2.1: Homeland Security
Protect and Secure the Homeland from Threats and Disasters Other Information:
In the coming years, the United States will continue to face dynamic and increasingly complex threats to the nation’s security.
These threats include: terrorists’ potential use of radioactive, „„chemical, or biological agents to carry out an attack inside
the country; terrorists’ and other criminals’ „„exploitation of critical infrastructure vulnerabilities in sectors such as
transportation, energy, and information technology; and the spread of infectious diseases, such as „„the H1N1 pandemic. Increasingly
adaptive and interconnected terrorist and transnational criminal organizations are likely to leverage these vulnerabilities,
and any failure to address them would have serious consequences for the physical and economic security of the country. At
the same time, concerns are growing that climate change and other factors may increase the frequency and magnitude of natural
disasters, whose occurrence and scale inherently remain unpredictable. Federal leadership: The federal government must enhance
its ability to assess, respond to, and recover from a wide range of hazards and threats against the personal security of its
citizens and its economic interests. Federal leadership is critical in addressing security needs while maintaining personal
freedoms and the legitimate flow of commerce and people. As the unifying core of the vast national network of organizations
and institutions involved in securing the nation, DHS will need to ensure that it can respond to and recover from natural
disasters, as well as protect against terrorist threats on various fronts. These threats include vulnerabilities along the
U.S. border, in the nation’s transportation systems, and in national critical infrastructure and key resources open to attack
and exploitation. They also include challenges in the gathering, analyzing, and sharing of information to help prevent and
respond to terrorist and other incidents. Constrained budgets: DHS faces significant challenges in addressing changing threats
within the confines of annual appropriations that are likely to be increasingly constrained and may be limited in growth in
real terms: It will be critical for DHS to ensure that its „„resources are effectively directed toward the nation’s most pressing
homeland security challenges. In particular, DHS must define an acceptable and achievable level of risk, to prioritize among
its missions, and make risk-based decisions about investments and resources. DHS will also need to continue its efforts „„to
integrate and transform the functions, programs, and assets of its numerous component offices and agencies into a more holistic
department. GAO has designated DHS’s implementation and transformation as high risk, in part because of the inherent difficulties
of such a massive effort. Given the complexity and significance of its organization, missions, and functions, it is likely
to take several more years for DHS to complete its transformation efforts. While DHS has made progress, the „„department must
continue to address its programmatic challenges and risks while identifying, refining, and implementing actions to improve
its financial, information technology, human-capital, and acquisition management functions. Sharing intelligence information:
On December 25, 2009, despite information indicating a possible terrorist threat, the country came close to experiencing another
horrific event. A passenger attempted to detonate a bomb onboard an international flight into Detroit. In the aftermath, a
number of fundamental questions were raised regarding the intelligence community’s sharing of information about the alleged
terrorist; analysis of that information to determine the threat posed; and decisions on the individual’s placement on a government
terrorist watch list. Federal agencies have begun sharing more information about terrorist threats with their partners in
new ways—they have developed new organizational structures, as well as policies, databases, and information systems; intelligence
reports and products; and standards, among other things. But gaps in that sharing—including policy, cultural, and other barriers—continue
to pose serious security vulnerabilities and elevate the critical need to address them. Because of the security liability
the government faces, GAO designated the sharing of terrorism-related information as high risk in 2005. Our work in recent
years has found that while the Congress has mandated that the government create an information-sharing environment across
agencies that defines what information needs to be shared, with whom, and how, the federal government still lacks a road map
to clearly establish agency responsibilities and a system to hold agencies accountable to the Congress and the American public.
GAO’s planned work will help better ensure progress in closing gaps for this high-risk function. Protecting the nation’s transportation
system: In addition to sharing information, DHS plays a vital role in protecting the nation’s transportation system. Roughly
one-third of past terrorist attacks worldwide have targeted transportation systems, and intelligence and recent events demonstrate
that the transportation network continues to be an attractive target for those wanting to harm U.S. citizens and interests.
However, securing the U.S. transportation system—which includes more than 5,000 public-use airports, 3.9 million miles of
roads, over 300 seaports, and over 500 train stations—will continue to be difficult because of its vastness and open access
points: Given the global interdependence of the „„nation’s transportation network, the United States will need to strengthen
partnerships with foreign nations and harmonize security efforts to protect these systems. DHS has made progress in strengthening
the security of commercial aviation and seaports through multiple layers of security programs, but the department must continue
to adapt security measures to counter evolving threats, balance resources across missions, develop and deploy new security
technologies, and increase its focus on securing nonaviation modes of transportation, particularly surface modes of transportation.
(See fig. 34.) History has shown that terrorists have „„been effective at modifying their tactics to circumvent existing security
measures, such as by using liquid explosives and evolving methods of concealment. Further, terrorist attacks on surface transportation
systems around the world highlight the vulnerabilities of these systems and the need for an increased focus on securing them
from terrorism. Maritime transportation components overseas have been attacked by terrorists and pirates, highlighting the
potential vulnerabilities of our own ports, vessels, and sea-based supply chain for such critical items as oil and liquefied
natural gas. Frequent criminal use of seagoing cargo containers—to smuggle drugs and traffic people—demonstrates the potential
for terrorists to use such containers to get weapons of mass destruction and other contraband into the United States. Although
DHS components, such as the „„Transportation Security Administration, or TSA, Coast Guard, and U.S. Customs and Border Protection
have primary responsibility for various aspects of transportation security, the responsibility for securing all of these transportation
modes is shared among other federal, state, local, international, and private-sector partners, necessitating continual DHS
coordination with these entities. In addition, because of the interconnectivity of the global and national transportation
network, it is important that the department’s risk assessment consider systemwide and multimodal risks, as well as risks
pertaining to intermodal facilities—where more than one mode of transportation connect—so that terrorists are not driven from
one mode to another that they view as less secure. Securing U.S. borders: The significant transnational flows of people and
goods create challenges in securing U.S. borders. Hundreds of millions of people and millions of cargo containers enter the
United States each year through more than 300 ports of entry. Estimates indicate that hundreds of thousands of people try
to enter illegally across the more than 7,000 miles of land border with Canada and Mexico: DHS will continue to face major
challenges „„in identifying and apprehending those trying to enter the country illegally across the U.S. borders or at ports
of entry through the use of false documents or documents belonging to others, and in interdicting suspect cargo—including
potential terrorists and weapons of mass destruction. DHS will have to balance these homeland security missions while not
significantly impeding the flow of legitimate travelers and cargo. (See fig. 35.) DHS will also continue to face obstacles
„„in reducing the conditions that encourage illegal employment, identifying and removing millions of undocumented aliens from
the country, preventing and combating immigration fraud and identity theft, and providing timely immigration services to eligible
individuals. (See fig. 36.) As the economy improves, it is likely that attempts to immigrate illegally will increase as the
prospects for work in the United States increase. While DHS has already spent billions of dollars to hire thousands of additional
border enforcement personnel and to deploy advanced technology, our work shows that some of this technology has not worked
as planned. DHS may also need to modify its investment plans to address evolving threats to the border, such as increased
violence against U.S. law enforcement. Strategies and resources will also be „„needed to prevent the illegal movement out
of the country of cash and weapons that are fueling drug-related violence along the Southwest border and threatening the security
of the United States, as well as that of Mexico. Future pandemics could also significantly „„challenge DHS’s efforts to secure
the border because of the sheer volume of traffic and the difficulty in developing screening protocols to detect an influenza-like
illness. Finally, comprehensive immigration „„reform legislation—which could be taken up within the next several years—would
put significant pressure on DHS to meet its goals of transforming its immigration benefit application process in order to
meet a potential surge of millions of additional applications, while simultaneously processing the approximately 5 million
applications it already receives each year. Disaster preparedness and response: As the threat of terrorist attacks and the
severity and related financial costs of natural disasters increase in the next decade, so will the national preparedness,
response, and recovery challenges for federal, state, and local emergency responders: Scientific assessments indicate that
„„climate change is expected to result in more volatile weather patterns, with potentially more frequent and severe natural
hazard events, such as hurricanes, that result in increased economic losses and response and recovery costs. Other factors—such
as changing „„demographics (e.g., the growing population of those age 65 or older), evolving infectious disease or biological
threats, and aging infrastructure—will affect disaster risks, the potential consequences of disaster, and, thus, the challenges
of disaster preparedness. It will become increasingly important „„for the nation to enhance its ability to assess those evolving
risks and make the appropriate adjustments and investments to disaster preparedness and response plans and capabilities. Although
DHS has developed key national response policies, operational plans that identify the organizations and resources required
for preparedness and a systematic means of prioritizing resources are needed to ensure that federal funds are used most effectively
and that needed federal, state, and local capabilities are appropriately developed. Although billions of „„ dollars have been
spent to improve the nation’s ability to respond to the next catastrophic disaster, the federal government continues to face
challenges in developing useful measures to assess preparedness and response capabilities. Most disasters are the result of
a single, short-term event, such as a hurricane or flood, but an infectious disease pandemic presents unique challenges because
it could persist for months as it spreads across the country in waves, affecting first responders and health care workers,
as well as the general population. Early detection of the spread of a biological agent—whether naturally occurring or introduced
deliberately—is a formidable challenge requiring the resources and coordinated efforts of many federal, state, and private
entities, such as public health services and hospitals. Such events may require specialized response capabilities—such as
those for a release of radiation from a nuclear power plant or a dirty bomb. Disaster recovery: Natural disasters in the United
States have also highlighted challenges facing DHS and others in ensuring that homeowners and businesses have access to financial
resources to recover from disasters. For example, the National Flood Insurance Program, which we have designated as high risk,
still owes the Treasury $19 billion it borrowed to pay for losses from earlier hurricanes, and some state insurance programs
are under increasing financial strain as a number of private market insurers have begun limiting the number of policies they
write in hurricane-prone areas. It is unlikely that the Federal Emergency Management Agency can repay a debt of this size
and also pay future claims in a program that generates premium income of about $2.6 billion a year. Legislation has been introduced
that would limit National Flood Insurance Program subsidies, with the goal of improving the financial stability of the program.
In addition, the Small Business Administration’s (SBA) Disaster Loan Program plays a crucial role by providing financial assistance
to homeowners and business affected by disasters. Yet, SBA’s response to the 2005 Gulf Coast hurricanes (Katrina, Rita, and
Wilma) exposed many deficiencies. Since then, SBA has taken several steps to reform the Disaster Loan Program so that the
agency is better prepared to handle future large-scale disasters. However, as we reported in July 2009, SBA still has not
fully addressed several requirements outlined in the Small Business Disaster Response and Loan Improvements Act of 2008. By
continuing its efforts to implement all requirements in the act, SBA could improve its operations for future hurricane seasons,
build on the lessons learned from the 2005 Gulf Coast hurricanes, and further signal its commitment to its mission of providing
affordable and timely financial assistance to help businesses and homeowners recover from disasters. Protecting critical infrastructure:
Terrorists, criminals, and others will continue to target the nation’s physical and cyber assets—including vital information
technology systems and networks—to disrupt national security, sap economic vitality, and endanger public health and safety.
In addition, they will try to gain access to highly sensitive information and commit fraud and theft, including identity theft,
and try to thwart programs and measures aimed at reducing the nation’s and individuals’ vulnerabilities to fraud and theft.
In addition, natural disasters have and can result in widespread damage to physical infrastructure, including oil pipelines
and refineries, transportation systems, electrical power lines, and cell-phone towers. Any man-made or natural disaster affecting
the highly interconnected computer and telecommunications systems needed to operate those assets could be debilitating to
the nation’s capacity to maintain essential national defense, economic activity, and quality of life. DHS, in partnership
with other federal agencies; the private sector; and state, local, tribal, and territorial governments, will face ongoing
challenges in meeting its responsibilities to protect critical infrastructure, especially since the effects of terrorist attacks
and natural, man-made, or technological hazards can cascade far beyond the affected infrastructure and the geographic location
of the incident. DHS and its partners also face challenges identifying threats, mitigating vulnerabilities, and minimizing
the consequences of incidents, while managing the risk associated with interdependencies among diverse critical infrastructure
so that assets, systems, and networks can be made more resilient. DHS and its partners are equally challenged in protecting
federal information technology and the nation’s cyber systems, including highly sensitive government and personal information
and the computer and telecommunications systems that are vital to the continued operation of other critical assets, systems,
and networks. GAO’s planned work will help federal decision makers assess efforts to protect against and respond to threats
and other disasters facing the nation, and to identify, prioritize, and allocate resources and investments for homeland security.
To support efforts by the Congress and the federal government to address these issues, GAO has established the following performance
goals and key efforts:
Indicator(s):
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