Having returned from its summer recess, Congress will soon construct its legislative agenda for the rest of the year. Given that today marks the eighth anniversary of 9/11, Congress should honor the memory of that tragedy by solidifying its homeland security agenda. That means taking the right steps to keep the nation safe, free, and prosperous. Heritage analysts Jena Baker McNeill, James Carafano, and Matt Mayer outline some dos and donts for Congress’ Protect America Agenda. Congress Should: Amend the Stafford Act. The 1988 Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and …
The Associated Press reports: President Barack Obama announced Tuesday he is combining White House staffs dealing with international and homeland security, predicting the change will make Americans safer. Obama also is creating a new office intended to communicate more effectively with other countries about U.S. security policy. Heritage fellows Jena Baker McNeill and James Jay Carafano wrote on April 9: President Obama should fold the HSC into the NSC. Doing so would improve interagency policy planning and eliminate gaps between efforts to address transnational security threats at home and overseas.
In two months on the job, Janet Napolitano, the head of the Department of Homeland Security, has won the war on terror. How? By defining it away. In an interview with the German magazine Der Spiegel, she refers to her remarks at her own confirmation hearings in January: In my speech, although I did not use the word “terrorism,” I referred to “man-caused” disasters. No one paid much attention to this at the time, but she meant something by it. As she told her German audience, it is “only a …
In a first of its kind, a report from The Heritage Foundation provides a fresh look at the billions of dollars in homeland security grants handed out to state and local governments. The report details the federal, state, and local spending from 2000 to 2007 in 26 states, the District of Columbia, and 85 cities and counties that make up Urban Areas Security Initiative jurisdictions. Among the key findings:–States and localities spend a lot more every year then the federal government. The billions of federal dollars distributed have had a …
The authorization for E-Verify ends today but the future of the program is still up in the air. E-Verify is an online system that allows employers to check whether or not there new employees are eligible to work in the United States. There are 80,000 employers currently participating in this voluntary program, with the exception of employers in Arizona and the U.S. government. Though Congress failed to re-authorize E-Verify in time, the FY 2009 appropriations bill for the Department of Homeland Security had conflicting language about the true end date …
DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano should be vigorously applauded for telling the good folks at the National Emergency Management Agency mid-year conference that FEMA is and should not be a first responder. Napolitano is dead right that too many Americans see FEMA as the end-all and be-all of disaster response activity. We can forgive Napolitano for not owning up to FEMA’s role in fostering that perception given that it has issued declarations at an ever-increasing pace over the last sixteen years for ever more routine-type disasters. Specifically, the yearly average of …
Heritage analysts Jena Baker McNeill and Diem Nguyen report: On January 15, the United States Northern Command Joint Task Force-North accidentally released to the public a briefing that expressed concerns over terrorists entering the U.S. from Canada. While the report was taken offline and out of public view shortly thereafter, this briefing is one of many reports centered on U.S./Canadian security policies, including a recent request by Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano for information relating to the mechanisms and programs currently in place at the U.S. northern border. While the …
Globalization has touched every aspect of modern life. Today, not just imports, exports, and jobs, but terrorists attacks—both their planning and prevention—are international affairs. Some of the Saudi 9/11 hijackers plotted parts of their attacks in Hamburg, Germany as well as in Florida. Safe havens in Latin America facilitate recruiting, fundraising, and international travel for terrorists around the world. America’s security and anti-terrorism efforts must extend far beyond U.S. borders. Once the threat—whether human or technological—has arrived on our doorstep, it may very well be too late. Jena Baker McNeill …
