Preventing a “Bhophal on wheels”
Infrastructure improvements may be at the top of the to-do list for Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood, but another problem urgently calls for hands-on leadership. Catastrophic release of deadly cargo, whether by accident or an act of terror,could...
DetailsInteroperability & Appropriations Hearing – Why Can’t You Hear Me Now?
There is a biting irony to an Appropriations Hearing on Interoperability that no one can listen to.Today, three senior DHS leaders, Dr. David Boyd of the Science & Technology Directorate; Chris Essid of the Office of Emergency Communications; and...
DetailsResilience starts in the community
National resilience is truly a community effort. I split my time between an office in DC and a home in the mountains of Utah, and one of the most important messages that Washington needs to learn these days is...
DetailsNFL Punts the SAFETY Act into the News
This week, Thomas Frank of USA Today reported on the decision of DHS’ Office of SAFETY Act Implementation (OSAI) to award the NFL SAFETY Act Certification. To see mention of the SAFETY Act in USA Today was a...
DetailsThe Mumbai Attacks – Heard by the Homeland
On Wednesday, March 11, 2009, the House Subcommittee on Transportation Security and Infrastructure Protection convened a hearing, “The Mumbai Attacks: A Wake-Up Call for America’s Private Sector.” It was a hearing that lived up to its name. Since 9/11...
DetailsCyber – Coming Clarity or Compounding Confusion?
When President Obama tapped Melissa Hathaway to lead the new Administration’s 60-day review of nation’s cyber architecture and to present him with a plan for dealing with the most complex and interdependent of critical infrastructures, he made a good...
DetailsThe Search is Over – It’s Fugate for FEMA
Ever since President Obama was elected and started to name individuals for his Cabinet, a number of names have been in circulation as potential nominees for FEMA Administrator. These lists have included people like . Ellis Stanley,...
Details“It’s Voluntary but…”
When the 9/11 Commission issued its Final Report and recommendations in July 2004, much of the attention focused on the findings showing a need to reform the nation’s intelligence mechanisms and the assessment of our national “failure of imagination.”...
DetailsA Powerful Message – A 21% Increase to DHS Cyber
If you ever want to know what’s a priority in Washington the old adage, “follow the money” will tell you very quickly. That little phrase holds true again especially when it comes to cyber security and DHS.Yesterday, the...
DetailsDent’s Mule Skinners & TWIC Cards Get National Attention
In yesterday’s House Homeland Security Committee Hearing with DHS Sec. Napolitano, US Rep. Charlie Dent (R-PA) questioned the Secretary about TSA requirements for Transportation Workers Identification Credentials (TWIC) cards for workers that serve as mule drivers (aka “mule skinners”)...
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