Center of Excellence

By Tim Starks, CQ Staff

Months of negotiations on the fiscal 2006 Homeland Security appropriations bill to alter the formula for distributing first-responder grants were unsuccessful, as were Democratic efforts to block a proposed restructuring of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

House-Senate appropriators will convene a conference Thursday on the spending bill (HR 2360), and negotiators are expected to reach a quick agreement that would permit floor consideration the same day of the $31.9 billion measure.
(more…)

By Jim Morris, CQ Staff

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) said Wednesday it would begin using teams of bomb-sniffing dogs — already fixtures at airports — in 10 mass transit and commuter rail systems.

“Expanding the canine program to mass transit and commuter rail systems allows TSA to partner with local resources to protect this critical piece of the transportation network,” TSA chief Edmund S. “Kip” Hawley said in a prepared statement. “These teams are a mobile and efficient method for identifying explosive materials and they can be quickly deployed to address a variety of situations.”
(more…)

By Caitlin Harrington, CQ Staff

The head of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) said Tuesday that airport security will depend increasingly on intelligence and other security measures less visible than the screening that goes on at checkpoints.

Edmund S. “Kip” Hawley presented a four-point agenda that focuses on the close observation of people inside airports and emphasizes flexibility. The agenda, presented to an audience of aviation industry officials in Washington, rejects what seems to be the prevailing principle since Sept. 11 — that airport security is mostly about physical screening.
(more…)

By Tim Starks, CQ Staff

Members of a select House panel investigating the government’s response to Hurricane Katrina said Tuesday that they would delve into the budget of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) after its deposed director testified that his agency was “stretched thin” during the disaster.

Even as lawmakers castigated Michael D. Brown for his handling of the calamity and openly rejoiced at his decision to resign on Sept. 12 after intense public criticism, committee members gleaned what they said was valuable information from his testimony about what went wrong.
(more…)

ODP Information Bulletin, No. 191, September 20, 2005

TO: All State Administrative Agency Heads, All State Administrative Agency Points of Contact, All State Homeland Security Directors
FROM: Matt A. Mayer, Acting Executive Director

SUBJECT: Metropolitan Medical Response System (MMRS) Resources

The MMRS program enables jurisdictions to achieve an enhanced local capability to respond to mass casualty events during the first hours of a response until significant external assistance can arrive. MMRS jurisdictions are prepared to respond to a range of mass casualty incidents—from weapons of mass destruction, epidemic outbreaks, natural disasters, and large-scale hazardous materials events.
(more…)

By Patrick Yoest, CQ Staff

Two and a half weeks after the onslaught of Hurricane Katrina on the Gulf Coast, some survivors and first-responders face a reckoning as devastating as the storm itself: a looming mental health crisis.

Although both the 1995 bombing of a federal building in Oklahoma City and the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks caused many instances of post-traumatic stress disorder, the psychological toll of Katrina may extend even further, experts say.
(more…)

By Patrick Yoest, CQ Staff

The nation’s 911 call centers need more resources to become a fully integrated part of emergency preparation, according to a report released Thursday.

The report, issued by the Congressional Research Service Sept. 1 and posted online by the Federation of American Scientists, noted the 9/11 commission’s recommendation that 911 centers become part of “a wider safety net of emergency communications and alerts.”
(more…)

By Steven T. Dennis, CQ Staff

The federal government had spent or allocated $13.8 billion to Hurricane Katrina relief efforts as of 1 p.m. Sept. 14, the administration disclosed in its first weekly report to Congress.

About $48.5 billion remained to be allocated from the $62.3 billion in Katrina disaster relief approved Sept. 2 and Sept. 8 (PL 109-61, PL 109-62).

The White House Office of Management and Budget had predicted that the existing emergency package should last for several weeks. The numbers suggest that spending rates that at one time had spiked to $2 billion a day have dropped considerably.
(more…)

By Jim Morris, CQ Staff

The chairwoman and ranking member of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee on Friday asked the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to release an unclassified version of its National Strategy for Transportation Security (NSTS), recently submitted to Congress.

In a letter to DHS Secretary Michael Chertoff, Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Joseph I. Lieberman, D-Conn., said, “[W]e are concerned that the NSTS cannot be reviewed by those most affected by its strategic guidance because of the document’s classified status. Key partners in transportation security, namely state, local and tribal governments and system owners and operators, are unable to access the document outlining their responsibilities and roles.”
(more…)

By Martin Kady II, CQ Staff

The Sept. 11 commission released a scathing report Wednesday criticizing the federal government’s response to Hurricane Katrina, renewing calls for Congress to overhaul the homeland security grant formula and mandate a more efficient emergency response system.
The report released Wednesday had few new recommendations, largely reiterating some of the ideas in a 2004 report that Congress and the Bush administration failed to enact.

The commission, now known as the 9/11 Public Discourse Project, is no longer officially sanctioned by the government and the impact of its report may not be as great as last year’s best-selling Sept. 11 commission report. But with the intense focus on emergency response and preparedness in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, some lawmakers believe the prospects are good for new homeland security legislation.
(more…)

By Eileen Sullivan, CQ Staff

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on Tuesday announced more than $141 million in security grants for 36 ports across the country.

The funds will go toward protecting critical infrastructure around the ports, such as fences, cameras, gates, floating barriers, patrol boats, sonar and sensor equipment, DHS said in a news release.
(more…)

By Amol Sharma, CQ Staff

The chairman of the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee is redoubling efforts to modernize the national alert system that notifies the public of impending natural disasters and emergencies.

Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, has steered $20 million to the Homeland Security Department since fiscal 2004 to build a system capable of issuing warnings not just through television and radio stations, but on a range of modern communications devices — including cell phones, pagers and personal digital assistants.
(more…)

By Caitlin Harrington, CQ Staff

Four Senate Democrats on Tuesday endorsed the idea of a large federal appropriation for emergency personnel who need to buy compatible communications equipment.

It was not the first time Democrats — or Republicans, for that matter — had attempted to provide funds to improve emergency communications. The issue has cropped up repeatedly since the Sept. 11 attacks, most recently after Hurricane Katrina.
(more…)

By Tim Starks, CQ Staff

Two key Senate committee chairmen said Tuesday they were willing to take a fresh look following the Hurricane Katrina catastrophe at a proposal made by the Homeland Security secretary this summer to restructure his department.

A pair of top Democratic appropriators are urging Secretary Michael Chertoff to postpone his plan, released in July, to reorganize his department, arguing that it could hinder the response to future major natural disasters.
(more…)

By Tim Starks, CQ Staff

The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee’s investigation into the “woefully inadequate” government response to Hurricane Katrina could lead to public hearings as early as next week, Chairwoman Susan Collins, R-Maine, said Tuesday.

“The first obligation of government is to protect its citizens,” said Collins. “In the initial response to the tragedy of Hurricane Katrina, particularly in Louisiana, governments at all levels failed in this obligation.”
(more…)

Yesterday marked the kick-off of National Preparedness Month 2005. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the American Red Cross are co-sponsoring National Preparedness Month 2005 as a nationwide effort to encourage Americans to prepare for emergencies in their homes, businesses and schools. The goal of National Preparedness Month is to increase public awareness about the importance of preparing for emergencies and to encourage individuals to take action. Citizen Corps, through the nationwide network of 1,775 Citizen Corps Councils, is working with the DHS Ready Campaign and the American Red Cross to promote this important effort. Please visit the Citizen Corps Calendar of Events to view and register National Preparedness Months e vents.

On September 12 and September 19 at 10 pm (EDT), public television stations nationwide will be broadcasting a two-part series on terrorism called In The Balance, covering nearly 90% of the country. Many local stations may also be broadcasting or re-broadcasting at other times as well, so please check local listings.
(more…)

The August 2005 Homeland Security Newsletter is posted on the Team Washington Homeland Security webpage at:
http://emd.wa.gov/5-prog/wahsas/nltrs/nltr-idx.htm