The security of federal government buildings and facilities affects not only the daily operations of the federal government but also the health, well-being, and safety of federal employees and the public. Federal building and facility security is decentralized and disparate in approach, as numerous federal entities are involved and some buildings or facilities are occupied by multiple federal agencies. The federal government is tasked with securing over 446,000 buildings or facilities daily. Prior to the April 19, 1995, bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Building in Oklahoma City, the federal government had no established approach to security for federally owned or leased facilities. Immediately following the bombing, President William J. Clinton directed the Department of Justice (DOJ) to assess the vulnerability of federal facilities to terrorist attacks or violence and to develop recommendations for minimum security standards. The U.S. Marshals Service (USMS), within DOJ, coordinated two working groups to accomplish these presidential directives. The working groups identified and evaluated various security measures and activities that could address potential vulnerabilities, and minimum security standards were proposed for federal facilities. Additionally, USMS deputies and General Services Administration (GSA) security specialists conducted inspections at more than 1,200 federal facilities to obtain security data on buildings for use in upgrading existing conditions to comply with the proposed minimum standards. The result of the working groups' efforts was the Vulnerability Assessment of Federal Facilities report. After the report was issued, President Clinton directed all executive branch agencies to begin upgrading their facilities to meet the recommended minimum security standards. Following the DOJ recommendations, President Clinton also required GSA to establish building security committees for GSA-managed facilities. The September 2001 terrorist attacks, the September 2013 Washington Navy Yard shootings, and the April 2014 Fort Hood shootings focused the federal government's attention on building security activities. This resulted in an increase in the security operations at federal facilities and more intense scrutiny of how the federal government secures and protects federal facilities, employees, and the visiting public. There has been congressional interest concerning federal facility security in past Congresses. On May 21, 2014, the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee held a hearing on "Examining the Federal Protective Service: Are Federal Facilities Secure?" and on December 17, 2013, the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee held a hearing on "The Navy Yard Tragedy: Examining Physical Security for Federal Facilities." Even though congressional interest and oversight primarily focuses on the Federal Protective Service (FPS), it should be noted that the most recent incidents at federal facilities are not facilities that are the responsibility of FPS. FPS federal facility security responsibility is limited to only 9,000 of the approximate 446,000 federal facilities. In addition to FPS, there are approximately 20 other federal law enforcement entities with federal facility security missions. Federal facility security is an issue for all branches of the government and every federal department and agency. This attention resulted in a number of frequently asked questions. This report answers several common questions regarding federal building and facility security. These questions include What is federal facility security? Who is responsible for federal facility security? Is there a national standard for federal facility security? What are the types of threats to federal facilities, employees, and the visiting public? How is threat information communicated among federal facility security stakeholders? What are the potential congressional issues associated with federal facility security? In general, federal facility security includes operations and policies that focus on reducing the exposure of the facility, employees, and the visiting public to criminal and terrorist threats. Each federal facility has unique attributes that reflect its individual security needs and the missions of the federal tenants. In 1995, USMS categorized federal facilities by security level: Level I—buildings with no more than 2,500 square feet, 10 or fewer federal employees, and limited or no public access; Level II—buildings with 2,500 to 80,000 square feet, 11 to 150 federal employees, and moderate public access; Level III—buildings with 80,000 to 150,000 square feet, 151 to 450 federal employees, and moderate to high public access; Level IV—buildings with 150,000 square feet or more, more than 450 federal employees, and a high level of public access; and Level V—buildings that are similar to Level IV but are considered critical to national security (e.g., the Pentagon). Security operations may include all-hazards risk assessments; emplacement of criminal and terrorist countermeasures, such as vehicle barriers, closed-circuit cameras, security checkpoints at entrances, and the patrolling of the grounds and perimeter of federal facilities; federal, state, and local law enforcement response; emergency and safety training programs; and proactive gathering and analysis of terrorist and criminal threat intelligence. In addition to the FPS, and according to the Department of Justice's Office of Justice Programs (OJP), there are approximately 20 federal law enforcement entities that provide facility security. The federal law enforcement entities responsible for facility security are U.S. Department of Commerce's National Institute and Standards and Technology Police—Officers provide law enforcement and security services for NIST facilities; U.S. Department of Defense's Pentagon Force Protection Agency—Officers provide law enforcement and security services for the occupants, visitors, and infrastructure of the Pentagon, Navy Annex, and other assigned Pentagon facilities; U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' National Institutes of Health, Division of Police—Officers provide law enforcement and security services for NIH facilities; U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Federal Emergency Management Agency, Security Branch—Officers are responsible for the protection of FEMA facilities, personnel, resources, and information; U.S. Department of Homeland Security's U.S. Secret Service—Uniformed Division officers protect the White House complex and other presidential offices, the main Treasury building and annex, the President and Vice President and their families, and foreign diplomatic missions; The Federal Reserve Board Police—Officers provide law enforcement and security services for Federal Reserve facilities in Washington, DC; National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Protective Services—Officers provide law enforcement and security services for NASA's 14 centers located throughout the United States; Smithsonian National Zoological Park Police—Officers provide security and law enforcement services for the Smithsonian Institution's 163-acre National Zoological Park in Washington, DC; Tennessee Valley Authority Police—Officers provide law enforcement and security services for TVA employees and properties, and users of TVA recreational facilities; U.S. Postal Inspection Services—Postal police officers provide security for postal facilities, employees, and assets, as well as escort high-value mail shipments; U.S. Department of the Interior's U.S Bureau of Reclamation, Hoover Dam Police—Officers provide security and law enforcement services for the Hoover Dam and the surrounding 22-square-mile security zone; Judiciary's U.S. Supreme Court Police—Officers provide law enforcement and security services for the Supreme Court facilities; U.S. Department of Justice's Federal Bureau of Investigation Police—FBI police officers provide law enforcement and security for FBI facilities; U.S. Department of Justice's U.S. Marshals Service—Deputy marshals provide security for federal judicial facilities and personnel; Legislative Branch's U.S. Capitol Police—Officers provide law enforcement and security services for the U.S. Capitol grounds and buildings, and in the zone immediately surrounding the Capitol complex; Legislative Branch's U.S. Government Publishing Office, Uniformed Police Branch—Officers provide law enforcement and security services for facilities where information, products, and services for the federal government are produced and distributed; U.S Department of the Treasury's Bureau of Engraving and Printing Police—Officers provide law enforcement and security services for facilities in Washington, DC, and Fort Worth, TX, where currency, securities, and other official U.S. documents are made; U.S. Department of the Treasury's United States Mint Police—Officers provide law enforcement and security services for employees, visitors, and government assets stored at U.S. Mint facilities in Philadelphia, PA; San Francisco, CA; West Point, NY; Denver, CO; Fort Knox, KY; and Washington, DC; and U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs' Veterans Health Administration, Office of Security and Law Enforcement—Officers provide law enforcement and security services for VA medical centers. Some federal law enforcement agencies, such as the Federal Protective Service, do not stand post at federal facilities, but instead train, inspect, and monitor private security guard companies that provide personnel that occupy security check points and patrol federal facilities. Additionally, FPS responds to criminal and emergency incidents. FPS is responsible for over 9,000 federal facilities and monitors over 15,000 private security guards. These 9,000 facilities are a small portion of the approximately 446,000 federal facilities, and the other 437,000 facilities may be secured by the law enforcement entities listed above; however, one may assume some of these facilities have no law enforcement presence. Due to the large number and different types of federal facilities, there is no single security standard that applies to every facility. There is, however, an interagency committee responsible for providing a number of standards that address federal facility security. The Interagency Security Committee (ISC) has the mission to "safeguard U.S. nonmilitary facilities from all hazards by developing state-of-the-art security standards in collaboration with public and private homeland security partners." GSA originally chaired the ISC until the establishment of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Presently, DHS chairs the ISC. Congressional enactment of the Homeland Security Act in 2002 and the creation of DHS centralized the federal government's efforts to respond to terrorism, including enhancing physical security of federal facilities. Accordingly, the chairmanship of the ISC was transferred from the GSA Administrator to DHS in March 2003. ISC membership consists of over 100 senior level executives from 53 federal agencies and departments.