Contents

Introduction: The Terrorist Threat, page 1

America Fights Back, page 5

Grasping the Long-Term Threat

The Bush Offensive

Fostering International Collaboration

America’s Defense

Homeland Security: Toward Comprehensive Action, page 11

The President Seizes the Initiative

First Responders Rise to the Challenge

Congress Takes Action

Year-One Strides, page 17

Sharing Information

Securing Borders and Ports

Protecting Critical Infrastructure

Applying New Technologies

Preparing for Response

Next Steps: Implementing an Integrated Strategy, page 43

Measuring Progress Toward a Safer America
“September the 11th brought out the best 

in America, and the best in this Congress. 

And I join the American people in 

applauding your unity and resolve. Now 

Americans deserve to have this same spirit 

directed toward addressing problems 

here at home. I’m a proud member of 

my party — yet as we act to win the war, 

protect our people, and create jobs in 

America, we must act, first and foremost, 

not as Republicans, not as Democrats, 

but as Americans.”

 (From the President’s State of the Union Address, the United States Capitol, 

 Washington, D.C., January 29, 2002)

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Introduction: 

The Terrorist Threat
“We are today a Nation at 

risk to a new and changing 

threat. The terrorist threat 

to America takes many 

forms, has many places to 

hide, and is often invisible.”

 (President Bush, National Strategy for Homeland Security, July 2002) 

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3

Introduction

The President and Congress have responded 

boldly to that challenge. We have rallied both 

the government and the American people to 

use every available resource to counter the 

terrorist threat. Much has been done, and 

more is being done every day. This is a longterm struggle in which America will prevail.

The challenge ahead is to transform 

costly short-term reactions into a cost 

effective, long-term strategy.

Under the leadership of President Bush and 

the Congress, America has: 

★ Actively pursued terrorists abroad, 

destroying the al Qaeda infrastructure in 

Afghanistan and killing or arresting key 

al Qaeda leaders in other countries. The 

President has sent the message that this bold 

pursuit will continue as long as the terrorist 

threat persists.

★ Established the Department of Homeland 

Security to play a central role coordinating 

activities to prevent terrorism, protect our 

infrastructure against it, and improve our 

response if an attack should occur.

★ Strengthened our intelligence capabilities 

at home and abroad, creating a global analytic 

fusion center for intelligence on the terrorist 

threat to America within the Department of 

Homeland Security (DHS).

★ Passed laws to promote cooperation between 

intelligence and law enforcement officers 

in tracking down terrorists and their 

supply networks.

★ Built closer counterterrorism relations 

with nations around the world at the military, 

political, and intelligence levels. These 

relationships, critical in the war against 

terrorism, have never been stronger. We 

must be certain that they endure.

The catastrophic terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, 

challenged America to defend its national territory and its 

way of life in unprecedented ways. Terrorists had exploited 

vulnerabilities of our open society to attack icons of America’s 

public and private sectors and to destroy human life that we 

consider sacred. State, local, and private entities emerged as the 

new stakeholders in U.S. homeland security.
4

Introduction

Congress established the Department of 

Homeland Security to focus and strengthen 

the counterterrorist capabilities of 22 separate 

federal agencies that are now incorporated 

into the Department. Two key DHS elements, 

the Directorate of Information Analysis and 

Infrastructure Protection and the Directorate 

of Science and Technology, enhance the 

counterterrorism capabilities of those legacy 

agencies. DHS is charged with developing and 

driving a comprehensive homeland security 

strategy for the entire federal government.

In the Congress, Speaker Dennis Hastert 

established the House Select Committee 

on Homeland Security to focus widelydispersed Congressional oversight over the 

new Department, and a new Subcommittee 

for Homeland Security in the Committee on 

Appropriations to appropriate funds to the 

Department.

Terrorism is an enduring threat and 

homeland security is a permanent mission to 

protect America against the enemies of freedom. 

In the year ahead, Congress will be challenged 

to focus jurisdiction of homeland security on 

its critical counterterrorism mission to prevent, 

protect, and respond. 

“Terrorists seek to infiltrate our society, scope out targets, 

and wage war in our streets and cities.”

(Secretary Ridge, “Remarks Marking the One-Year Anniversary of the 

Creation of the Department of Homeland Security,” February 23, 2004)

Christopher Cox, Chairman, 

Select Committee on Homeland Security
America Fights Back

Grasping the Long-Term Threat
“Our society presents an 

almost infinite array of 

potential targets that can 

be attacked through a 

variety of methods.”

 (President Bush, National Strategy for Homeland Security, July 2002) 

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7

America Fights Back

On September 11th, terrorists transformed 

passenger airlines into missiles, striking first 

at our nation’s financial and military centers 

but intending to reduce the American people’s 

confidence in their commitment to freedom at 

home and abroad. They want us to be paralyzed 

by fear and to respond in ways that will weaken 

our economy, erode our freedoms, and force 

our retreat from global leadership. 

In this, the terrorists failed. America, under 

President Bush’s leadership, has preserved its 

freedoms and is more committed than ever 

to defending our way of life. Since 9/11, we 

have reduced our vulnerabilities at home and 

aggressively pursued terrorists abroad while 

growing our economy and preserving our 

freedoms.

The terrorist threat to America is dynamic, 

constantly adapting to our countermeasures. 

We must be vigilant in adjusting and 

strengthening our security measures, 

recognizing that this is a long-term struggle in 

which we must stay ahead of the enemy. 

Al Qaeda is a network of individuals, cells, 

and front organizations spanning the world 

and threatening freedom everywhere. Driven 

by a fanatical political ideology, al Qaeda 

still has the will and the capability to strike 

America and her interests anywhere in the 

world, including within our borders. Al Qaeda 

supporters have been arrested in Buffalo and 

Albany, New York; Portland, Oregon; as well as 

in the United Kingdom, Germany, Spain, Italy, 

Pakistan, Indonesia and other places around 

the world.

Al Qaeda terrorists are seeking chemical, 

biological, radiological, and nuclear materials 

to attack America, according to the Central 

Intelligence Agency (CIA). The destructive 

potential of these weapons appeals to terrorists 

who want to inflict massive casualties. In the 

future, if we do not stop them they will use these 

horrific weapons against us. We have no option 

but to engage and defeat them now wherever 

they are. 
8

America Fights Back

The Bush Offensive

President Bush knows that America has been 

forced into a war with terrorists, and that we 

are better off fighting them abroad than at 

the world’s leading anti-American dictatorships, 

and simultaneously liberated 25 million Iraqis 

at a high cost to American blood and treasure. 

This historic action has opened the way for 

democracy in Iraq, for a better life for all Iraqis 

and, most importantly, for long-term stability 

in the Middle East.

Today, America along with NATO allies 

and coalition partners from around the world 

continues operations against al Qaeda, the 

Taliban, and Iraqi insurgents. In Afghanistan, 

the newly revived Afghan National Army is 

assisting coalition forces to hunt down remnants 

of the Taliban regime and the al Qaeda 

forces they harbored. The transition of Iraqi 

sovereignty on 28 June offered new hope that 

this strategic country will return soon to the 

community of responsive nations.

The United States is leading the world 

in providing humanitarian assistance and 

reconstruction to Afghanistan and Iraq so 

they will never again become havens for 

terrorists. America is assisting in the building 

of schools and hospitals, the repair of roads, 

reconstruction of bridges, and the rehabilitation 

of water wells, canals, dams, and water systems. 

Most important, the United States is building 

confidence among these peoples that they can 

govern themselves in democratic societies.

On 28 June 2004, two days prior to the 

announced transition date, America fulfilled its 

home. America is now attacking the terrorists 

where they live, in Afghanistan, Iraq, Pakistan, 

the Philippines, Indonesia, and elsewhere 

around the world. Within weeks of September 

11th, we had taken the battle to the enemy in 

Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan, 

destroying al Qaeda’s infrastructure and 

removing the Taliban regime that protected 

it. Here, where al Qaeda colluded with the 

Taliban regime to foster terrorism against 

America, we not only pursed counterterrorist 

objectives, but also liberated the Afghani 

people from a brutal reign of terror under 

the Taliban.

In March 2003, together with a 48-country 

coalition, the United States embarked on 

Operation Iraqi Freedom. We removed one of 

“The best defense against 

terrorism is a strong 

offensive against terrorists.”

(President Bush, “Radio Address of the 

 President to the Nation,” October 13, 2001)
9

America Fights Back

promise of handing over the Iraqi government 

to its own people. To assist Iraq in the 

democratization process, the United States 

is winning the support of the international 

community. A multinational force was 

unanimously approved by a United Nations 

Security Council resolution. NATO also 

pledged to provide training for the new Iraqi 

government’s security forces.

Fostering International 

Collaboration

The United States continues to coordinate 

with friends and allies abroad to track, capture, 

or kill terrorists wherever they hide. This 

offensive strategy is a vital part of America’s 

comprehensive strategy to protect the 

homeland.

1. The U.S.-led global partnership against 

terrorism is reducing the threat of 

catastrophic terrorism within the United 

States and abroad. Working together with key 

allies such as the United Kingdom, Pakistan, 

and Australia, the United States is successfully 

disrupting terrorist plans and operations.

2. Leader by leader and member by member, 

America and its allies are hunting down al 

Qaeda in dozens of countries around the 

world. Of the senior al Qaeda leaders, 

operational managers, and key facilitators 

identified and tracked by the U.S. 

government over the past three years, nearly 

two-thirds have been killed or taken into 

custody, according to the CIA. The deaths or 

detention of senior al Qaeda leaders, 

including Khalid Sheik Muhammad, the 

mastermind of 9-11, and Muhammad Atef, 

Usama Bin Ladin’s second-in-command 

until his killing in late 2001, exemplify this 

record of success abroad. 
10

America Fights Back

America’s Defense

The first lesson of September 11th was that 

we were not prepared at home to prevent a 

catastrophic terrorist attack. President Bush 

moved quicky to begin closing this gap.

The President outlined three strategic 

objectives in his National Strategy for Homeland 

Security (July 2002):

 ★ To prevent terrorist attacks within the 

United States

 ★ To reduce America’s vulnerability 

to terrorism

 ★ To minimize the damage and recover 

from attacks that, despite our increased 

vigilance, may occur

The Bush administration, with a 

strengthened hand from Congress, has done 

more in the past two years to enhance the 

security of our borders, ports, and critical 

infrastructure than at any time since World 

War II. It has invested more to improve 

our intelligence capabilities than any 

administration in a generation.

It has made significant progress in 

integrating our foreign and domestic threat 

analysis, and in building collaboration between 

intelligence and law enforcement at every level 

of government. Through the USA PATRIOT 

Act, Congress and the President took practical 

action to promote the free flow of critical 

information between the law enforcement and 

intelligence community to “tear down the wall.”

Yet the President and the Congressional 

leadership are clear that we must do more:

★ To develop and implement a clear strategy for 

homeland security that will direct our money, 

resources, and energy toward the right 

priorities to make America safer.

★ To reform our intelligence agencies to 

make them more responsive to the threat to 

the homeland.

★ To strengthen the Department of Homeland 

Security (DHS) as the key driver of the 

President’s strategy for homeland security.

★ To boost DHS as the principal federal 

interlocutor with state, local, and corporate 

entities with regard to terrorism risk 

assessment and infrastructure protection.

★ To ensure Congressional oversight over 

DHS that is comprehensive, focused, and 

persistent. As the 9/11 commission has 

observed, a permanent House Committee 

on Homeland Security would be best 

positioned to meet this need.
Homeland Security:

Toward Comprehensive Action
“The attacks of 9-11 required a 

whole new philosophy of how we 

secure the country, a philosophy 

of shared responsibility, shared 

leadership, shared accountability 

– and that engenders a shared 

imperative... in essence, a new 

commitment to federalism.”

 (Secretary Ridge, “Remarks Marking the One Year Anniversary of the 

 Creation of the Department of Homeland Security,” February 23, 2004)

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13

Homeland Security: Toward Comprehensive Action

The President Seizes 

the Initiative

Nine days after the terrorist attacks of 

September 11th, President Bush created a new 

White House Office of Homeland Security 

(Executive Order 13228) to coordinate the 

Administration’s homeland security program. 

We could not defeat terrorism, he said, without 

major restructuring of the federal government. 

He named Pennsylvania’s Governor Tom 

Ridge, a widely respected leader among state 

and local officials, to head the new office.

In mid-2002, President Bush sent a 

proposal to Congress to create a new cabinetlevel department to focus the efforts of its 

twenty-two incorporated agencies against the 

terrorist threat, and to serve as the focal point 

of the broader homeland security mission 

for the whole federal government. Congress 

passed The Homeland Security Act and the 

President signed it in November 2002 (Public 

Law 107-296). The Department of Homeland 

Security, the largest federal merger since the 

Department of Defense was created in 1947, 

stood up on March 1, 2003.

DHS represents a creative consolidation of 

22 domestic agencies, 180,000 employees, 

and $36 billion in legacy budgets. The 

Department has two new Directorates 

– Information Analysis and Infrastructure 

Protection (IAIP) and Science and Technology 

(S&T). IAIP analyzes terrorist threatrelated intelligence, assesses infrastructure 

vulnerabilities, conducts risk assessments 

combining vulnerabilities and threat, and 

promotes sharing of relevant information 

with state, local and corporate entities. S&T 

applies state-of-the-art technologies to the 

development of terrorism countermeasures and 

fosters homeland security-related research and 

development. They are at the forefront of the 

Department’s efforts to achieve its core mission: 

to make America safer.

The development of counterterrorism 

capabilities is a matter of urgency for the 

Department, but organized integration of DHS 

will take time measured in years. Nineteen 

financial management systems are being 

streamlined to reduce the number of financial 

centers to ten and to enable the Department to 

The Department of Homeland 

Security represents a creative 

consolidation of 22 domestic 

agencies, 180,000 employees, 

and $36 billion in legacy 

budgets.
Homeland Security: Toward Comprehensive Action

14 

access financial data, conduct department-wide 

financial analyses, and make sound financial 

decisions. The Department is consolidating 

thirteen separate contracting offices from 

legacy organizations to draw together a 

procurement program comprised of eight 

component organizations. 

First Responders Rise 

to the Challenge

On September 11th, Americans were stunned 

to discover that the enemy was in our midst.

Firefighters, police officers, emergency 

medical professionals, and public works 

employees were the first to respond to the 

terrorist attacks, and it was their skill, agility, 

and courage that contained the national crisis. 

They were – and are – our first line of defense 

against terrorism.

It quickly became clear, however, that on 

September 11th human courage far exceeded 

the material resources, the interoperable 

communications systems, the shared 

intelligence, and both the interagency and interjurisdictional collaboration essential to defeat 

terrorism on our own soil. Government did not 

work and it needed to be fixed.

As we move ahead from bold reaction to 

intelligent strategy, it must be a top priority 

for us to provide our first responders with the 

threat-based information and the training, 

equipment, and other resources they need to 

do their jobs effectively. We must determine 

how best to allocate federal, state, local, 

and corporate resources efficiently against a 

multifaceted threat. And we must continuously 

encourage and reward interagency and interjurisdictional collaboration.
15

Homeland Security: Toward Comprehensive Action

Congress Takes Action

The terrorist threat, by all expert accounts, 

will endure long into the future. It is not 

a passing phenomenon. And DHS is here 

to stay. It is imperative, therefore, that we 

establish effective Congressional oversight 

for the long term.

Speaker Dennis Hastert recognized that with 

the establishment of a new department to deal 

with an enduring threat, a new committee was 

needed to help focus some 88 committees and 

subcommittees with jurisdiction over homeland 

security. Congress in January 2003 established 

the House Select Committee on Homeland 

Security to oversee DHS and to collaborate with 

other committees of jurisdiction to enhance 

their oversight.

The Select Committee, working with other 

committees of jurisdiction, has exercised 

responsible oversight to improve DHS’s 

information sharing and analysis capabilities 

Chairman Cox (far right) speaking with members of the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives during meeting 

with law enforcement community regarding the First Responder bill
Homeland Security: Toward Comprehensive Action

16

and to focus and discipline federal spending 

for first responders. It has encouraged the 

Department in its effort to consolidate 22 

agencies. It has introduced legislation to 

create “one-stop shopping for grants,” which 

will become increasingly important as the 

homeland security budget grows over the next 

several years. The Fiscal Year 2004 budget for 

DHS was $37.2 billion. The Select Committee 

has launched the process leading to the 

Department’s first authorization bill. Chairman Christopher Cox (L) with Jim Turner of Texas (R) 

Ranking Member

“And I think we have some obligation to organize the 

Congress in parallel with organizing the executive branch. 

And I know that’s very risky even for those of us who are 

not here but used to be to come back up here and say we 

actually have to look at ourselves as well as cheerfully look 

down the street at the executive branch. But in the case of 

homeland security, it is going to someday be literally life 

and death. And I think we’d all want to be able to look 

back and say to our children and our grandchildren we 

did the right [thing] now, not we did the easy thing.”

 (Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich, Hearing held on “Perspectives on House 

 Reform: Former House Leaders,” September 9, 2003.)
Year-One Strides 
“Our people also need better ways to communicate. Moreover, 

we also need systems that enable us to share critical information 

quickly across bureaucratic boundaries. Systems to put our 

intelligence in front of those who need it wherever they may 

be, whatever their specific responsibilities for protecting the 

American people from the threat of terrorist attack. That means 

we must move information in ways and to places it has never 

before had to move. We are improving our collaborative systems. 

We need to improve our multiple communications links – both 

within the Intelligence Community and now in the Homeland 

Security community as well. Building, maintaining, and 

constantly updating this system will require a massive, sustained 

budget infusion, separate from our other resource needs.”

 (George J. Tenet, “Written Statement for the Record of the Director of Central Intelligence 

 Before the Joint Inquiry Committee,” October 17, 2002)

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19

Year-One Strides

Although much remains to be 

accomplished, the American people should be 

proud of what the Department has achieved in 

such a short time and of the strategic direction 

it is now taking. There is good news across the 

full range of DHS’s capabilities:

Sharing Information

 The ability to share relevant terrorist-related 

information is the single most important 

lesson from the September 11th attacks. The 

Department is working diligently with all 

public and private sector entities – including 

the law enforcement and intelligence 

communities – to remedy this failure.

The Department

The Information Analysis and Infrastructure 

Protection Directorate (IAIP) was established 

under the Homeland Security Act to 

produce comprehensive analysis of threat 

and vulnerability-related data from all 

sources, public and private. IAIP assesses 

key vulnerabilities and maps terrorist threats 

against current and future vulnerabilities. 

It is also responsible for issuing timely 

warnings and taking appropriate preventive 

and protective action. The Homeland Security 

Operations Center (HSOC) provides roundthe-clock operations to collect and fuse law 

enforcement and intelligence community 

information on a daily basis to help deter, 

detect, and prevent terrorist incidents. While 

this new, significant capability is continually 

improving, the Committee must provide 

strong oversight to make certain it maintains its 

information sharing capabilities.

The Office of Information Analysis (IA)

is developing standardized risk assessment and 

Chairman Christopher Cox (R) and Secretary Tom Ridge (L), 

Department of Homeland Security

Select Committee on Homeland Security — Accomplishments Timeline

★★ January 7, 2003 ★★

Congress creates the House Select Committee on Homeland Security with legislative and 

oversight responsibility for the Department of Homeland Security.
Year-One Strides

20

threat analysis to promote threat 

mitigation measures. IA is comprised of 

two principal divisions:

Risk Assessment Division (RAD)

★ Charged with analyzing all incoming threats 

to the homeland and assessing their 

credibility in terms of specificity of target 

location, timing, and method of attack

★ Provides the Office of Infrastructure 

Protection with assessments on terrorist 

capabilities, tactics, methods and training, 

and provides information on protective 

measures.

Information and Warnings Division (IWD)

★ Acts as a gatekeeper for all information 

flowing to and from the IA

★ Ensures that relevant and critical 

information is provided to offices within 

DHS and partners outside the Department, 

by coordinating information received by 

the HSOC and disseminating that 

information throughout the Department, 

to federal, state and local government 

agencies, and private sector partners

★ Responsible for developing information 

sharing and intelligence requirements for 

internal and external partners so that 

necessary information reaches IA

Both divisions are building up their analytic 

capabilities, and the Committee must continue 

to provide strong oversight to ensure IA becomes 

a robust intelligence component for DHS.

Since its creation, IAIP has integrated five 

small legacy entities, including

★ Critical Infrastructure Assurance Office,

★ National Communications System,

★ Federal Computer Incident 

Response Center,

★ National Infrastructure Protection Center,

★ And the Office of Energy Assurance.

By the spring of 2004, IAIP had disseminated 

over 1,000 bulletins and advisories products 

to its extensive customer base, containing 

assessment information critical to enabling 

homeland security.

★★ March 31, 2003 ★★

Markup on H.R. 1416, Homeland Security Technical Corrections Act of 2003, 

is ordered favorably reported to the House.
Year-One Strides

21 The Memorandum of Understanding 

(MOU) on Information Sharing signed on 

March 4, 2003, by the Secretary of Homeland 

Security, the Attorney General, and the 

Director of Central Intelligence, requires 

all federal law enforcement, intelligence, 

and homeland security agencies to share 

terrorist-related information on an 

unprecedented scale. The MOU is, therefore, 

a practical means of advancing a critically 

important cultural shift among federal 

intelligence agencies.

Terrorist Threat Integration Center (TTIC)

★ A multi-agency partnership under the 

Director of Central Intelligence (DCI) with 

DHS as a charter partner

★ Incorporates for the first time all terroristrelated information, foreign and domestic, 

available to the U.S. Government for 

systematic analysis and dissemination.

★ Has a critical fusion mission, which will take 

some time and rigorous Congressional 

oversight to achieve.

★★ May 20, 2003 ★★

Full Committee hearing is held, “How is America Safer? A Progress Report on the Department 

of Homeland Security.” Tom Ridge, Secretary of Homeland Security, gives testimony.
Year-One Strides

22

Terrorist Screening Center (TSC)

★ Stood up on 1 December 2003 as a 

multi-agency partnership led by the 

FBI in which the Department is 

a participant

★ Is building the capability to become a 

one-stop virtual shop for terrorist watchlist indications, to address one of the most 

serious coordination problems surfaced in 

the September 11th investigations.

★ Will eventually access information from the 

watch lists of several agencies. Prior to 

September 11th, federal agencies 

maintained between 12 and 27 separate 

watch lists, the contents of which were not 

accessible across agency lines and were not 

comprehensively analyzed.

TSC will operate under procedures that 

ensure compliance with the Constitution 

and applicable privacy assurance laws. Any 

erroneous or outdated information will be 

corrected or deleted promptly. 

The Homeland Security Committee must 

provide rigorous oversight to ensure that 

watchlists are integrated as quickly as possible 

and that the privacy and civil rights of all U.S. 

citizens are protected.

Homeland Security Information 

Network (HSIN)

★ When fully operational, HSIN will provide a 

nation-wide, real-time, secure 

communication network for DHS, other 

federal agencies, state and local officials, and 

private sector partners using the Joint 

Regional Information Exchange System 

(JRIES). HSIN will significantly strengthen 

the flow of real-time threat information to 

state, local, and private sector partners

★ HSIN is currently being deployed across 

the United States and was used by homeland 

security officials, state and local leadership, 

and first responders during the G-8 Summit 

at Sea Island, Georgia. The system will also 

be implemented for other upcoming 

National Security Special Events to 

strengthen the exchange of information. 

Committee Recommendations

★ The Secretary of Homeland Security should 

be made a member of all interagency boards 

that establish foreign intelligence collection 

★★ June 19, 2003 ★★

Full Committee hearing is held on “America’s Response to Terrorism: How is the Department 

of Homeland Security Improving Our Capabilities?” Michael Brown, Under Secretary of 

Homeland Security for Emergency Preparedness and Response, gives testimony.
Year-One Strides

23

requirements and priorities for estimative 

analysis, as well as any such boards that may 

be created in the future.

★ A new Homeland Security Information 

Requirements Board should be created, 

with the Secretary of Homeland Security as 

chair of the Board and the Department’s 

Chief Privacy Officer as a member.

★ The Department must improve the secure 

communications and information 

technology infrastructure to provide for 

increased speed and flexibility of 

information sharing. The Department 

must also receive from the intelligence 

community immediate and automatic 

access to information related to threats of 

terrorist attacks.

★ The Committee believes that the Department 

must be as precise as possible when giving 

threat warnings under the Homeland Security 

Advisory System (HSAS). The Committee 

encourages the Secretary to continue to 

improve the HSAS by making it more 

responsive to specific threats to regions 

and critical infrastructure sectors.

★★ June 20-22, 2003 ★★

Committee Delegation tours the North American Aerospace Defense Command and U.S. 

Northern Command in Colorado and the Port of Long Beach and San Onofre Nuclear 

Power Plant in California.

Chairman Christopher Cox with Vice Chairwoman Jennifer Dunn,WA, Chairman Jim Gibbons, NV, Subcommittee on 

Intelligence and Counterterrorism (far left), and Chairman Dave Camp, MI, Subcommittee on Infrastructure and Border Security 

(second from right)
Year-One Strides

24

★ The Department must ensure that the 

federal government’s finished analytic 

products and conclusions are 

communicated to state, local and private 

sector officials in a coordinated way 

that prevents confusion, mixed signals, and 

potentially dangerous operational conflicts. 

The Committee also strongly encourages 

the Department of Homeland Security 

and the Department of Justice to enter into a 

Memorandum of Understanding outlining 

how terrorist-related threat advisories, 

warnings, and advice will be disseminated.

Securing Borders and Ports

The Department

Border protection is a top priority for the 

Department. America shares 5,525 miles 

of border with Canada and 1,989 miles with 

Mexico. More than 500 million people and 

$1.35 trillion in trade cross these borders into 

the United States each year.

In enacting the Homeland Security Act, 

Congress recognized that maintaining border 

security functions across multiple federal 

agencies was at best a misuse of resources and at 

worst a gap in America’s border security system. 

Bringing essential border security functions 

together within DHS, and coordinating their 

efforts within the Border and Transportation 

Security Directorate (BTS), has improved service 

and tightened security.

“Facilitating the 

legitimate travel and 

business of [the 500 

million people who cross 

the borders] is as critical 

to our way of life as is 

preventing would-be 

terrorist and terrorist 

materials from entering 

the country.”

(Chairman Cox, Hearing held on 

“Assessment of Department of Homeland Security Initiatives to Secure 

America’s Borders,” June 25, 2003)

★★ June 25, 2003 ★★

First full Committee hearing is held on “Assessment of the Department of Homeland Security 

Initiatives to Secure America’s Borders.” Asa Hutchinson, Under Secretary of Homeland 

Security for Border and Transportation Security, gives testimony.
Year-One Strides

25

DHS has been able to capitalize on the 

combined resources of the legacy agencies 

to strengthen border security and advance 

key initiatives.

One major change administered by the 

Department was the reorganization of the 

border inspection services into one unified 

force within U.S. Customs and Border 

Protection (CBP):

★ CBP Officers provide travelers and the 

trade community with “one face at the 

border” at U.S. ports of entry.

★ Integrating the work of approximately 

18,000 inspectors, CBP is easing the 

process for travelers while maximizing the 

ability to identify and address potential risks 

at the border.

★ The Committee will continue to provide 

oversight of CBP to make certain it is focused 

on the homeland security mission.

Since the terrorist attacks of September 

11th, thousands of additional law enforcement 

officers have been hired to protect our borders 

and ports. Beyond staffing, DHS is employing 

technology to aid in monitoring the borders. 

This technology includes underground sensors, 

vehicle barriers, and cameras. DHS is currently 

testing and deploying unmanned aerial vehicles 

★★ June 26, 2003 ★★

Markup on H.R. 2112, Project BioShield Act of 2003, is ordered favorably 

reported to the House.
Year-One Strides

26

to be used on the U.S. land border potentially 

allowing officers to better monitor remote 

border locations.

Another major initiative is the United States

Visitor and Immigrant Status Indicator 

Technology (US VISIT) Program, which has 

been implemented ahead of schedule.

★ Since January 2004, this program has 

been in place at U.S. international airports 

and seaports

★ US VISIT will be expanded during the 

next two years to fulfill the Congressional 

mandate for recording the entry and 

exit records of all visa holders using 

biometric identifiers.

★ From January to September 2004, 

over 8.1 million foreign visitors were 

processed by US VISIT, stopping over 

1,000 individuals at U.S. ports of entry 

with prior or suspected criminal or 

immigration violations. 

★ As US VISIT builds its border screening 

capability, the Committee must ensure 

that it becomes an integrated border 

security system.

One of the most important means of 

improving border security is by pushing out 

our borders – screening passenger and cargo 

information prior to arrival and conducting 

inspections before high-risk individuals 

and containers reach our borders. DHS has 

several initiatives underway to implement this 

policy, including:

Container Security Initiative (CSI)

★ Has been successfully expanding to extend 

the security perimeter to overseas ports 

shipping cargo to the United States

★ Through CSI, CBP inspectors stationed 

overseas identify, target, and search high 

risk U.S. bound cargo at foreign ports 

of loading

★ Since its January 2002 announcement, CSI 

has become operational at 24 of the world’s 

major seaports in Europe, Asia, Africa, and 

North America

Customs-Trade Partnership Against 

Terrorism (C-TPAT)

★ Is expanding and standardizing security 

measures worldwide to secure cargo from its 

point of origin, through the supply chain, to 

its final destination

★★ July 16, 2003 ★★

House passes Project BioShield Act of 2003 to help prevent and inoculate 

for bio-terror attack.
Year-One Strides

27

★ Is a partnership between the federal 

government and the trade community, an 

example of the Department’s public-private 

partnership efforts

★ The partnership works with importers, 

carriers, brokers and other industry sectors 

emphasizing a seamless security conscious 

environment throughout the world-wide 

commercial supply chain

International Port Security Program (IPSP)

★ A U.S. Coast Guard initiative to assess 

and evaluate vulnerabilities and antiterrorism 

measures taken in foreign ports

★★ October 30, 2003 ★★

H.R. 2886, Department of Homeland Security Financial Accountability Act is ordered 

reported favorably out of the Homeland Security Committee.

(L-R) Chairman Cox, Deputy Director of Central Intelligence John McLaughlin, Committee Staff Director John Gannon, Director of 

Central Intelligence George Tenet, Ranking Member Turner, and Former Director of Central Intelligence William Webster
Year-One Strides

28

★ A Washington, DC-based team will use 

internationally negotiated treaties and 

standards as the baseline for assessing the 

effectiveness of port and foreign vessel 

security measures implemented by foreign 

countries and Flag Administrations

★ As part of IPSP, International Port 

Security Liaison Officers will be assigned to 

strategic locations throughout the world to 

monitor the port security situation on a 

continuous basis

The Department is taking numerous actions 

to protect America’s ports and coasts – 95,000 

miles of maritime border – against terrorist 

attack. New legislation and international 

standards have fundamentally changed the 

security culture of the entire maritime 

community. More has been done to secure our 

ports since September 11, 2001 than at any time 

since World War 2.

On July 1, 2004, regulations came into effect 

requiring all U.S. ports, maritime facilities, 

and vessels calling on U.S. ports to conduct 

vulnerability assessments and implement security 

plans. The U.S. Coast Guard has partnered 

with the maritime industry, state and local 

governments, the international community, 

and private citizens to ensure that U.S. ports 

and waterways continue to run efficiently and 

effectively while the new security regime is put 

in place. In the first month of enforcement, 

the Coast Guard inspected over 200 domestic 

vessels, 250 port facilities, and restricted the 

operations of 30 vessels and 20 port facilities for 

failure to comply with the new regulations. The 

Coast Guard also successfully employed its Port 

State Control program, inspecting all foreign 

vessels upon first arrival to the U.S. and has 

controlled or denied entry to over 80 foreign 

vessel for failure to comply with international 

security standards.

★★ November 20, 2003 ★★

H.R. 3266, The Faster and Smarter Funding for First Responders Act of 2003 passes 

unanimously in the House Homeland Security’s Subcommittee on Emergency Preparedness 

and Response.

(Back row L-R) Vice Chairwoman Jennifer Dunn (WA), 

Chairman Cox, and Ranking Member Turner; (In Front) 

Congressman Robert Andrews (NJ) at Full Committee 

Hearing held on Progress in Addressing Management 

Challenges at the Department of Homeland Security
Year-One Strides

29

★★ December 10-16, 2003 ★★

Committee Delegation tours Spain, Italy, Syria, Israel, and Turkey to exchange views and 

encourage cooperation in the war on terrorism. The Delegation meets foreign officials including 

Ignacio Astarloa, State Secretary for Security in Spain; Giuseppe Pisanu, Minister of the Interior 

in Italy; Bashar al-Asad, President of Syria; and Ariel Sharon, Prime Minister of Israel.

The Coast Guard has grown by over 4,100 

personnel since the terrorist attacks and has 

received a budget increase for homeland 

security related activities of over 60%. During 

this time, the Coast Guard conducted more 

than 124,000 port security patrols, 13,000 air 

patrols, boarded more than 92,000 vessels, 

interdicted over 14,000 individuals attempting 

to enter the United States illegally, and created 

and maintained more than 90 Maritime 

Security Zones.

Federal investment in port security is also 

up from under $200 million in fiscal year 

2001 to over $2.3 billion in fiscal year 2005. 

The federal port security grant program, 

developed after September 11th, has awarded 

over $500 million to over 1,000 domestic 

port projects to help improve security. 

While this is a marked improvement from 

pre-September 11th days, the Committee 

remains steadfast in its oversight of the 

Department’s port security capabilities.

Another DHS maritime security initiative 

is the Coast Guard Maritime Safety and 

Security Teams (MSSTs)

★ Units are specifically dedicated to the port 

security mission

★ These 75 member teams are assigned to the 

nation’s critical seaports to enforce maritime 

law and provide counterterrorism protection

★ Units are specially trained to protect and 

defend critical infrastructure, enforce 

security zones, and to react and respond to 

terrorist incidents

Chairman Cox (second from left) and Members of the 

Committee meet with Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon
Year-One Strides

30

★ Currently, there are 13 MSSTs based in 

commercial and strategic ports throughout the United States, including New York, 

Seattle, Los Angeles/Long Beach, 

and Boston

★ Since their inception Coast Guard MSSTs 

have protected the Iraqi Freedom 

military load-outs, the Democratic National 

Convention, G-8 Summit, and 

the Olympics.

Path Forward

★ DHS continues to improve upon its 

maritime security initiatives, extending 

America’s security perimeter to overseas 

ports that ship cargo to the United States. 

To further progress in this area, DHS 

should focus on improving the 

coordination of the surveillance and 

interdiction functions among the air 

and marine assets of the Coast Guard, 

U.S. Immigration and Customs 

Enforcement (ICE), and U.S. Customs 

and Border Protection (CBP); developing 

a consolidated acquisition and maintenance 

program for air and marine assets that 

includes the modernization needs of each 

service; and integrating access to data and 

targeting information between agencies.

★ Improved coordination and integration of 

the maritime security mission within DHS 

will help the Coast Guard, ICE, CBP 

mature into a cohesive organization that 

effectively enhances homeland security while 

reducing overlap and duplication of effort.

★ All appropriate personnel of the Border 

and Transportation Security Directorate 

must have the capability to promptly access 

and receive law enforcement and intelligence 

information contained in all databases 

utilized by the Directorate. Additionally, 

there must be prompt transmittal of 

information between entities of the 

BTS Directorate and the IAIP Directorate 

for dissemination to other members of the 

intelligence community. The Committee 

believes that this is essential for the agencies 

within BTS to effectively and efficiently 

“connect the dots” by ensuring each agency 

has full and timely access to all information 

obtained by and available within the 

BTS Directorate.

★★ February 4, 2004 ★★

Full Committee hearing is held on “The Homeland Security Advisory System: Improving Preparedness 

through Effective Warning.” Admiral James Loy, Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security, and 

John O. Brennan, Director of the Terrorist Threat Integration Center, provide testimony.
Year-One Strides

31

★ DHS should develop a plan to coordinate 

the targeting and screening systems within 

the National Targeting Center at CBP, the 

Law Enforcement Support Center at 

ICE, and the Transportation Security 

Administration’s Transportation Security 

Operations Center. A key element of the 

coordination must include electronic 

linkage to all anti-terrorist related 

operations and watch centers within the 

Department, as well as the Terrorist 

Screening Center. 

Protecting Critical 

Infrastructure

The Department

DHS is steadily introducing programs and 

implementing policies to protect our nation’s 

critical infrastructure, both physical and 

virtual. Most notable will be completion 

of the National Infrastructure Protection 

Plan (NIPP). This plan, the first-ever 

comprehensive, risk-based security plan 

encompassing all of our nation’s critical 

infrastructure sectors, is being developed 

in close collaboration with Sector Specific 

Agencies (SSAs) and the private industry.

“The development 

and initial operating 

capability of the National 

Cyber Alert System 

elevates awareness and 

helps improve America’s 

IT [Information 

Technology] security 

posture. We are focused 

on making the threats 

and recommended 

actions easier for all 

computer users to 

understand, prioritize, 

and act upon. We 

recognize the importance 

and urgency of our 

mission and are taking 

action”

(Amit Yoran, director of the National Cyber 

Security Division, Department of Homeland 

Security, January 28, 2004)

★★ February 27-29, 2004 ★★

Committee Delegation tours U.S. Southern Command in Florida; the Coast Guard Operations 

Center in the U.S. Virgin Islands; and the U.S. Naval Base at Guantánamo Bay, Republic 

of Cuba.
Year-One Strides

32

National Infrastructure Protection 

Plan (NIPP)

★ Provides a risk-based framework for 

the implementation of the Homeland 

Security Act and Homeland Security 

Presidential Directive-7 (“Critical 

Infrastructure Identification, Prioritization, and Protection”) mandates

★ Has provided structure for the coordination 

of Sector Specific Agency Sector Security 

Plans (SSPs) with the overall national effort 

to enhance critical infrastructure protection

★ DHS has developed and issued guidance and 

templates for SSA Security Plans

★ The SSPs and the NIPP include measures to 

assess security program effectiveness 

★ As of July of 2004, SSPs have been 

completed and reviewed for compliance and 

content by DHS

★ DHS is in the process of integrating the 

SSPs with a National Level Integration Plan

★ The comprehensive National Infrastructure 

Protection Plan will be completed in 

October 2004

★ The Committee must provide strong 

oversight to make certain NIPP is completed 

and implemented.

Information Analysis and Infrastructure 

Protection Directorate (IAIP)

★ Has worked aggressively with the private sector 

and state and local governments to define 

roles and responsibilities among critical 

infrastructure sectors. This is a work in 

progress that will require close and sustained 

Congressional oversight.

★ Established the Homeland Security 

Operations Center (HSOC), a 

24 hours a day, 7 days a week (24/7) 

operation that collects and fuses law 

enforcement and intelligence community 

information, acts as the primary national 

hub for operational communications and 

information sharing in the event of a 

domestic terrorist incident, and acts as 

the primary conduit for domestic 

situational awareness for the White House 

Situation Room 

★ Developed, published, and distributed 

to the chemical sector and law enforcement 

authorities Report of Common 

★★ March 18, 2004 ★★

The Faster and Smarter Funding for First Responders Act of 2003 is ordered reported 

record vote of 37 yeas and 0 nays out of the Homeland Security Committee.
Year-One Strides

33

Chairman Christopher Cox, Tom DeLay, TX, 

House Majority Leader, and Chairman John Shadegg, 

AZ, Subcommittee on Emergency Preparedness and Response 

(left to right)

Vulnerabilities to Terrorism at Chemical Facilities, 

Potential Indicators of Terrorist Activity: Chemical 

Facilities and Community-Based Security Buffer 

Zone Plans

Office of Infrastructure Protection (IP)

is DHS’s primary conduit for protecting 

America’s critical infrastructure and key 

assets and is aggressively moving forward 

through a variety of operational strategies. 

IP is comprised of three divisions as well as 

numerous teams and programs:

Protective Security Advisory Teams (PSAT)

★ 20 teams of 8 advisors each visit sites of 

highest risk to provide training and 

support, and to assist site personnel and 

local law enforcement in developing 

protection plans

★ DHS is developing a common 

vulnerability assessment methodology and a 

common protection methodology for 

critical infrastructure components

Protective Security Advisor Program (PSAP)

★ Beginning in August 2004, will provide a 

field-deployed liaison hub for local, state 

and federal entities, and the private sector 

with DHS

★★ June 3, 2004 ★★

Full Committee hearing held, “Towards a National Biodefense Strategy,” with Penrose 

“Parney” Albright, Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security for Science and Technology, 

among witnesses.

★ 68 Protective Security Advisors will be 

posted across the nation in a risk-based 

strategic alignment with critical 

infrastructure densities

★ PSAs will greatly enhance critical 

infrastructure identification, vulnerability 

assessment, and implementation of 

protection programs, significantly 

improving the security posture of our 

nation’s critical infrastructure

Protective Security Division (PSD) focuses 

on developing community-based critical 

infrastructure planning and prevention 
Year-One Strides

34

strategies with a focus on public-private 

partnership

Infrastructure Coordination Division (ICD)

★ Manages private industry interactions, 

facilitating the sharing of infrastructure 

related information, including threats and 

vulnerabilities, incidents and events, 

potential protective measures and 

best practices.

★ To secure the virtual infrastructure, the 

U.S. Computer Emergency Response Team 

(US-CERT) is working with infrastructure 

owners and operators and technology 

experts to foster the development of 

improved security technologies and 

methods to drive increased cyber security at 

all levels across the nation – from citizens 

in their homes and at work, to private 

sector companies, government agencies 

and organizations.

National Cyber Security Division (NCSD)

★ Provides for 24/7 functions to protect 

America’s virtual infrastructure, 

including conducting cyberspace analysis, 

issuing alerts and warning, improving 

information sharing, responding to major 

incidents, and aiding in national-level 

recovery efforts.

★ Managed by US-CERT and NCSD, the 

newly-created National Cyber Alert System 

is America’s first coordinated national cyber 

security system for identifying, analyzing, 

and prioritizing emerging vulnerabilities 

and threats. It provides the first 

infrastructure for relaying graded computer 

security update and warning information to 

all users.

DHS integrated the National 

Communications System (NCS) to facilitate 

reliable communications between our nation’s 

most vital government and private industry 

centers in the case of terrorist attack.

Path Forward

★ DHS and IP in particular should, in 

coordination with private industry and 

State Homeland Security Advisors, continue 

to develop a more collaborative relationship 

with state and local law enforcement 

officials in order to build greater 

consistency in the identification of critical 

infrastructure and the implementation of 

protective measures.

★ DHS should increase its focus on addressing 

the vulnerabilities existent in the realms of 

interdependence between the various 

★★ June 15, 2004 ★★

Subcommittee on Infrastructure and Border Security hearing held on “Protecting the 

Homeland: Building a Layered and Coordinated Approach to Border Security,” with 

David V. Aguilar, Chief of the U.S. Border Patrol among witnesses.
Year-One Strides

35

Secretary of Homeland Security Tom Ridge (Center) testifying at Full Committee Hearing held on the Department of Homeland 

Security’s Proposed Fiscal Year 2005 Budget.

critical infrastructure sectors. With SSAs 

focusing on their respective sectors, DHS 

must fill this void.

★ In areas where collaboration with SSAs is 

unclear, ineffective or inefficient, DHS 

must more consistently consult with 

Congress – and specifically the Committee 

on Homeland Security – to find solutions.

★ DHS should develop and publish a strategy 

for effective cooperation in the 

identification and protection of critical 

infrastructure with all SSAs and, where 

necessary, specific strategies for 

individual SSAs.

★ DHS should have a coordinated, focused 

cyber security program as outlined in HR 5068 

(Cyber Security Enhancement Act) introduced 

by Mr. Thornberry and Ms. Lofgren, creating 

an Assistant Secretary for cyber security. 

★★ July 19, 2004 ★★

Full Committee met to consider Department of Homeland Security Authorization for Fiscal 

Year 2005, but did not complete consideration thereon.
Year-One Strides

36

Chairman Thomas H. Kean (L) and Vice Chairman Lee 

H. Hamilton (R) of the National Commission on Terrorist 

Attacks Upon the United States testifying at Full Committee 

Hearing on Homeland Security: The 9/11 Commission and 

the Course Ahead

Applying New Technologies

Innovation, collaboration, and rapid 

technology delivery have been the mission 

priorities of the Department of Homeland 

Security’s Science and Technology Directorate 

(S&T). The Department quickly developed 

coordinated research initiatives across 

the public and private sector scientific 

communities to make progress on the 

highest priority issues such as biological, 

chemical, radiological and nuclear detection 

and countermeasures; risk assessment 

and communication; and rapid response 

capabilities. Key to the Directorate’s continued 

success will be working with the first responder 

community to identify needs and provide 

solutions, while balancing short-term product 

delivery with long-term research investments.

The Department

Leveraging our national scientific assets to 

protect our citizens and critical infrastructure 

from a terrorist incident is a key mission 

priority for the S&T Directorate.

One of the immediate challenges that the 

S&T Directorate had to solve was the ability 

to quickly detect a chemical, biological, 

radiological and nuclear (CBRN) incident. 

In response to this challenge the Department 

implemented the Biowatch program to 

numerous high risk cities across the nation. The 

program uses environmental sampling devices to 

quickly detect biological agents, such as anthrax, 

so that countermeasures can be administered to 

affected citizens. 

On January 29, 2004, the Homeland Security 

and Health and Human Services Secretaries 

announced a $274 million Bio-Surveillance 

Program that improves on-going CBRN 

surveillance programs. These surveillance and 

detection programs will be further supported 

★★ August 17, 2004 ★★

Full Committee held, “9/11 Commission: Toward a Paradigm for Homeland Security Information 

Sharing,” with Thomas H. Kean, Chairman, and Lee H. Hamilton, Vice Chairman, both of the 

National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States, among witnesses. 
Year-One Strides

37

and enhanced by the National Biodefense 

Analysis Countermeasures Center (NBACC)

established at Fort Detrick by the S&T 

Directorate. 

The S&T Directorate and the Washington 

Metropolitan Area Transit Authority 

(WMATA), recently completed PROTECT 

(Program for Response Options and 

Technology Enhancements for Chemical/

Biological Terrorism), which is an 

operational chemical agent detection and 

response program, deployed in more than 

six subway stations. Upon completion, this 

program will be expanded to other facilities 

across the nation. 

 The S&T Directorate and its partners 

at the San Francisco International Airport 

are working on a pilot program that 

couples biological and chemical detection 

with vulnerability analysis, response, and 

restoration. This program integrates 

networking sensors with the operation 

of ventilation systems, enabling systems 

to redirect contaminated air, to improve 

evacuation in the event of an emergency. 

The S&T Directorate has also made 

protecting our ports and land borders a 

priority. It now directly manages the Port 

Authority of New York and New Jersey’s 

radiation detection test bed. DHS broadened 

the project beyond testing and evaluation of 

individual pieces of technology to a systems 

approach including response protocols and 

operational concepts to safe guard our ports 

from a radiological or nuclear device.

The S&T Directorate also initiated the Border 

Safety Integrated Feasibility Experiment. 

This program creates an infrastructure in the 

Southwest U.S. for data sharing between the 

Department’s Border and Transportation 

Security Directorate and local and state law 

enforcement officials. 

★★ September 14, 2004 ★★

Full Committee hearing held on “Homeland Security: The 9/11 Commission and the Course 

Ahead.” Tom Ridge, Secretary of Homeland Security, gives testimony.

Under Secretary for Science and Technology Charles 

McQueary (L) answers question from Chairman Cox (R) 

at Subcommittee on Cybersecurity, Science and Research & 

Development Hearing held on Homeland Security Science 

and Technology Budget for Fiscal Year 2005.
Year-One Strides

38

To protect our passenger aircrafts the 

S&T Directorate established the CounterMANPADS Program to address the potential 

threat that Man-Portable Air Defense Systems 

(MANPADS) pose to commercial aircraft. 

The Counter-MANPADS Program Office is 

working to take advantage of existing military 

research and commercial technologies to 

protect our passenger planes from shoulder 

fired missiles. 

The private sectors have or will develop 

technologies to make our borders, seaports, 

airports, and other infrastructure safer.

The public and private sectors join most 

directly where basic research meets applied 

technology. Since its establishment, the 

S&T Directorate through its Homeland 

Security Advanced Research Projects 

Agency (HSARPA) has completed two major 

solicitations on radiological and nuclear 

detection and architecture and is working on 

six other proposals.

DHS is reaching out to small business 

innovators as well:

★ Over 60 firms received a total of $6.5 

million, with individual firms each receiving 

up to $100,000 for a period of six-months 

to develop new technologies.

★ This year DHS issued designations 

and certifications for four anti-terrorism 

technologies under the SAFTEY Act 

(Support Anti-terrorism by Fostering 

Effective Technologies Act of 2002).

★ The SAFETY Act is designed to encourage 

the development and rapid deployment 

of anti-terrorism technologies by providing 

manufacturers and sellers with limited 

liability risks.

To assist IAIP’s National Cyber Security 

Division, the Science and Technology 

division created a Cybersecurity Research & 

Development Center which has already started 

making advances in such areas as honeynets to 

capture and analyze malicious code, Internet 

mapping and simulation, protocol analysis, 

and securing process control systems. Their 

research and applied development projects are 

vital for providing funding and direction to help 

secure the cyber elements of our nation’s critical 

infrastructure.

Path Forward

A direct result of this vigorous oversight was 

authorization legislation that addresses several 

cross-cutting issues relating to technical 

integration, organizational improvement, 

technology transfer, and long term investment 

in Research and Development as well as 

establishing performance measures for the 

Directorate. Specifically, the Committee 

recommends:

★ Establishing a technology transfer program 

to get equipment, products and services 
Year-One Strides

39

deployed faster to users on the homeland 

security front lines.

★ Creating a communications interoperability 

program for state, local and federal first 

responder partners.

★ Tasking DHS to develop a national 

biodefense and radiological and nuclear 

threat mitigation strategy that includes 

threat and risk analysis across different parts 

of the federal government.

★ Creating a geospatial office within 

the Department.

★ Providing an additional $40 million for 

University Programs for a total of $70 

million investment to advance homeland 

security science.

Preparing for Response

The September 11th attacks created a new 

mission for our nation’s first responders 

– preparing for and responding to acts of 

terrorism. The President and Congress 

reacted swiftly, creating agencies within DHS to 

prepare for and respond to terrorist attacks and 

increasing terrorism preparedness funding for 

first responders.

The Department

The Emergency Preparedness and Response 

Directorate (EP&R) was largely established 

by the transfer of the Federal Emergency 

Management Agency (FEMA) into DHS. The 

directorate helps ensure the effectiveness of 

emergency response providers, provides the 

federal government’s response to terrorist 
Year-One Strides

40

attacks and major disasters, and aids in 

subsequent recovery from any such incident.

The Office of State and Local Government 

Coordination and Preparedness (OSLGCP), 

located within the Office of the Secretary, 

has the specific responsibility for the 

preparedness of the United States for acts 

of terrorism, which it accomplishes through 

grant distribution, training programs, and 

exercises. In addition to streamlining the 

application process, DHS also requires every 

state to conduct and submit a thorough needs 

assessment, known as a State Homeland 

Security Strategy, to ensure the proper, 

strategic use of grant funds. 

Through EP&R and OSLGCP, therefore, 

DHS maintains a federal response capability 

while also preparing first responders at the state 

and local level.

First responders face new challenges, beyond 

the scope of their traditional missions, in 

managing large and complex responses to acts 

of terrorism. In New York City, for instance, 

the 9/11 Commission reported problems 

with incident command, coordination, and 

interoperability. DHS has worked diligently to 

address these new challenges and the problems 

they pose.

First, to define how disparate responders 

would best coordinate their on-scene activities, 

DHS developed and released the National 

Response Plan and the National Incident 

Management System (NIMS).
Year-One Strides

41

★ National Response Plan defines the 

respective roles of federal departments in 

responding to any emergency or disaster.

★ NIMS establishes an on-the-ground, 

nationwide approach to facilitate the onscene interactions of first responders from 

any level of government or the private sector

DHS also established a National Exercise 

Program to test the coordination and response 

capabilities of federal, state, local, tribal and 

foreign entities. In coordination with DHS, 

state and local governments hold frequent 

exercises to sharpen local responses. At the 

national level, DHS has coordinated the Top 

Officials (TOPOFF) exercises to test the 

joint responses of federal, state, and local 

authorities to a weapons-of-mass-destruction 

attack. DHS has conducted two TOPOFF 

exercises, with the third scheduled for 2005. 

In addition, DHS has focused its efforts 

to enhance interoperable communications 

through Project SAFECOM:

★ Serves as the umbrella program within 

the federal government to coordinate 

interoperability issues among a diverse 

group of stakeholders

★ This year, Project SAFECOM released 

the first ever Statement of Requirements 

for interoperability, which is the initial step 

in rigorously defining the functional needs 

of first responders.

★ In addition, DHS will soon announce the 

completion of short-term patching 

solutions to enable fully interoperable 

communications in select high-risk cities.

The Committee

Notwithstanding this significant progress, the 

Committee found that DHS distributed billions 

of dollars in terrorism preparedness grants 

without regard to risk or capabilities. Rather, 

DHS distributed these important funds based 

on arbitrary, political formulas. In response, 

the Committee held numerous hearings to 

better understand the grant distribution process 

and how best to reform it. Based on these 

hearings and other rigorous investigation, 

the Committee issued a report in April 2004 

assessing both the timeliness and effectiveness of 

the distribution process. Entitled “An Analysis 

of First Responder Grant Funding,” the report 

identified common causes for delayed spending, 

assessed the degree to which federal and state 

governments accounted for risk in distributing 

grant funds, and highlighted many examples of 

questionable grant spending.

To reform the grant-making process, the 

Committee introduced H.R. 3266, The Faster 

and Smarter Funding for First Responders 

Act, in October 2003. H.R. 3266 emphasizes 

the need to distribute grant funding on the 

basis of risk and to define minimum essential 

capabilities of preparedness for different types 
Year-One Strides

42

of communities. Over 24 first responder 

organizations, including the largest law 

enforcement and fire service groups, have 

endorsed the bill. On April 2, 2004, the 

Committee reported out H.R. 3266; the other 

four Committees of referral followed suit. 

H.R. 3266 awaits action by the full House. 

Path Forward

★ As DHS continues to distribute billions of 

dollars in first responder grants, the 

Committee strongly believes that risk must 

be the primary factor in allocating grants at 

both the federal and state levels. Other 

imperatives should include the development 

of specific, flexible, measurable, and 

comprehensive preparedness goals and the 

creation of a faster distribution process.

★ To implement risk-based funding, DHS 

must enhance its capability to assess 

accurately risks throughout the nation. 

Specifically, DHS needs to integrate 

information about vulnerabilities from 

local sources, which are most knowledgeable 

about their jurisdictions, with threat 

information provided by intelligence and 

law enforcement groups. 

Such integration would enable DHS to 

develop a more refined picture of the risks 

faced by different communities and, thus, 

allocate scarce resources more effectively.

★ The Committee believes that NIMS 

should be fully implemented across the 

first responder community, including 

medical health professionals, to ensure 

better on-scene incident management.

★ The Committee also believes that DHS 

exercise and training programs should be 

prioritized and integrated across the 

federal, state, and local levels.

★ Finally, the Committee recognizes the 

importance of interoperable 

communications and the difficulty of 

achieving this goal. Project SAFECOM 

must be given real authority to carry out its 

mandate; in the interim, short-term 

patching solutions must be prioritized for 

high-risk areas.

Chairman Cox (L) standing with Ranking Member Turner (R)
Year-One Strides

Next Steps:

Implementing an Integrated Strategy
“As we fight this war, we will 

remember where it began–

here, in our own country. 

This government is taking 

unprecedented measures to 

protect our people and defend 

our homeland.”

 (From the President’s State of the Union Address, the United States Capitol,

 Washington, D.C., January 28, 2003)

✯✯✯

✯✯✯
45

Next Steps

The September 11th attacks changed 

America as it changed the world. The Bush 

Administration took comprehensive and 

decisive action to prevent another terrorist 

attack on the U.S. homeland. In this, the 

Administration succeeded.

Yet now we must move from defensive 

reaction to smart strategy to defeat our 

terrorist enemies.

An integrated homeland security strategy 

takes into account these priorities:

★ Further Integration: The Department, 

while respecting the traditional missions 

of legacy agencies, must move more steadily 

toward integrated management, 

procurement, information technology, and 

human resource systems to create a common 

culture committed to countering the 

terrorist threat.

★ Improved Intelligence: The central 

component of the Department’s 

counterterrorism mission is intelligence. 

It must, therefore, build the analytic 

capabilities, especially against the bio and 

cyber threats, to perform anticipatory 

defensive measures. DHS needs to show 

greater progress, in particular, against the 

top priority cyber threat

★ Public-Private Partnership: The 

Department must work with the private 

sector, which controls over eighty-five 

percent of the nation’s critical 

infrastructure, to ensure that steady progress 

is made in sharing actionable information on 

the terrorist threat. We have much more work 

to do in this area. In addition, identifiable 

vulnerabilities need to be prioritized and 

addressed to make the country safer.

★ Permanent Oversight: A permanent 

Department of Homeland Security will 

require a consolidation of Congressional 

oversight to guide the Department effectively 

and to relieve it of uncoordinated demands 

from multiple committees and 

subcommittees. As recommended by the 

9/11 Commission, the Committee will 

work with the Congress to create a permanent 

Homeland Security Committee.

Measuring Progress 

Toward a Safer America

The primary goal for Fiscal Year 2005 is for 

DHS and the Congress to establish performance 

metrics on the implementation of a clear strategy 

for homeland security.

The strategy must focus resources and dollars 

on agreed-upon priorities to make the country 

safer. The nation needs a clearer understanding 

of what homeland security is and what it will 

cost the American people in the years ahead. We 

must get DHS right because it — like the threat of 

terrorism —is here to stay.
Next Steps

46

The Select Committee, in addition to its 

schedule of DHS-related hearings, will hold 

public hearings and extensive consultations 

with House leadership to develop, before the 

end of the 108th Congress, a proposal to amend 

Rule 10 to make our committee permanent 

and to assign it jurisdiction consistent with its 

responsibilities to conduct oversight over the 

Department as it implements the provisions of 

the Homeland Security Act.

The new Standing Committee will exercise 

focused and rigorous oversight over DHS 

—in collaboration with other committees of 

jurisdiction—as it implements the Homeland 

Security Act. Key elements in the committee’s 

oversight will be:

★ DHS organization and administration.

★ The homeland security mission to 

prevent, prepare for, and respond to acts 

of terrorism.

★ DHS capabilities to analyze infrastructure 

vulnerability and threat, to combine them 

in risk assessment, and to develop and 

implement security enhancements.

★ DHS statutory responsibilities to 

communicate and collaborate with state, 

local, and corporate entities on threat 

and remediation.

★ DHS statutory responsibilities to manage 

research and development programs, and to 

develop threat countermeasures and apply 

new technological applications to homeland 

security problems.

★ DHS statutory responsibilities for the security 

of U.S. air, land, and maritime borders, 

ports of entry, and transportation systems 

against acts of terrorism to the homeland.

Only by moving from unfocused reaction to 

cost-effective strategy can we make America safer 

for the long term. Our defense of freedom today 

preserves it for future generations.
Next Steps

Special Thanks to:

John Gannon

Donovan Chau
The Select Committee on Homeland Security

U.S. House of Representatives, Washington D.C. 20515

Phone: (202) 226-8417 • Fax: (202) 226-3399 • email:homeland@mail.house.gov