In November 2002, the Homeland Security Act was enacted into law, creating DHS. This act defined the department’s missions to include preventing terrorist attacks within the United States; reducing U.S. vulnerability to terrorism; and minimizing the damages, and assisting in the recovery from, attacks that occur within the United States. The act also specified major responsibilities for the department, including to analyze information and coordinate the protection of critical infrastructure; coordinate efforts to develop countermeasures against chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, and other emerging terrorist threats; secure U.S. borders and transportation systems; and manage the federal government’s response to terrorist attacks and major disasters. Various laws have been enacted and presidential directives have been issued that, among other things, expand, modify, or clarify DHS’s missions and responsibilities. For example, these laws and directives have reorganized departmental offices and functions; clarified DHS’s roles and responsibilities, such as for emergency preparedness and response; and directed DHS to complete various strategic documents or implement specific programs within certain time frames. For example, the Aviation and Transportation Security Act, enacted in November 2001, established the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and, among other things, included requirements for deploying a federal screening workforce at airports and screening all checked baggage transported on passenger aircraft using explosive detection systems. The Maritime Transportation Security Act of 2002 and the Security and Accountability For Every Port Act of 2006 (SAFE Port Act), among other things, established and modified a maritime security framework to include U.S. vessel and port facility security requirements, an international port security assessment program, and programs for scanning cargo containers. The Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 included provisions related to intelligence, immigration enforcement, border security, and aviation security, such as those calling for an increase in the number of Border Patrol agents and full-time investigators for violations of immigration law, subject to the availability of appropriations, and requiring DHS to develop a national strategy for transportation security. The Post-Katrina Emergency Management Reform Act of 2006 required changes to the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) organizational and management structure, and addressed other emergency management areas, such as emergency communications, and national planning and preparedness. The Implementing Recommendations of the 9/11 Commission Act of 2007 includes provisions related to critical infrastructure protection, transportation security, and chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear threats, among other areas. The law references the recommendations made by the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States (known as the 9/11 Commission). DHS began operations in March 2003, and its establishment represented a fusion of 22 federal agencies to coordinate and centralize the leadership of many homeland security activities under a single department. The department’s total budget authority has increased from about $39 billion in fiscal year 2004 to about $55 billion in fiscal year 2011. The department’s fiscal year 2012 budget request is about $57 billion in total funding. Table 1 provides information on DHS’s budget authority for each fiscal year from 2004 though 2011, as reported by DHS. A variety of factors have affected DHS’s efforts to implement its mission functions since its establishment, including several departmental reorganizations. Most notably, in 2005 DHS announced the outcome of its Second Stage Review, a systematic evaluation of DHS’s operations, policies, and structures. As a result of this review, the department realigned existing directorates. The Post-Katrina Emergency Management Reform Act provided for the further reorganization of functions within the department by, in particular, realigning DHS’s emergency preparedness and response responsibilities. Further, as a result of the Implementing Recommendations of the 9/11 Commission Act of 2007, DHS reorganized its intelligence-related operations. In addition to these reorganizations, domestic and international events have affected DHS’s implementation efforts. For example, Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, the 2009 H1N1 pandemic, the attempted airline attack on December 25, 2009, and the 2010 Gulf oil spill required rapid responses from the department and impacted DHS’s plans and operations for mitigating vulnerabilities and addressing threats, and its progress in implementing its missions. Figure 1 provides a timeline of selected events that have affected DHS’s implementation efforts. 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 to achieve its potential as it continues to mature. However, the department’s efforts have been hindered by challenges faced in leading and coordinating the homeland security enterprise; implementing and integrating its management functions for results; and strategically managing risk and assessing, and adjusting as necessary, its homeland security efforts. DHS has made progress in these three areas, but needs to take additional action, moving forward, to help it achieve its full potential. DHS has made important progress in implementing and strengthening its mission functions over the past 8 years. DHS implemented key homeland security operations and achieved important goals and milestones in many areas. The department’s accomplishments include 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. Specifically:  DHS issued strategic and operational plans to guide its homeland security efforts, such as the QHSR, which provided a strategic framework for homeland security, and the National Response Framework, which is built upon coordinating structures to align key roles and responsibilities across the nation, linking all levels of government, nongovernmental organizations, and the private sector.  DHS successfully hired, trained, and deployed workforces, such as a federal screening workforce at airports nationwide. DHS also has about 20,000 agents to patrol the U.S. land borders and about 20,600 officers to conduct screening at air, land, and sea ports of entry.  DHS created new programs and offices, or expanded existing ones, to implement key homeland security responsibilities, such as establishing the U.S. Computer Emergency Readiness Team to, among other things, coordinate the nation’s efforts to prepare for, prevent, and respond to cyber threats to systems and communications networks. DHS also expanded programs for identifying and removing aliens subject to removal from the United States and for preventing unauthorized aliens from entering the country.  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. Establishing these elements and others are important accomplishments and have been critical for the department to position and equip itself for fulfilling its homeland security missions and functions. However, our work has shown that more work remains for DHS to address weaknesses in its current operational and implementation efforts and to strengthen the efficiency and effectiveness of those efforts to achieve its full potential. For example, we have reported that many DHS programs and investments have experienced cost overruns, schedule delays, and performance problems, including, for instance, DHS’s recently canceled technology program for securing U.S. borders, known as the Secure Border Initiative Network, and some technologies for screening passengers at airport checkpoints. DHS also has not yet fully implemented its roles and responsibilities for developing and implementing key homeland security programs and initiatives. For example, FEMA has not yet developed a set of target capabilities for disaster preparedness or established metrics for assessing those capabilities to provide a framework for evaluating preparedness, as required by the Post-Katrina Emergency Management Reform Act of 2006. Further, DHS has not yet fully deployed technologies to meet key missions for border, aviation, and maritime security. Our work has also shown that DHS should take additional action to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of a number of its programs and activities by, for example, improving program management and oversight, and better assessing homeland security requirements, needs, costs, and benefits, such as for key acquisition and technology programs. Table 2 provides additional information on key progress and work remaining in each of DHS’s functional mission areas, as identified by our work and supplemented by that of the DHS IG, with an emphasis on work completed since 2008. We have made approximately 1,500 recommendations to DHS to help address these issues, and DHS has addressed about half of them and has actions underway to address others. Appendixes III through XII provide more detailed information on our assessment of progress made and work remaining in each functional, including recommendations we have made and the department’s efforts to implement them. Impacting the department’s ability to efficiently and effectively satisfy its missions are: the need to integrate and strengthen its management functions; the need for increased utilization of performance assessments; the need for an enhanced use of risk information to inform planning, programming, and investment decision-making; limitations in effective sharing and use of terrorism-related information;  partnerships that are not sustained or fully leveraged; and  limitations in developing and deploying technologies to meet mission needs. DHS made progress in addressing these areas, but more work is needed, going forward, to further mitigate these challenges and their impact on DHS’s mission implementation. As we have previously reported, while it is important that DHS continue to work to strengthen each of its functional areas, it is equally important that these areas be addressed from a comprehensive, departmentwide perspective to help mitigate longstanding issues that have impacted the department’s progress. Table 3 provides examples of crosscutting issues that have impacted the department’s progress, as identified by our work. Appendixes XIII through XVIII provide more detailed information on our assessment of progress made and work remaining in each crosscutting area, including recommendations we have made and DHS’s efforts to implement them.