Department of Homeland Security: Progress Made and Work Remaining after Nearly 10 Years in Operation
Published: 2013-02-15T00:00:00

Fast Facts:

Highlights:
section_title: What GAO Found
paragraphs: Since the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) began operations in 2003, it has implemented key homeland security operations and achieved important goals and milestones in many areas to create and strengthen a foundation to reach its potential. As it continues to mature, however, more work remains for DHS to address gaps and weaknesses in its current operational and implementation efforts, and to strengthen the efficiency and effectiveness of those efforts. In its assessment of DHS's progress and challenges 10 years after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, as well as its more recent work, GAO reported that DHS had, among other things, developed strategic and operational plans across its range of missions; established new, or expanded existing, offices and programs; and developed and issued policies, procedures, and regulations to govern its homeland security operations. However, GAO also identified that challenges remained for DHS to address across its missions. Examples of progress made and work remaining include the following:
Aviation security. DHS developed and implemented Secure Flight, a program through which the federal government now prescreens all passengers on all commercial flights to, from, and within the United States. However, DHS did not validate the science supporting its behavior detection program before deploying behavior detection officers at airports, including determining whether such techniques could be successfully used to detect threats.
Border security/immigration enforcement. DHS reported data indicating it had met its goal to secure the land border because of a decrease in apprehensions, attributed in part to changes in the U.S. economy and achievement of DHS strategic objectives. However, DHS has not developed a process to identify and analyze program risks, such as a process to evaluate prior and suspected cases of fraud, in its Student and Exchange Visitor Program, a program intended to, among other things, ensure that foreign students studying in the United States comply with the terms of their admission into the country.
Emergency preparedness and response. DHS issued the National Response Framework, which outlines disaster response guiding principles. However, GAO reported that DHS could reduce the costs to the federal government related to major disasters declared by the President by updating the principal indicator on which disaster funding decisions are based and better measuring a state's capacity to respond without federal assistance.
GAO has identified three key themes--leading and coordinating the homeland security enterprise, implementing and integrating management functions for results, and strategically managing risks and assessing homeland security efforts--that DHS needs to address from a departmentwide perspective to effectively and efficiently position the department for the future. DHS has made progress in all three areas by, among other things, providing leadership and coordination. However, DHS has continued to face challenges in all of these areas. For example, GAO reported that improving research and development could help DHS reduce, among other things, cost overruns and performance shortfalls by reducing inefficiencies and costs for homeland security.
section_title: What GAO Recommends
paragraphs: While this testimony contains no new recommendations, GAO has previously made about 1,800 recommendations to DHS designed to strengthen its programs and operations. DHS has addressed more than 60 percent of them, has efforts underway to address others, and has taken additional action to strengthen the department.

section_title: Letter
paragraphs: I am pleased to be here today to discuss our work on progress made by  the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and work remaining in  implementing its homeland security missions since it began operations  almost 10 years ago on March 1, 2003. This milestone provides an  opportunity to reflect on the progress DHS has made since it began  operating as a single department and the challenges it has faced in  implementing its missions, as well as to identify issues that will be  important for the department to address as it moves forward, based on  work we have completed on DHS programs and operations in key areas.
Since DHS began operations, we have evaluated numerous departmental  programs and issued more than 1,300 reports and congressional  testimonies in areas such as border security and immigration,  transportation security, and emergency management, among others. We  have made approximately 1,800 recommendations to DHS designed to  strengthen its operations. DHS has implemented more than 60 percent of  these recommendations, has actions under way to address others, and  has taken additional steps to strengthen its mission activities. However,  the department has more to do to ensure that it conducts its missions  efficiently and effectively while simultaneously preparing to address future  challenges that face the department and the nation.
In 2003, we designated implementing and transforming DHS as high risk  because DHS had to transform 22 agencies—several with major  management challenges—into one department. Further, failure to  effectively address DHS’s management and mission risks could have  serious consequences for U.S. national and economic security. Since  2003, we have identified additional high-risk areas where DHS has  primary or significant responsibilities, including protecting the federal  government’s information systems and the nation’s critical cyber  infrastructure, establishing effective mechanisms for sharing and  managing terrorism-related information to protect the homeland, and the  National Flood Insurance Program.
In September 2011, we issued a report summarizing progress made by  DHS in implementing its homeland security missions 10 years after the  terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. implemented key homeland security operations and achieved important  goals in many areas to create and strengthen a foundation to reach its  potential. We also reported, however, that as DHS continues to mature,  more work remains for it to strengthen the efficiency and effectiveness of  those efforts to achieve its full potential.
We reported that DHS had  My statement today is based on these and associated products, and  addresses (1) DHS’s progress implementing and strengthening its  mission functions, and (2) crosscutting issues that have affected the  department’s implementation efforts.
For these past reports, among other things, we analyzed DHS  documents; reviewed and updated our past reports, supplemented by  DHS Office of Inspector General (IG) reports, issued since DHS began its  operations in March 2003; and interviewed DHS officials. We conducted  this work in accordance with generally accepted government auditing  standards. More detailed information on the scope and methodology from  our previous work can be found within each specific report.
GAO, Department of Homeland Security: Progress Made and Work Remaining in  Implementing Homeland Security Missions 10 Years after 9/11, GAO-11-881  (Washington, D.C.: Sept. 7, 2011).
subsections: section_title: DHS Continues to Implement and Strengthen Its Mission Functions, but Key Operational and Management Challenges Remain
subsections: section_title: Progress Implementing and Strengthening DHS’s Mission Functions
paragraphs: Since DHS began operations in March 2003, it has developed and  implemented key policies, programs, and activities for implementing its  homeland security missions and functions that have created and  strengthened a foundation for achieving its potential as it continues to  mature. We reported in our assessment of DHS’s progress and  challenges 10 years after the September 11 attacks, as well as in our  more recent work, that the department has implemented key homeland  security operations and achieved important goals in many areas. These  included developing strategic and operational plans across its range of  missions; hiring, deploying, and training workforces; establishing new, or  expanding existing, offices and programs; and developing and issuing  policies, procedures, and regulations to govern its homeland security  operations. For example:
DHS successfully hired, trained, and deployed workforces, including  the federal screening workforce to assume screening responsibilities  at airports nationwide, and about 20,000 agents to patrol U.S. land  borders.
DHS also created new programs and offices, or expanded existing  ones, to implement key homeland security responsibilities, such as  establishing the National Cybersecurity and Communications  Integration Center to, among other things, coordinate the nation’s  efforts to prepare for, prevent, and respond to cyber threats to  systems and communications networks.
DHS issued policies and procedures addressing, among other things,  the screening of passengers at airport checkpoints, inspecting  travelers seeking entry into the United States, and assessing  immigration benefit applications and processes for detecting possible  fraud.
DHS issued the National Response Framework, which outlines  disaster response guiding principles, including major roles and  responsibilities of government, nongovernmental organizations, and  private sector entities for response to disasters of all sizes and  causes.
After initial difficulty in fielding the program, DHS developed and  implemented Secure Flight, a passenger prescreening program  through which the federal government now screens all passengers on  all commercial flights to, from, and within the United States.
In fiscal year 2011, DHS reported data indicating it had met its interim  goal to secure the land border with a decrease in apprehensions. Our  data analysis showed that apprehensions decreased within each  southwest border sector and by 68 percent in the Tucson sector from  fiscal years 2006 through 2011. Border Patrol officials attributed this  decrease in part to changes in the U.S. economy and achievement of  Border Patrol strategic objectives.
We reported in September 2012 that DHS, through its component  agencies, particularly the Coast Guard and U.S. Customs and Border  Protection (CBP), has made substantial progress in implementing  various programs that, collectively, have improved maritime security. For example, in November 2011, we reported that the Coast Guard’s  risk assessment model generally met DHS criteria for being complete,  reproducible, documented, and defensible. Coast Guard units  throughout the country use this risk model to improve maritime  domain awareness and better assess security risks to key maritime  infrastructure.
DHS has taken important actions to conduct voluntary critical  infrastructure and key resources (CIKR) security surveys and  vulnerability assessments, provide information to CIKR stakeholders,  and assess the effectiveness of security surveys and vulnerability  assessments.
section_title: Challenges Implementing DHS’s Missions
paragraphs: GAO, Aviation Security: Efforts to Validate TSA’s Passenger Screening Behavior  Detection Program Underway, but Opportunities Exist to Strengthen Validation and  Address Operational Challenges, GAO-10-763 (Washington, D.C.: May 20, 2010). of $1.5 billion. To develop the Plan, DHS conducted an analysis of  alternatives and outreach to potential vendors, and took other steps to  test the viability of the current system. However, DHS has not  documented the analysis justifying the specific types, quantities, and  deployment locations of border surveillance technologies proposed in  the Plan, or defined the mission benefits or developed performance  metrics to assess its implementation of the Plan. We are reviewing  DHS’s efforts to implement the Plan, and we expect to report on the  results of our work later this year.
DHS spent more than $200 million on advanced spectroscopic  portals, used to detect smuggled nuclear or radiological materials,  without issuing an accurate analysis of both the benefits and the  costs—which we later estimated at over $2 billion—and a  determination of whether additional detection capabilities were worth  the additional costs. DHS subsequently canceled the advanced  spectroscopic portals program as originally conceived.
Each year DHS processes millions of applications and petitions for  more than 50 types of immigrant- and nonimmigrant-related benefits  for persons seeking to study, work, visit, or live in the United States,  and for persons seeking to become U.S. citizens. DHS embarked on a  major initiative in 2005 to transform its current paper-based system  into an electronic account–based system that is to use electronic  adjudication and account- based case management tools, including  tools that are to allow applicants to apply online for benefits. However,  DHS did not consistently follow the acquisition management approach  outlined in its management directives in developing and managing the  program. The lack of defined requirements, acquisition strategy, and  associated cost parameters contributed to program deployment  delays of over 2 years. In addition, DHS estimates that through fiscal  year 2011, it spent about $703 million, about $292 million more than  the original program baseline estimate.
We found that DHS could reduce the costs to the federal government  related to major disasters declared by the President by updating the  principal indicator on which disaster funding decisions are based and  better measuring a state’s capacity to respond without federal  assistance. From fiscal years 2004 through 2011, the President  approved 539 major disaster declarations at a cost of $78.7 billion.
section_title: DHS Can Strengthen the Efficiency and Effectiveness of Its Operations by Continuing to Address Cross-cutting Issues That Have Impacted Its Progress
paragraphs: Our work on DHS’s mission functions and crosscutting issues has  identified three key themes—leading and coordinating the homeland  security enterprise, implementing and integrating management functions  for results, and strategically managing risks and assessing homeland  security efforts—that have impacted the department’s progress since it  began operations. As these themes have contributed to challenges in  the department’s management and operations, addressing them can  result in increased efficiencies and effectiveness. For example, DHS can  help reduce cost overruns and performance shortfalls by strengthening  the management of its acquisitions, and reduce inefficiencies and costs  for homeland security by improving its research and development (R&D)  management. These themes provide insights that can inform DHS’s  efforts as it works to implement its missions within a dynamic and  evolving homeland security environment. DHS made progress and has  had successes in all of these areas, but our work found that these themes  have been at the foundation of DHS’s implementation challenges, and  need to be addressed from a department-wide perspective to effectively  and efficiently position the department for the future.
subsections: section_title: Leading and Coordinating the Homeland Security Enterprise
paragraphs: DHS is one of a number of entities with a role in securing the homeland  and has significant leadership and coordination responsibilities for  managing efforts across the homeland security enterprise. To satisfy  these responsibilities, it is critically important that DHS develop, maintain,  and leverage effective partnerships with its stakeholders while at the  same time addressing DHS-specific responsibilities in satisfying its  missions. DHS has made important strides in providing leadership and  coordinating efforts across the homeland security enterprise, but needs to  take additional actions to forge effective partnerships and strengthen the  sharing and utilization of information. For example, DHS has improved  coordination and clarified roles with state and local governments for  emergency management. DHS also strengthened its partnerships and  collaboration with foreign governments to coordinate and standardize  security practices for aviation security. The department has further  demonstrated leadership by establishing a governance board to serve as  the decision-making body for DHS information-sharing issues. The  board has enhanced collaboration among DHS components and  identified a list of key information-sharing initiatives.
Although DHS has made important progress, more work remains. We  designated terrorism-related information sharing as high risk in 2005  because the government faces significant challenges in analyzing and  disseminating this information in a timely, accurate, and useful manner.  In our most recent high-risk update, we reported that the federal  government’s leadership structure is committed to enhancing the sharing  and management of terrorism-related information and has made  significant progress defining a governance structure to implement the  Information Sharing Environment—an approach that is intended to serve  as an overarching solution to strengthening sharing. However, we also  reported that the key departments and agencies responsible for  information-sharing activities, including DHS, need to continue their  efforts to share and manage terrorism-related information by, among  other things, identifying technological capabilities and services that can  be shared across departments and developing metrics that measure the  performance of, and results achieved by, projects and activities. DHS  officials explained that its information-sharing initiatives are integral to its  mission activities and are funded through its components’ respective  budgets. However, in September 2012 we reported that five of DHS’s top  eight priority information-sharing initiatives faced funding shortfalls, and  DHS had to delay or scale back at least four of them.
section_title: Implementing and Integrating Management Functions for Results
paragraphs: Following its establishment, DHS focused its efforts primarily on  implementing its various missions to meet pressing homeland security  needs and threats, and less on creating and integrating a fully and  effectively functioning department. As the department matured, it has put  into place management policies and processes and made a range of  other enhancements to its management functions, which include  acquisition, information technology, financial, and human capital  management. However, DHS has not always effectively executed or  integrated these functions.
While challenges remain for DHS to address across its range of missions,  the department has made considerable progress in transforming its  original component agencies into a single cabinet-level department and  positioning itself to achieve its full potential. Important strides have also  been made in strengthening the department’s management functions and  in integrating those functions across the department, particularly in recent  years. However, continued progress is needed in order to mitigate the  risks that management weaknesses pose to mission accomplishment and  the efficient and effective use of the department’s resources. In particular,  the department needs to demonstrate continued progress in  implementing and strengthening key management initiatives and  addressing corrective actions and outcomes that GAO identified, and  DHS committed to taking actions address this high-risk area. For  example:
Acquisition management: Although DHS has made progress in  strengthening its acquisition function, most of the department’s major  acquisition programs continue to cost more than expected, take  longer to deploy than planned, or deliver less capability than  promised. We identified 42 programs that experienced cost growth,  schedule slips, or both, with 16 of the programs’ costs increasing from  a total of $19.7 billion in 2008 to $52.2 billion in 2011—an aggregate  increase of 166 percent. We reported in September 2012 that DHS  leadership has authorized and continued to invest in major acquisition  programs even though the vast majority of those programs lack  foundational documents demonstrating the knowledge needed to help  manage risks and measure performance. We recommended that  DHS modify acquisition policy to better reflect key program and  portfolio management practices and ensure acquisition programs fully  comply with DHS acquisition policy. DHS concurred with our  recommendations and reported taking actions to address some of  them.
Information technology management: DHS has defined and begun  to implement a vision for a tiered governance structure intended to  improve information technology (IT) program and portfolio  management, which is generally consistent with best practices.  However, the governance structure covers less than 20 percent  (about 16 of 80) of DHS’s major IT investments and 3 of its 13  portfolios, and the department has not yet finalized the policies and  procedures associated with this structure. In July 2012, we  recommended that DHS finalize the policies and procedures and  continue to implement the structure. DHS agreed with these  recommendations and estimated it would address them by September  2013.
Financial management: DHS has, among other things, received a    qualified audit opinion on its fiscal year 2012 financial statements. DHS is working to resolve the audit qualification to obtain an  unqualified opinion for fiscal year 2013.
However, DHS components  are currently in the early planning stages of their financial systems  modernization efforts, and until these efforts are complete, their  current systems will continue to inadequately support effective  financial management, in part because of their lack of substantial  compliance with key federal financial management requirements.  Without sound controls and systems, DHS faces challenges in  obtaining and sustaining audit opinions on its financial statement and  internal controls over financial reporting, as well as ensuring its  financial management systems generate reliable, useful, and timely  information for day-to-day decision making.
Human capital management: In December 2012, we identified  several factors that have hampered DHS’s strategic workforce  planning efforts and recommended, among other things, that DHS  identify and document additional performance measures to assess  workforce planning efforts. DHS agreed with these  recommendations and stated that it plans to take actions to address  them. In addition, DHS has made efforts to improve employee morale,  such as taking actions to determine the root causes of morale  problems. Despite these efforts, however, federal surveys have  consistently found that DHS employees are less satisfied with their  jobs than the government-wide average. In September 2012, we  recommended, among other things, that DHS improve its root cause  analysis efforts of morale issues. DHS agreed with these  recommendations and noted actions it plans to take to address  them.
section_title: Strategically Managing Risks and Assessing Homeland Security Efforts
paragraphs: Forming a new department while working to implement statutorily  mandated and department-initiated programs and responding to evolving  threats, was, and is, a significant challenge facing DHS. Key threats, such  as attempted attacks against the aviation sector, have impacted and  altered DHS’s approaches and investments, such as changes DHS made  to its processes and technology investments for screening passengers  and baggage at airports. It is understandable that these threats had to be  addressed immediately as they arose. However, limited strategic and  program planning by DHS, as well as assessment to inform approaches  and investment decisions, has contributed to programs not meeting  strategic needs or not doing so in an efficient manner.
Further, DHS has made important progress in analyzing risk across  sectors, but it has more work to do in using this information to inform  planning and resource-allocation decisions. Risk management has been  widely supported by Congress and DHS as a management approach for  homeland security, enhancing the department’s ability to make informed  decisions and prioritize resource investments. Since DHS does not have  unlimited resources and cannot protect the nation from every conceivable  threat, it must make risk-informed decisions regarding its homeland  security approaches and strategies. We reported in September 2011 that  using existing risk assessment tools could assist DHS in prioritizing its  Quadrennial Homeland Security Review (QHSR) implementation  mechanisms. For example, examining the extent to which risk  information could be used to help prioritize implementation mechanisms  for the next QHSR could help DHS determine how to incorporate and use  such information to strengthen prioritization and resource allocation  decisions. DHS officials plan to implement a national risk assessment in  advance of the next QHSR, which DHS anticipates conducting in fiscal  year 2013.
Our work has also found that DHS continues to miss opportunities to  optimize performance across its missions due to a lack of reliable  performance information or assessment of existing information;  evaluation among possible alternatives; and, as appropriate, adjustment  of programs or operations that are not meeting mission needs. For  example, we reported in February 2013 that the government’s strategy  documents related to Information Systems and the Nation’s Cyber Critical  Infrastructure Protection included few milestones or performance  measures, making it difficult to track progress in accomplishing stated  goals and objectives. In addition, in September 2012, we reported that DHS had approved a third generation of BioWatch technology—to further  enhance detection of certain pathogens in the air—without fully evaluating  viable alternatives based on risk, costs, and benefits. As the department  further matures and seeks to optimize its operations, DHS will need to  look beyond immediate requirements; assess programs’ sustainability  across the long term, particularly in light of constrained budgets; and  evaluate trade-offs within and among programs across the homeland  security enterprise. Doing so should better equip DHS to adapt and  respond to new threats in a sustainable manner as it works to address  existing ones.
section_title: Concluding Observations
paragraphs: Given DHS’s role and leadership responsibilities in securing the  homeland, it is critical that the department’s programs and activities are  operating as efficiently and effectively as possible; are sustainable; and  continue to mature, evolve, and adapt to address pressing security  needs. Since it began operations in 2003, DHS has implemented key  homeland security operations and achieved important goals and  milestones in many areas. DHS has also made important progress in  strengthening partnerships with stakeholders, improving its management  processes and sharing of information, and enhancing its risk  management and performance measurement efforts. Important strides  have also been made in strengthening the department’s management  functions and in integrating those functions across the department,  particularly in recent years. Senior leaders at the department have also  continued to demonstrate strong commitment to addressing the  department’s management challenges across the management functions.  These accomplishments are especially noteworthy given that the  department has had to work to transform itself into a fully functioning  cabinet department while implementing its missions—a difficult  undertaking for any organization and one that can take years to achieve  even under less daunting circumstances.
Impacting the department’s efforts have been a variety of factors and  events, such as attempted terrorist attacks and natural disasters, as well  as new responsibilities and authorities provided by Congress and the  administration. These events collectively have forced DHS to continually  reassess its priorities and reallocate resources as needed, and have  impacted its continued integration and transformation. Given the nature of  DHS’s mission, the need to remain nimble and adaptable to respond to  evolving threats, as well as to work to anticipate new ones, will not  change and may become even more complex and challenging as  domestic and world events unfold, particularly in light of reduced budgets  and constrained resources. Our work has shown that to better position  itself to address these challenges, DHS should place an increased  emphasis on and take additional action in supporting and leveraging the  homeland security enterprise; managing its operations to achieve needed  results; and strategically planning for the future while assessing and  adjusting, as needed, what exists today. DHS also needs to continue its  efforts to address the associated high-risk areas that we have identified  which have affected its implementation efforts. Addressing these issues  will be critically important for the department to strengthen its homeland  security programs and operations. DHS has indeed made significant  strides in protecting the homeland, but has yet to reach its full potential.
Chairman Duncan, Ranking Member Barber, and Members of the  Subcommittee, this concludes my prepared statement. I would be pleased  to respond to any questions you may have at this time.
section_title: GAO Contacts and Staff Acknowledgments
paragraphs: For further information regarding this testimony, please contact Cathleen  A. Berrick at (202) 512-3404 or berrickc@gao.gov. In addition, contact  points for our Offices of Congressional Relations and Public Affairs may  be found on the last page of this statement. Individuals who made key  contributions to this testimony are Scott Behen, Adam Hoffman, and  David Maurer. Key contributors for the previous work that this testimony is  based on are listed within each individual product.
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