Awfully disturbing news.

This shows the importance of proactive intelligence and communications in homeland security. Every piece of infrastructure in the U.S.--even a school or school bus--is a potential target, and it can't be the government's job to dole out money to harden everything.

But that's the rationale of too many current homeland security grant programs. They funnel money to influential constituencies, like ports, or the targets of yesterday's terrorist plots. This isn't an efficient or effective way to make Americans safer

Limited funds are better invested in building up general capabilities, such as intelligence, border security, and disaster response. Hardening every school bus in the nation isn't the way to prevent an attack.

The bulletin noted "recent suspicious activity" by foreigners who either drive school buses or are licensed to drive them, the official told The Associated Press.

Foreigners under recent investigation include "some with ties to extremist groups" who have been able to "purchase buses and acquire licenses," the bulletin says.

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Posted at 10:45 AM in Homeland Security by Andrew Grossman [?] | Permalink

Rearranging committee jurisdictions to match the real world is truly "too hot to touch," whatever the benefit.

Among the things left undone in the House bill is changing the committee structure for the intelligence oversight committees. Also too hot to touch was the recommendation to place all intelligence agencies under the Department of Defense, which according to House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, "is not on the table."

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Posted at 3:55 PM in Homeland Security by Andrew Grossman [?] | Permalink

Not everything should fall under the rubric of homeland security. And as our colleague James Carafano says later in the article, "You can't childproof the United States... You cannot protect all your vulnerabilities and that's not the best place to invest all your money. If you put all your money in trains, they blow up schoolyards."

At some point, the federal government needs to let states and localities take charge of their domains and restrict itself to handling truly national roles, such as intelligence operations and coordination. Micromanaging grants to trucking companies isn't what the federal government should be doing.

A bipartisan group of senators is seeking more than $1 billion to bolster security for passenger railroad and bus systems, the trucking and freight industry, tunnels, and pipelines.

Newly minted Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Daniel Inouye, D-Hawaii, and ranking Republican Ted Stevens of Alaska are sponsoring a bill that will seek $1.2 billion over three years for transportation security improvements.

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Posted at 12:40 PM in Homeland Security by Andrew Grossman [?] | Permalink

Says Todd Gaziano, director of the conservative Heritage Foundation's Center for Legal and Judicial Studies: "Every president has engaged in the equivalent of warrantless wiretapping and surveillance-the only difference is that this administration is being far more sensitive to civil liberties."

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Posted at 10:18 AM in The Law, Homeland Security by Andrew Grossman [?] | Permalink

Prioritization is key.

The nation's aviation security chief says Congress should lift a ban on passengers carrying lighters on airplanes because screeners are spending too much time looking for lighters instead of bombs.

"The lighter ban does not add to security anymore," Transportation Security Administration chief Kip Hawley told USA TODAY on Wednesday. Forcing screeners to confiscate lighters at checkpoints "is a distraction from the serious nature of finding (bomb) components."

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Posted at 2:58 PM in Homeland Security by Andrew Grossman [?] | Permalink

Taking advantage of the available technologies could help to minimize the inherent weaknesses in an identity-based security system. To secure docu­ments from fraud, policymakers need to examine carefully the available technologies, reviewing their capabilities, requirements, infrastructure demands, and costs. They should also consider how these technologies could affect individual privacy and fundamental liberties. Finally, policymakers should work in conjunction with the private sector and other stakeholders to create a compendium of best practices that uphold the principles of federalism while ensuring a successful strategy for identity security.

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Posted at 4:26 PM in Homeland Security by Lester Romero [?] | Permalink

If DHS carried out its mission reasonably, congressional oversight should make that clear. And if not, it's an opportunity to revamp and correct any errors or misprioritizations.

Congress is demanding that the Homeland Security Department turn over all documents related to how it's awarding anti-terrorism grants. ..

To do it right, [Chertoff] said, his department would analyze data that "would occupy over 30 million Excel spreadsheet cells and would include 3.2 billion ? with a 'B' ? calculations."

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Posted at 11:12 AM in Homeland Security by Andrew Grossman [?] | Permalink

This is puzzling. Is it based on solid risk analysis or is DHS giving into the security-grants-as-pork mentality that so many in Congress favor? Asst. Sec. Tracy Henke said, "We have to understand that there is risk throughout the nation." DHS also has to understand that its funds are limited and would be put to best use matched against the biggest risks.

Winners included Atlanta, Chicago and Los Angeles, as well as smaller cities such as Louisville (up 70 percent), Charlotte (64 percent) and St. Louis (31 percent). The only notable gain in the Northeast was in the Jersey City-Newark area, where the grant rose from $19 million to $34 million.

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Posted at 8:57 AM in Federal Spending, Homeland Security by Andrew Grossman [?] | Permalink

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