Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff Announces Six-Point Agenda for
Department of Homeland Security
http://www.dhs.gov/dhspublic/display?theme=43&content=4598&print=true
For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
Contact: 202-282-8010
July 13, 2005
Organization Chart (proposed end state) (PDF, 3 pages - 617 KB)
Secretary Michael Chertoff today announced a six-point agenda for the
Department of Homeland Security designed to ensure that the Department¹s
policies, operations, and structures are aligned in the best way to address
the potential threats both present and future that face our nation.
³Our Department must drive improvement with a sense of urgency. Our enemy
constantly changes and adapts, so we as a Department must be nimble and
decisive,² said Secretary Michael Chertoff.
Today¹s announcement reflects conclusions drawn as a result of the Second
Stage Review, a careful study of the Department¹s programs, policies,
operations and structure. The Review examined nearly every element of the
Department of Homeland Security in order to recommend ways that DHS could
better manage risk in terms of threat, vulnerability and consequence;
prioritize policies and operational missions according to this risk-based
approach; and establish a series of preventive and protective steps that
would increase security at multiple levels.
³DHS must base its work on priorities driven by risk,² said Secretary
Chertoff. ³Our goal is to maximize our security, but not security at any
price. Our security regime must promote Americans¹ freedom, prosperity,
mobility, and individual privacy.²
The Secretary¹s six-point agenda will guide DHS in the near term and result
in changes that will:
* Increase overall preparedness, particularly for catastrophic events;
* Create better transportation security systems to move people and cargo
more securely and efficiently;
* Strengthen border security and interior enforcement and reform
immigration processes;
* Enhance information sharing with our partners;
* Improve DHS financial management, human resource development,
procurement and information technology; and
* Realign the DHS organization to maximize mission performance.
Secretary Chertoff announced that details of new policy initiatives in these
six areas will be announced in the coming weeks and months, including:
* A new approach to securing our borders through additional personnel,
new technologies, infrastructure investments, and interior enforcement -
coupled with efforts to reduce the demand for illegal border migration by
channeling migrants seeking work into regulated legal channels;
* Restructuring the current immigration process to enhance security and
improve customer service;
* Reaching out to state homeland security officials to improve
information exchange protocols, refine the Homeland Security Advisory
System, support state and regional data fusion centers, and address other
topics of mutual concern; and
* Investing in the Department¹s most important asset its people with
top-notch professional career training and development efforts.
Secretary Chertoff also announced two common sense changes to improve the
way the Department does business.
* Require 10-Fingerscan Standard for Foreign Visitors. DHS will
strengthen the US-VISIT program to require a one-time 10-fingerscan capture
upon enrollment, with continued use of two-print verification during later
entries, to ensure the highest levels of accuracy in identifying people
entering and exiting our country.
* Eliminate 30-minute Rule for DCA Flights. As a result of numerous
security measures established to protect passengers and air travel, DHS will
eliminate the 30-minute rule preventing passengers from standing up within
thirty minutes of takeoff or landing for flights to or from Ronald Reagan
National Airport.
Organizational Initiatives: Structural Adjustments to DHS
The Secretary also announced details of his proposal for realigning the
Department of Homeland Security to increase its ability to prepare, prevent,
and respond to terrorist attacks and other emergencies. These changes will
better integrate the Department, giving DHS employees better tools to help
them accomplish their mission. These management tools will:
* Centralize and Improve Policy Development and Coordination. A new
Directorate of Policy, ultimately led by an Under Secretary upon enactment
of legislation, will serve as the primary Department-wide coordinator for
policies, regulations, and other initiatives. This Directorate will ensure
the consistency of policy and regulatory development across various parts of
the Department as well as perform long-range strategic policy planning. It
will assume the policy coordination functions previously performed by the
Border and Transportation Security (BTS) Directorate. It will also create a
single point of contact for internal and external stakeholders by
consolidating or co-locating similar activities from across the department.
This new Directorate will include:
> Office of International Affairs;
> Office of Private Sector Liaison;
> Homeland Security Advisory Council;
> Office of Immigration Statistics; and
> Senior Asylum Officer
* Strengthen Intelligence Functions and Information Sharing. A new
Office of Intelligence and Analysis will ensure that information is gathered
from all relevant field operations and other parts of the intelligence
community; analyzed with a mission-oriented focus; informative to senior
decision-makers; and disseminated to the appropriate federal, state, local,
and private sector partners. Led by a Chief Intelligence Officer who reports
directly to the Secretary, this office will be comprised of analysts within
the former Information Analysis directorate and draw on expertise of other
DHS components with intelligence collection and analysis operations.
* Improve Coordination and Efficiency of Operations. A new Director of
Operations Coordination will enable DHS to more effectively conduct joint
operations across all organizational elements; coordinate incident
management activities; and utilize all resources within the Department to
translate intelligence and policy into immediate action. The Homeland
Security Operations Center, which serves as the nation¹s nerve center for
information sharing and domestic incident management on a 24/7/365 basis,
will be a critical part of this new office.
* Enhance Coordination and Deployment of Preparedness Assets. The
Information Analysis and Infrastructure Protection Directorate will be
renamed the Directorate for Preparedness and consolidate preparedness assets
from across the Department. The Directorate for Preparedness will facilitate
grants and oversee nationwide preparedness efforts supporting first
responder training, citizen awareness, public health, infrastructure and
cyber security and ensure proper steps are taken to protect high-risk
targets. The directorate will be managed by an Under Secretary and include:
> A new Assistant Secretary for Cyber Security and Telecommunications,
responsible for identifying and assessing the vulnerability of critical
telecommunications infrastructure and assets; providing timely, actionable
and valuable threat information; and leading the national response to cyber
and telecommunications attacks;
> A new Chief Medical Officer, responsible for carrying out the
Department¹s responsibilities to coordinate the response to biological
attacks and to serve as a principal liaison between DHS and the Department
of Health and Human Services, the Centers for Disease Control, the National
Institutes of Health, and other key parts of the biomedical and public
health communities;
> Assistant Secretary for Infrastructure Protection;
> Assets of the Office of State and Local Government Coordination and
Preparedness responsible for grants, training and exercises;
> U.S. Fire Administration; and
> Office of National Capitol Region Coordination.
Other Department Realignments
* Improve National Response and Recovery Efforts by Focusing FEMA on Its
Core Functions. FEMA will report directly to the Secretary of Homeland
Security. In order to strengthen and enhance our Nation¹s ability to respond
to and recover from manmade or natural disasters, FEMA will now focus on its
historic and vital mission of response and recovery.
* Integrate Federal Air Marshal Service (FAMS) into Broader Aviation
Security Efforts. The Federal Air Marshal Service will be moved from the
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) bureau to the Transportation
Security Administration to increase operational coordination and strengthen
efforts to meet this common goal of aviation security.
* Merge Legislative and Intergovernmental Affairs. This new Office of
Legislative and Intergovernmental Affairs will merge certain functions among
the Office of Legislative Affairs and the Office of State and Local
Government Coordination in order to streamline intergovernmental relations
efforts and better share homeland security information with members of
Congress as well as state and local officials.
* Assign Office of Security to Management Directorate. The Office of
Security will be moved to return oversight of that office to the Under
Secretary for Management in order to better manage information systems,
contractual activities, security accreditation, training and resources.
The Homeland Security Act of 2002 (HSA) provides certain flexibility for the
Secretary of Homeland Security to establish, consolidate, alter or
discontinue organizational units within the Department. The mechanism for
implementing these changes is a notification to Congress, required under
section 872 of the HSA, allowing for the changes to take effect after 60
days.
Other proposed changes will require Congressional action. The Department
will work with Congress to accomplish these shared goals.
Background: The Second Stage Review (2SR) Process
The Second Stage Review included 18 action teams composed of 10-12 members
with appropriate expertise dealing with certain subject matter. More than
250 participants within the Department of Homeland Security, representing a
comprehensive cross-section, contributed to the Second Stage Review process.
Final issue papers from the action teams were completed and given to the
Secretary by May 31, 2005. The Secretary met with all 18 action teams to
discuss their findings in detail, and their work served as an important
basis for today¹s announcement as well as a number of new initiatives yet
to be announced.
Action teams examined a wide range of issues, including:
* Risk/Readiness
* Information and Intelligence Sharing
* Performance Metrics
* Law Enforcement Activities
* Listening to External Partners
* Supply Chain Security
* Internal Communications and DHS Culture
* Research, Technology & Detection
###
Related Information
* Secretary Michael Chertoff U.S. Department of Homeland Security Second
Stage Review Remarks
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