CBP Launches Nation's First 'Model Port' at Houston Airport
Apr 6, 2007
Yearlong efforts to establish products and processes to make international travel into the United States more welcoming has resulted in Houston's airport becoming the nation's first model port of entry.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), which welcomes more than 400 million travelers into the U.S. each year, spearheads the model port effort.
The concept is a joint initiative between Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.
The program introduces improved signage, multi-lingual explanatory videos and modernized procedures designed to ease the process of arriving in America....
Report Says DHS Is Failing To Protect Food
Apr 6, 2007
A recent federal audit found that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has failed to provide adequate leadership to safeguard the domestic food supply from potential contamination by terrorists, reports Bloomberg Media.
The post-harvest food chain, which includes storage, processing, packaging, transportation and sale of products, is "highly vulnerable to attack," reads a report by the department's inspector general, citing experts interviewed by auditors.
According to the 151-page report posted on the DHS Web site at www.dhs.gov, Homeland security officials have underestimated the extent of the threat and given little attention to the issue....
DHS Awards Grants, Provides Technology To Emergency Responders
Apr 6, 2007
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has awarded two multi-million-dollar grants to state emergency response agencies and emergency workers, in addition to creating a program aimed at delivering the latest technology solutions to first responders.
States and local governments will receive $194 million to help prepare and implement emergency management activities through the Emergency Management Performance Grant (EMPG) program.
State emergency management agencies use EMPG funds to enhance their emergency management capabilities in areas of planning, equipping, training, conducting exercises and providing for all-hazards emergency management operations. In addition, the funds are used to pay for personnel who write plans, conduct training and exercise programs, maintain emergency response programs and educate the public on disaster readiness....
HHS Launches Online Toolkit for Responses to Radiation Emergencies
Apr 5, 2007
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has developed a downloadable online diagnostic and treatment toolkit designed for health care providers, primarily physicians, who may have to provide medical care during a radiation incident.
A team of subject matter experts from the HHS' Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response, the National Institutes of Health's National Cancer Institute and National Library of Medicine and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention collaborated to develop and design the tool kit.
The new information package includes easy-to-follow procedures for diagnosis and management of radiation contamination and exposure, guidance for the use of radiation medical countermeasures, and other features to facilitate medical responses. ...
Senate Supports Efforts to Keep Border Closed to Mexican Trucks
Apr 5, 2007
The U.S. Senate spoke out against the Bush administration's attempt to allow unfettered access to U.S. highways by Mexican trucks by passing a supplemental appropriations bill March 29 that included a provision to stop the pilot program.
"I applaud the Senate's passage of this important provision," says Jim Hoffa, general president of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters transportation labor union. "We cannot allow the administration to push through this pilot program before Mexico is able to adhere to the safety and security standards outlined by Congress."
The Senate's provision blocks funding for the pilot program, requires the Transportation Department to publish details of the plan and provides time for public comment. It will also require that the pilot project meet congressionally mandated safety and security standards. ...
DHS Releases Regulations For Securing High-Risk Chemical Facilities
Apr 5, 2007
The Department of Homeland Security released an interim final rule imposing for the first time comprehensive federal security regulations for high-risk chemical facilities.
The new rule gives the department authority to seek compliance through the imposition of civil penalties, up to $25,000 per day, and the ability to shut down non-compliant facilities.
The department sought and reviewed comments from state and local partners, Congress, private industry and the public to develop consistent guidelines using a risk-based approach. ...
Terror Database Growth Raises Concerns
Apr 5, 2007
The database that acts as a terrorist watch list source for airlines, law enforcement, border posts and U.S. consulates has quadrupled in four years and is causing some headaches for those who handle it, reports The Washington Post.
TIDE, an acronym for Terrorist Identities Datamart Environment, is a storehouse for data about individuals that the intelligence community believes might harm the United States. It was created to close one of the key intelligence gaps revealed after Sept. 11th: the failure of federal agencies to share what they knew about al-Qaeda operatives.
Since 2003, the number of files in the database has risen from less than 100,000 to 435,000, and officials say the growth of the database is overwhelming the employees who manage it....
National Computer Forensic Institute Unveiled
Mar 22, 2007
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Alabama state officials have unveiled the National Computer Forensic Institute in Hoover, Ala., to assist in the field of computer forensics and digital evidence analysis.
The institute is partially funded by the department's National Cyber Security Division and will be developed by the U.S Secret Service.
It will serve as a national cyber crimes training facility where state and local police officers, as well as prosecutors and judges, will be offered training and equipment....
Chertoff Discusses Port Security at AAPA Meeting
Mar 22, 2007
Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff addressed members of the American Association of Port Authorities (AAPA) this week in Washington, D.C. about current and future advances in port security in the United States and abroad.
The AAPA represents port authorities throughout the U.S., Canada, Latin America and the Caribbean and conducts educational and training programs and provides research and information services for port professionals.
In his remarks, Chertoff addressed the widespread thought that port security officials are being negligent in their inspection practices....
Real ID details laid out; opposition to plan grows
Mar 8, 2007
Millions of Americans will have until 2013 to be outfitted with new digital ID cards as part of the Real ID program, the Bush administration says.
DHS has offered a five-year extension to the deadline for states to issue Real ID cards, and proposes creating the equivalent of a national database that would include details on all 240 million licensed drivers.
Among the program's details:...
DHS releases state grants for emergency management
Mar 8, 2007
The Department of Homeland Security has released $194 million to help states and local governments prepare and implement emergency management activities through the Emergency Management Performance Grant (EMPG) program. California was given the largest grant, at nearly $15.4 million....
'Winter Storm' tests first responder credentials
Mar 8, 2007
The Department of Homeland Security Office of National Capital Region Coordination (DHS ONCRC) and the Department of Defense Pentagon Force Protection Agency (DoD PFPA) joined public and private sector participants Feb.15 in a demonstration to validate the functionality of the First Responder Authentication Credential (FRAC).
The demonstration, known as Winter Storm, was a multi-jurisdictional test to verify the integration and interoperability of credential system attributes such as qualifications, authorizations, certifications and privileges....
U.S. honing nuclear detection at borders
Mar 8, 2007
Vehicles passing through a busy border crossing are also subject to nuclear radiation scans. Border officials have been perfecting the use of the devices -- even though they are prone to set off alarms for items such as kitty litter, ceramic tile or bananas.
"Nuclear materials such as uranium and plutonium are not the only materials that emit radiation," Vayl Oxford, who directs the Homeland Security Department's nuclear office, told a House Appropriations panel this week....
US-VISIT abandons use of RFID tags to track foreign visitors
Feb 22, 2007
The Homeland Security Department is abandoning the idea of using radio frequency identification tags to track foreign visitors leaving the country because the technology has not proven successful in testing, according to DHS secretary Michael Chertoff....
DHS wants 'vision' to find tunnels
Feb 22, 2007
The Homeland Security Department has asked the research community to propose innovative methods that would enable the use of sensors and information technology to detect tunnels, especially those beneath U.S. borders, according to Government Computer News.
The department's Homeland Security Advanced Research Projects Agency plans to issue $1 million to $2 million in contracts or grants this year to push tunnel detection technology forward.
The department's Homeland Security Advanced Research Projects Agency plans to issue $1 million to $2 million in contracts or grants this year to push tunnel detection technology forward....
GSA to stop paying for HSPD-12 vendor testing
Feb 8, 2007
The General Services Administration has announced that as of April 3, it will no longer pay for vendors to test their products and services to ensure they are interoperable under Homeland Security Presidential Directive-12 (HSPD-12) requirements....
Bush proposes DHS budget increase
Feb 8, 2007
The White House's $34.6 billion budget request for the Department of Homeland Security includes boosts for some multibillion-dollar programs supported by Lockheed Martin Corp. and other top defense contractors...
Emergency Communications: Taking Command
By Carol Carey
The inability of first responders to communicate during an emergency is a scary proposition. Concern over communication among public safety agencies and...
More Money, Stronger Technology
By Michael Fickes
The Bush administration's budget request for fiscal year 2008, which begins October 1, 2007, appears to shift the administration's approach to securing...
Congressional shift means Homeland subcommittee changes
Jan 25, 2007
A change in the guard in Congress has prompted an overhaul of the U.S. House of Representatives' Homeland security subcommittees.
The House Homeland Security Committee has formed the following subcommittees in the 110th Congress:...
Homeland security innovators compete in "Defend America Challenge"
Jan 25, 2007
The Chesapeake Innovation Center, America's first business accelerator for Homeland and national security, recently hosted the finalists for its first "Defend America Challenge," a competition to expedite the transfer of innovation into the marketplace.
The center received 50 applications for the challenge, ranging from three-page outlines to ...
Chertoff defends risk-based approach to anti-terror grants
Jan 11, 2007
Seaports, rail and bus systems, trucking companies and other private industries at risk of terrorist attack will share nearly a half-billion dollars in anti-terrorism grants this year, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff says.
"We're investing resources where risk is greatest and where the funds will have the most significant impact," said Chertoff, responding to critics who complained that the highest-risk cities did not get a big enough share of federal Homeland security money last year...
TWIC program for port security nears implementation
Jan 11, 2007
The Department of Homeland Security has issued the final rule for the Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC) program, which enhances port security by checking the backgrounds of workers before they are granted unescorted access to secure areas of vessels and maritime facilities.
The rule lays out the enrollment process, disqualifying crimes, usage procedures, fees and other requirements for workers, port owners and operators....
Communications interoperability remains a nationwide challenge
Jan 11, 2007
Only six major U.S. cities have achieved full "advanced implementation" of interoperable communications, according to a nationwide assessment conducted by the Department of Homeland Security....
DHS admits it did not follow privacy laws
Dec 27, 2006
The Department of Homeland Security has admitted it did not follow the Privacy Act two years ago in obtaining more commercial data about U.S. airline passengers than it had announced it would....
