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Conclusion While DHS’s strategy states that it is working to make the nation more resilient, in reality the Department’s programs exist largely to subsidized state and local emergency management, and effectively provide insurance for the public and private sector for disasters or other weather events. Moreover, it is not clear that DHS’s spending on mitigation is doing much to make us safer when disasters actually occur. Thankfully, the agency has made much needed improvements to its immediate response activities when the big storms occur and when emergency assistance to save lives is urgently needed. Yet this is just a fraction of what FEMA actually does. FEMA’s inability to make sound decisions when choosing what to pay to rebuild after disasters is costing taxpayers millions of dollars on a project-by-project basis, with no end in sight unless Congress or the agency fixes longstanding issues. But the problem’s related to DHS’s and FEMA’s programs are not their responsibility alone. The Department’s programs for FEMA demonstrate Congress’s priorities—encouraging agencies to deliver big subsidies to states, locals, and private owners (in the case of the National Flood Insurance Program) in order to drive the money back “home,” rather than protecting taxpayers, and requiring DHS to focus on real, catastrophic national emergencies when federal assistance is urgently needed. 123
Other Key DHS Components, Directorates, Offices, and Programs A review of DHS’s mission and programs would be incomplete without assessing other key components, offices, directorates, and programs. The Department is the result of the largest reorganization of government since 1947 and, therefore, has other programs that are not directly tied to its five key mission areas. Assessing the reviews of these components, directorates, offices, and program areas is intended to help Congress and DHS leaders consider how to improve the Department’s performance, efficiency, and ability to accomplish its missions. The U.S. Coast Guard The history of the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) dates back to 1790, when a maritime law enforcement entity was established within the new Treasury Department to collect customs duties. 586 Today, the U.S. Coast Guard’s mission is to be “the lead Federal agency for law enforcement, incident response, homeland security and disaster management in the maritime environment.” 587 On September 11, 2001, the U.S. Coast Guard led a water evacuation of more than half a million people from Manhattan, which former USCG Admiral James Loy called “bigger than Dunkirk,” referring to the evacuation of Allied forces in the French port city in 1940. 588 The U.S. Coast Guard also mobilized to defend the nation’s ports from a potential terrorist plot following the terrorist attacks. 589 Those attacks also marked the beginning of a new era for the U.S. Coast Guard, which included its transfer out of the Department of Transportation and into the new Department of Homeland Security. As Congress and the Department consider options for reforming DHS, the U.S. Coast Guard is one of its biggest assets: A large component with a strong culture and effective management structure based on a clear chain of command. The USCG employs more than 42,190 active duty military personnel, 7,899 military reserves, as well as 8,700 civilians and 586 U.S. Coast Guard, “Coast Guard Publication 1: Doctrine for the U.S. Coast Guard,” February 2014, p.1. 587 United States Coast Guard Snapshot, 2012, at http://www.uscg.mil/top/about/doc/uscg_snapshot.pdf, accessed November 7, 2014. 588 Sam LaGrone, “Coast Guard Led 9-11 Water Evacuation Was ‘Bigger Than Dunkirk,” U.S. Naval Institute, July 23, 2014. 589 Ibid. 124
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A Review of the Department of Homel
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January 3, 2015 Dear Taxpayer, We A
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jurisdiction between various congre
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Executive Summary The Department of
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of the systems that DHS purchased t
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esponsibilities for securing U.S. p
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an independent audit 36 and interna
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Structural problems in FEMA’s pro
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leadership with real authority to m
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Mission 1—Preventing Terrorism an
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hundreds. 56 In the aftermath of th
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its previously closed investigation
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sharing network and $231 million sp
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nation’s preparedness. 87 That ye
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federal entity engaged in this work
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agency has struggled in both areas,
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including shortcomings in the tests
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2013 shooting at the Washington Nav
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Shortly after the September 2014, S
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Mission 2— Securing and Managing
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It is true that more resources than
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FY 2014, in comparison to the rough
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Senator Coburn and other members of
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The problem of DHS’s ineffective
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the number of corruption investigat
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amounts of explosives packaged in b
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Ports and Sea Borders and Safeguard
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Station in Norfolk, conducted by a
Page 57 and 58:
significant and experienced federal
Page 59 and 60:
Mission 3— Enforcing and Administ
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Customs Enforcement is responsible
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the consideration of refugee and as
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Fraud and National Security Concern
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different biographic data.” 287 I
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2007. 298 The evidence also suggest
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The decision by federal authorities
Page 73 and 74: women’s underwear that had a logo
Page 75 and 76: schools do not need to be accredite
Page 77 and 78: EB-5 Visa Program U.S. Citizenship
Page 79 and 80: An additional review of the EB-5 pr
Page 81 and 82: that the information was confidenti
Page 83 and 84: information, which can be used to w
Page 85 and 86: about 85,000 dams, including sensit
Page 87 and 88: Accelerated, raising serious questi
Page 89 and 90: program. 401 The contracts are stru
Page 91 and 92: “significant deficiency” and hi
Page 93 and 94: participation. Audits of DHS’s in
Page 95 and 96: National Cybersecurity Protection S
Page 97 and 98: smuggling and money laundering, whi
Page 99 and 100: Conclusion Cyber attacks represent
Page 101 and 102: years, or in some cases even decade
Page 103 and 104: high-threat urban areas throughout
Page 105 and 106: $609,576. 473 Its application provi
Page 107 and 108: identified in their grant applicati
Page 109 and 110: performance. 496 The THIRA is a doc
Page 111 and 112: funding. The program ties FEMA, its
Page 113 and 114: counties near the Oklahoma-Texas bo
Page 115 and 116: drastically, and identified an esti
Page 117 and 118: increased costs and inefficiency in
Page 119 and 120: disasters that are over 10 years ol
Page 121 and 122: isks. 575 But shifting some of the
Page 123: Taxpayers have spent considerable r
Page 127 and 128: missions and their relevance to the
Page 129 and 130: presidential directives. 609 The re
Page 131 and 132: securing the southern border raises
Page 133 and 134: The Office of Health Affairs (OHA),
Page 135 and 136: Department has struggled with other
Page 137 and 138: million in R&D work that went unrep
Page 139 and 140: appear to have a system in place to
Page 141 and 142: The Construction of the NBAF Facili
Page 143 and 144: In March 2014, John Roth was confir
Page 145 and 146: cases back to components’ offices
Page 147 and 148: waste, fraud, and abuse of grant fu
Page 149 and 150: management oversight as key challen
Page 151 and 152: Part II: Recommendations Based on h
Page 153 and 154: Similarly, a majority of Senators v
Page 155 and 156: with its work to oversee federal ci
Page 157 and 158: homes to their place of work. 713 I
Page 159 and 160: suggests that there is an opportuni
Page 161 and 162: civil liberties. Moreover, the Depa
Page 163: Conclusion The nation continues to
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