Spring Break fever was in the air today on Capitol Hill. Legislators have officially fled Washington D.C. and there will be no hearings until April 16th. But before the final votes ensued, the Senate subcommittee on contracting oversight held a hearing where Senators McCaskill, Portman and Tester grilled witnesses from the Army, The Office of Personnel and Management and The Department of Homeland Security over contractor spending. Meanwhile, Chairwoman McCaskill’s grandsons were in attendance. My guess is they are on their own Spring Break. They sat graciously through the hearing; only occasionally trying sneak into my shot. I’m sure they…
Browsing: Homeland Security
The Federal Emergency Management Agency has joined forces with the Corporation for National And Community service to create a new program that takes 18 to 24 year old volunteers and trains them to be the next generation of FEMA managers, according to the agency. The program would draw upon 1,600 members of AmeriCorps who will spend a minimum of 1,700 hours working directly in disaster response. The first members will begin serving in this August and the program will reach its full capacity within 18 months, according to FEMA. FEMA says the program will “enhance the federal government’s disaster capabilities,…
Cybersecurity legislation introduced by Sen. Joe Lieberman, I-Conn., on Tuesday empowers the Department of Homeland Security to regulate cyber standards for the nation’s critical infrartucture systems. The Cybersecurity Act of 2012 calls on the DHS secretary to work with the private sector in identifying systems that pose the greatest risk and could cause death, severe economic damage or national security risks if attacked. DHS and the private sector would be responsible for creating performance standards for owners and operators of power grids and other systems if none exist. Industry would have to decide how best to meet the performance standards in…
The State Department’s top security chief is leaving his post to oversee a newly created cybersecurity division at the Department of Homeland Security. John Streufert will replace Nicole Dean as director of DHS’ National Cyber Security Division on Jan. 17, where he will be tasked to build and maintain an “effective cyberspace response system” and implement a program for protecting critical infrastructure, DHS’ Roberta Stempfley said in an email Friday to employees within the Office of Cybersecurity and Communications. Streufert will also work to strengthen DHS’ partnerships with the private sector and international organizations. “Although Nicole is leaving rather large shoes…
You know things are getting bad when even fictional jobs are no longer safe. Congress was given until Oct. 14 to make recommendations to the Super Committee tasked with finding at least 1.2 trillion in savings over the next 10 years. What Congress sent their way was a veritable cornucopia of suggestions ranging from cuts to the federal workforce to opening up federal land to oil drilling. Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wisc., the ranking member of the Subcommittee on Oversight of Government Management, the Federal Workforce and the District of Columbia offered a wide array of possible spending cuts – including…
The Department of Homeland Security has named Mark Weatherford its new deputy under secretary for cybersecurity at the National Protection and Programs Directorate (NPPD). Weatherford served as vice president and chief security officer for the nonprofit organization North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) and as a former Naval cryptologic officer, according to a DHS blog post. At DHS, Weatherford will be the first to work in the new under secretary position. Starting next month, he will be responsible for “ensuring robust cybersecurity operations and communications resilience” at DHS. Greg Schaffer has served as acting deputy under secretary for cybersecurity for the past five…
This just in: The Homeland Security Department’s inspector general and U.S. Customs and Border Protection have worked out an agreement aimed at fostering more teamwork in corruption probes. Under a newly signed memorandum of understanding, CBP internal affairs investigators will be detailed to work with the inspector general’s office on investigations of customs employees. The arrangement will give the IG more resources, while Customs and Border Patrol managers will use the information gleaned by its investigators for “immediate oversight” of the employees under scrutiny, according to a Monday news release from the inspector general’s office. Turf tensions between the two…
The Federal Protective Service is having problems moving all of its services from Immigration and Customs Enforcement to its new home at the National Protection and Programs Directorate at the Department of Homeland Security. Despite an original deadline of Oct. 2010, FPS has only transferred 13 of 18 support services, according to a Government Accountability Office report released Aug. 15. As the report details: For example, while functions such as human capital and budget formulation have been transferred, information technology (IT) services, business continuity and emergency preparedness, facilities, personnel security, and equal employment opportunity have not…DHS also developed a detailed…
Like a lot of reporters, I can’t claim arithmetic as one of my stronger skill sets. But I feel a bit better about my math chops after reading that the Department of Homeland Security recently had to correct a six-figure goof related to the number of DHS contract employees. The admission comes in a questionnaire from Rafael Borras, nominated to become the department’s under secretary for management, to the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. In January, DHS quietly informed Congress that the original estimate for the size of its contract staff—developed, of course, by a contractor—was overstated by…
If the government shuts down this week, most Department of Homeland Security employees will continue working. DHS spokesman Larry Orluskie said 80 percent of the department’s 230,000 workforce will continue to carry out mission critical duties, such as securing the borders, screening cargo and airline passengers and operating and securing systems that support these activities. “We’re working with the guidance, and we’re working with our business and mission partners to identify those systems that have to stay up,” said Richard Spires, DHS’ chief information officer. “We’re prepared, and we will keep those systems running.” That includes determining which contracts are mission critical.…