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Author Archive: David Olive

After TSA Fails IG Red Team Test, Accountability at DHS

As much as I like Mel Carraway, it is difficult to disagree with DHS Secretary Jeh Johnson's decision to reassign Carraway, the (now former) acting TSA Administrator. The news reports of an Inspector General (IG) investigation finding serious problems...

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Nominee to Head TSA Soon? Not Soon Enough

In advance of an oversight hearing on TSA by his subcommittee today, Rep. John Katko (R-NY) wrote to President Obama asking for the White House to fill the TSA Administrator's position "ASAP." DHS Secretary Jeh Johnson said last week...

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DHS Vacancies Need to be Filled – And It Should Not Be Too Hard

Last week’s Senate Commerce Committee announcement about an upcoming hearing on TSA’s FY16 budget request inferentially noted that the White House still had not sent the Senate a nominee to replace former Administrator John Pistole. The Commerce Committee has...

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That Was the Week That Was – The 2015 Version

March came in like a lion with a long list of news items, including Clinton e-mails, DHS funding and Boko Haram allegiance to ISIS. What could happen next?

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DHS Inspector General John Roth on CBP UAVs

This morning, Tom Temin interviewed DHS Inspector General John Roth about the report his office issued, which severely criticizes the DHS CBP Office of Air & Marine’s use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) for border surveillance purposes.

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Obama MIA as Leaders Gather in Paris

On Sunday, after a terrorist attack that murdered a dozen French citizens, 4 million people gathered in Paris to stand together and say they would not be afraid. While leaders from around the world came to Paris to join...

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DHS Inspector General Says CBP Drone Program is of “Dubious” Benefit

DHS Inspector General John Roth dropped a powerful present on the front doorstep of Customs and Border Protection on Christmas Eve. News of the report is just coming out this week. It is about time a DHS official questioned...

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Looking Back and Looking Forward – DHS Moves into 2015 Amid Uncertainty and Hope

By most objective measures, 2014 was not a good year for the Department of Homeland Security. As we enter 2015, I sense there is a slight bit of subjective optimism that, under the leadership of DHS Secretary Jeh Johnson,...

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Anniversaries are More Than Just Days to Remember

Twelve years ago last week, President Bush signed the act creating the Department of Homeland Security. It came into formal existence on March 1, 2003. Anniversaries are days to reflect on broader issues, and it is a good time...

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Save the Bagpipes From the Federal Bureaucracy

Every so often, a federal agency does something so questionable that it makes one shake his head in disbelief. This is about saving bagpipes and other musical instruments from seizure by federal officials at the U.S. border. It is...

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