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1. Border agency retreats on employee political activities
By Chris Strohm
Customs and Border Protection employees in the Los Angeles region were incorrectly told they could not participate in political activities outside of work without getting approval from the bureau, according to an agency spokeswoman.
A CBP supervisor at the Los Angeles-Long Beach Seaport "mistakenly told employees" they had to submit an outside employment form to the bureau in order to volunteer during off-duty time with a political campaign, said agency spokeswoman Christiana Halsey.
"We have no policy whatsoever that says employees have to file forms to do political activities. That is absurd," Halsey said.
Full story: http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/0904/092004c1.htm
2. TSA issues draft order to airlines for passenger records
By Chris Strohm
The Transportation Security Administration wants commercial airlines to hand over records for people who traveled within the United States during June in order to test a new passenger prescreening program.
The agency issued documents Tuesday for the Secure Flight program, which is intended to compare information on passengers against government watch lists of suspected terrorists. TSA published a privacy impact assessment and system of records notice for the program, along with a draft order that would require airlines to turn over records on people who flew within this country in June. Comments on the draft order are due within 30 days, after which a final order for the information will be made to the nation's 77 commercial airlines.
"This is a big effort on our part to get information from the airlines and from the public before we actually issue the final information request," said TSA spokesman Darrin Kayser. "It's a very unique thing. We are giving the airlines some time."
Full story: http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/0904/092104c1.htm
3. Senate leader works to break impasse on Homeland Security bill
By Peter Cohn, CongressDailyPM
Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., has waded into a dispute between appropriators and House Ways and Means Chairman Bill Thomas, R-Calif., to try to break an impasse over the fiscal 2005 Homeland Security spending bill that has prevented the House from appointing conferees.
Aides said Thomas approached Frist Monday to discuss his concerns over a provision the Senate added to extend Customs Service user fees to pay for $784 million in additions to the $32 billion measure. The matter has held up consideration of the bill because Thomas is threatening to lodge a "blue slip" objection to the Customs Service fee extension since it violates the constitutional requirement that all revenue measures originate in the House.
At their meeting Monday, Frist assured Thomas that the matter would be "dealt with," according to a top Senate aide. But the aide and Senate Appropriations Committee staff said no final decisions have been made about how to address the provision. Other aides speculate that Senate appropriators may have to accede to Thomas' demand and find some other way to pay for the spending increases, in part because Thomas is insisting that custom fees be preserved to pay for offsets to the foreign sales corporation/extraterritorial income tax bill. The Senate amendments addressed spending increases such as $200 million for five air bases along the Canadian border and $128 million for rail security.
Full story: http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/0904/092104cdpm1.htm
4. CIA refuses to release historical budget data
By Chris Strohm
The acting director of Central Intelligence told a federal court this week that he will not release historical budget information for the intelligence community and, in some cases, does not have past budget data for individual agencies.
The Project on Government Secrecy at the Federation of American Scientists filed a Freedom of Information Act request seeking the release of the total U.S. intelligence budget from 1947 to 1970, as well as budget totals for subsidiary agencies such as the National Reconnaissance Office and the National Security Agency. John McLaughlin, who serves as acting director of both Central Intelligence and the CIA, told a federal court this week that releasing such information might damage U.S. national security by giving adversaries sensitive information about sources and methods.
"I have carefully considered the ramifications of releasing the total CIA budgets for fiscal years 1947 to 1970 and a few budget numbers from other agencies for fiscal year 1947," McLaughlin wrote in a letter to the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. "I have concluded that publicly disclosing the intelligence budget information that [the] plaintiff seeks would tend to reveal intelligence methods that, in the interest of maintaining an effective intelligence service, ought not be publicly revealed."
Full story: http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/091704c1.htm
5. 9/11 overhaul likely to include cybersecurity provision
By Greta Wodele, CongressDaily
House Republican leaders have included provisions to bolster the Homeland Security Department's cybersecurity responsibilities in legislation addressing recommendations made by the 9/11 Commission, according to sources.
A congressional aide, who reviewed parts of the 9/11 proposal, said it now includes two smaller bills introduced last week by Reps. Mac Thornberry, R-Texas, and Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif., to elevate the department's cybersecurity director and create a technology transfer program.
House Majority Whip Roy Blunt, R-Mo., said last week GOP leaders could have their 9/11 package ready by Tuesday, and House committees could begin marking up the bill next week. The smaller bills were part of the House Homeland Security Committee's authorization measure, but negotiations stalled this summer and sources said it is unlikely the panel will take up an authorization measure this session.
Full story: http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/0904/092004cdpm1.htm
Brought to you by Motorola
A rapid, coordinated response among first responders is critical when lives are at stake.
Subscribe to Motorola's Mission Critical Solution Series to discover how Motorola can help you achieve True Interoperability, through always-available Critical Networks, with the pre-emptive intelligence of Mission Critical Data.
Visit www.motorola.com/missioncritical to learn how we can help first responders to do more with every second.
6. House chairman may slow Homeland bill in customs fee dispute
By Peter Cohn, CongressDaily
House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Bill Thomas, R-Calif., is threatening a procedural maneuver known as a "blue slip" that could slow action on the fiscal 2005 Homeland Security appropriations bill, according to sources familiar with ongoing discussions.
The Senate added about $784 million during floor debate on the measure, offset by an extension of Customs Service user fees. Revenue measures must originate in the House under the Constitution—and Thomas has already included about $19 billion in revenue raisers for his foreign sales corporation/extraterritorial income exclusion bill from new Customs fees.
"We're aware that it could be an issue and we're looking at what our options are," a Senate Appropriations Committee aide said. The Senate approved its version of the Homeland Security appropriations bill Tuesday night, while the House passed its bill in June.
Full story: http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/0904/092004cd1.htm
7. Congress hurtles toward intelligence overhaul
By Siobhan Gorman and Richard E. Cohen, National Journal
The mood was chummy as Sens. Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Joe Lieberman, D-Conn., released their intelligence reform bill on the morning of September 15. The two moderates, who serve as chairwoman and ranking member of the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee, exuded teamwork and optimism as they promised speedy Senate action on their proposal—partisanship be damned. "In a Congress that has become increasingly partisan," Lieberman said, "we are figuring out that our first responsibility is to put the party labels away" for national security.
Less than an hour earlier, House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, R-Texas, and other Republican leaders laid out the game plan for the House, where action is expected by month's end on an intelligence bill coordinated by Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill. Although DeLay said he welcomed Democratic cooperation and promised not to let "politics get in the way," he also touted "the tremendous amount of work" that the GOP-controlled Congress has already done in the past three years to strengthen national security.
The dueling press conferences made clear that lawmakers, back barely a week from their long summer recess, are intent on quickly implementing recommendations made by the 9/11 commission in late July. At this point, though, the legislative road ahead for the proposals appears uncertain and far from textbook traditional.
Full story: http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/0904/091704nj2.htm
8. House lawmakers target billions for public transportation security
By Chris Strohm
House lawmakers introduced legislation last week that would pump billions into public transportation security and require greater cooperation between the Homeland Security and Transportation departments.
The Public Transportation Terrorism Prevention and Response Act of 2004 would provide $3.5 billion in federal grants over three years to public transportation agencies and bus operators for security improvements. The bill was introduced by members of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, including Chairman Don Young, R-Alaska, and ranking member James Oberstar, D-Minn.
"We cannot allow ourselves to be less than prepared for future terrorist attacks on systems that carry millions of Americans each day," lawmakers said in a statement.
Full story: http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/0904/091604c1.htm
9. Lawmakers question policy on transportation security information
By Chris Strohm
Two leading Democrats on the House Appropriations Committee on Tuesday asked government auditors to review how the Homeland Security Department is using its authority to withhold transportation security information from the public.
Reps. David Obey, D-Wis., and Martin Olav Sabo, D-Minn., said they are concerned that DHS, and the Transportation Security Administration in particular, are misapplying the "sensitive security information" designation. Obey is the full committee's ranking member, while Sabo is ranking member of the committee's homeland security subcommittee.
"Recent events have led to our concern regarding [DHS and TSA] practices and procedures for determining whether information should be protected under the SSI designation," the lawmakers wrote in a Sept. 14 letter to the Government Accountability Office.
Full story: http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/0904/091504c1.htm
10. Quote of the Week:
"We have miles to go before we can say this system was successfully rolled out to the field."
— Rep. Jim Kolbe, R-Ariz., on the U.S. Agency for International Development's progress in implementing an electronic financial management system.
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