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Contact: Margaret M. Moree
An advisory council to the Homeland Security Department issued recommendations aimed at ensuring homeland security operations and programs are not compromised during the transition to a new presidential administration later this year, including a list of actions Congress should take. Glenda Hood, who chaired the task force, noted that terrorist attacks occurred around governmental transitions in Spain in 2004 and in the United Kingdom last summer. She said the task force believes the most vulnerable time for the United States is 30 days before the upcoming presidential change and 60 days after the transition.
Homeland Security Secretary Chertoff said his leadership team will examine the report and its recommendations.
The report makes recommendations in the areas of threat awareness, leadership, congressional oversight, policy, operations, succession and training. On congressional oversight, the report recommended that the Senate form a select bipartisan group from existing oversight committees to expedite confirmation of all presidential appointments to national security positions in the Homeland Security Department. The report also said Congress should implement an unfulfilled recommendation by the 9/11 Commission to consolidate congressional oversight of the department. Homeland Security officials say they now report to 86 different House and Senate committees and subcommittees. Chertoff told the council that one of the biggest problems with congressional oversight is that different committees have competing agendas. "We get a lot of conflicting congressional direction as opposed to consistent congressional direction," he said.
The report also recommends that Congress pass the department's FY09 appropriations bill "much sooner" than it did the FY08 bill, which was rolled into an omnibus spending bill that was enacted in December. The report adds that Congress should work with the current and incoming administrations to reduce the number of senior positions at the department filled by presidential appointees.
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