but cam about out of a bipartisan effort to ensure security funding was a priority in the Congressional budget. To move the funding where it is today has not been an easy task, and we now must focus to ensure the grant program can sustain our security levels
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