By Calvin Biesecker
Attempts by the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Science and Technology (S&T) office to develop a strategic plan based on budgets and overall priorities is still lacking although the “foundation” of the directorate has been strengthened in the last 18 months, Rep. James Langevin (D-R.I.), chairman of the House Homeland Security Subcommittee on Emerging Threats, Cybersecurity, and Science and Technology, said yesterday.
Langevin described the Coordination of Homeland Security Science and Technology report issued by DHS S&T that lays out technology requirements, gaps, strategic goals, roles and responsibilities as “useful” but lacking in specifics.
It “provides no estimates of budgetary or resource requirements and provides overviews of programs rather than details of program content,” Langevin said in his opening statement at a hearing on the DHS FY ’09 S&T budget request. He said the report doesn’t describe how DHS arrived at its focus topics nor lay out priorities within those areas.
Jay Cohen, under secretary for S&T at DHS, agreed that the report isn’t a strategic plan for homeland security S&T across the federal government. That’s because so far he hasn’t been able to get concurrence from the various federal departments and agencies that have a role in contributing to homeland security.
Instead the recent document is a “first step” that “allows for all of those agencies to come to the table so that they can contribute to making the nation safer,” Cohen said.
He added later that the forthcoming Quadrennial Homeland Security Review that DHS is about to undertake and deliver to Congress late next year will help lay out the priorities for S&T.
The Coordination of Homeland Security Science and Technology document, which was released on the House Homeland Security Committee’s website yesterday, consists of 10 chapters that cover a particular focus area such as defense against chemical threats or defense against explosives and weapons.
Within each chapter, the document examines threats and vulnerabilities, requirements, gaps, strategic goals for 2015, roles and responsibilities, and accomplishments and ongoing activities.
For example, within the Border and Transportation Security chapter, the report mentions requirements for remote border surveillance and rapidly and accurately determining the identity of people. In the area of surveillance and monitoring, gaps exist for long-range detection of people and vehicles on land, air, sea, and subsurface and for integrated, affordable and rapid chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear and explosives screening across all transportation modes.
By 2015, DHS plans to “have advanced the capability of BTS (Border and Transportation Security) Critical Mission Area agents and officers to instantaneously understand when a threat presents itself at borders or in the transportation system; and to provide all relevant information to the appropriate decision makers and security forces, so they can mount an effective response,” the report says.
The BTS chapter does lay out near, mid and long-term priorities although with no timelines or dollar amounts specified.
Cohen said that the with the various components of DHS having bought into his integrated product teams that allow them to drive S&T investments to meet their needs, he expects a smooth transition for the S&T Directorate when a new presidential administration takes office early next year. The initiatives that are ongoing now will be around in another year, two or three, Cohen said.