Browsing: DHS

The Office of Management and Budget has officially tabbed the Homeland Security Department to oversee cybersecurity in the executive branch, as OMB indicated would be the case in April. A memo this week from OMB Director Peter Orszag and federal cybersecurity coordinator Howard Schmidt gives DHS responsibility for: • overseeing the government-wide and agency-specific implementation of and reporting on cybersecurity policies and guidance; • overseeing and assisting government-wide and agency-specific efforts to provide adequate, risk-based and cost-effective cybersecurity; • overseeing the agencies’ compliance with FISMA and developing analyses for OMB to assist in the development of the FISMA annual report;…

It’s no April Fool’s Joke — Homeland Security Department’s undersecretary for management, Elaine Duke, will celebrate her last day at the agency April 1. Duke told the Federal Times that she has plenty of hobbies and interests to explore after devoting much of the past decade to DHS. She has served as undersecretary of management since August 2008 and has worked for the federal government for 28 years, much of it in contracting. I started with TSA in 2002, and work has really driven my time and energy. I’m looking forward to doing some discretionary things now.” Duke said she…

If you work at the Homeland Security Department, the House of Representatives has some kind words for you. Members of Congress love to bash DHS and interrogate officials at frequent congressional hearings, but the House voted Thursday to approve a resolution, H.Res. 731, expressing appreciation for the work DHS employees do. Here’s the official description of the bill: Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the employees of the Department of Homeland Security, their partners at all levels of government, and the millions of emergency response providers and law enforcement agents nationwide should be commended for their dedicated…

President Barack Obama’s administration put an end to years of debate Wednesday when Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano announced that the Federal Emergency Management Agency will stay within DHS. FEMA had been an independent agency before the creation of DHS after Sept. 11, 2001, and many have argued that it could respond to disasters best by being removed from the bureaucracy of DHS. For a full story, check back with Federal Times shortly.

Sen. David Vitter, R-La., announced Tuesday he’s lifted his hold on the nomination of W. Craig Fugate as administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Vitter had put the hold on Fugate’s nomination as an effort to get answers from FEMA officials over rebuilding coastal areas, V-Zones, decimated during hurricanes Katrina and Rita. He lifted the hold after recieving a letter from FEMA Acting Administration Nancy Ward promising to resolve the rebuilding issue quickly. He said he was pleased that FEMA responded to his concerns. Louisianans have gotten way too many easy spoken assurances from FEMA over the last four…

The National Capital Planning Commission in January approved the master plan to transform the 176-acre abandoned St. Elizabeths psychiatric hospital compound into a headquarters complex for the Homeland Security Department. Federal Times videographer Colin Kelly and Senior Staff Writer Tim Kauffman recently participated in a media tour of the southeast Washington site. Here’s Colin’s footage:

The House voted 244-188 Wednesday evening to pass the economic stimulus package, setting up a Senate vote in the coming days. The $819 billion bill, HR 1, includes $523 billion in spending and $275 billion in tax cuts, which Democrats said will spur economic growth and create American jobs. The House approved six amendments to the bill, several of which affect federal employees: The bill now includes a provision strengthening whistleblower protections for federal employees, which had been missing from the original bill. The bill specified protections for state and local workers but did not mention federal employees. The whistleblower…