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A Review of the Department of Homeland Security’s Missions and Performance A Report by Senator Tom Coburn Ranking Member Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs U.S. Senate 113 th Congress January 2015 1
January 3, 2015 Dear Taxpayer, We Americans are and always have been suspicious—rightfully so—of government infringement on our rights which we hold are inalienable and not derived from the government. Rather, we believe governments are instituted to secure these rights. Yet, there is and always will be a perpetual struggle between security and liberty in a free society. Liberty requires security, but too much security can result in a loss of liberty. And the erosion of freedoms is rarely restored. We should never have to give up our rights to preserve them, and our Constitution which specifies the rights of the people and the limitations of the government does not even allow for such an exchange. This balancing act has become increasingly complicated. The 1995 Oklahoma City bombing and the 9/11/2001 terrorist attacks claimed the lives of thousands, changed the lives of millions, and forever altered how we viewed the world. Every American, no matter what part of the country or the world we live in, could be a possible target of terrorism. But our enemies are not always obvious. They do not wear the uniform of a foreign army. Their weapons are not tanks and bullets. Their tactics are unconventional. Their victims are civilians. And they are among us. Americans feel uneasy, about both the threats and the responses. We are willing to endure the inconvenience of arriving at the airport earlier and having our luggage screened, but we are wary of increased government policing and surveillance. We are concerned that despite spending billions of dollars on border security, tens of thousands continue to enter our country illegally and, in 2014, 700 miles of our Southern border were unsecure. The same is true of cyber security. We have spent billions to protect against cyber attacks, yet even White House computers have been susceptible to hacking. 2
Page 1: A Review of the Department of Homel
Page 5 and 6: jurisdiction between various congre
Page 7 and 8: Executive Summary The Department of
Page 9 and 10: of the systems that DHS purchased t
Page 11 and 12: esponsibilities for securing U.S. p
Page 13 and 14: an independent audit 36 and interna
Page 15 and 16: Structural problems in FEMA’s pro
Page 17 and 18: leadership with real authority to m
Page 19 and 20: Mission 1—Preventing Terrorism an
Page 21 and 22: hundreds. 56 In the aftermath of th
Page 23 and 24: its previously closed investigation
Page 25 and 26: sharing network and $231 million sp
Page 27 and 28: nation’s preparedness. 87 That ye
Page 29 and 30: federal entity engaged in this work
Page 31 and 32: agency has struggled in both areas,
Page 33 and 34: including shortcomings in the tests
Page 35 and 36: 2013 shooting at the Washington Nav
Page 37 and 38: Shortly after the September 2014, S
Page 39 and 40: Mission 2— Securing and Managing
Page 41 and 42: It is true that more resources than
Page 43 and 44: FY 2014, in comparison to the rough
Page 45 and 46: Senator Coburn and other members of
Page 47 and 48: The problem of DHS’s ineffective
Page 49 and 50: the number of corruption investigat
Page 51 and 52: amounts of explosives packaged in b
Page 53 and 54:
Ports and Sea Borders and Safeguard
Page 55 and 56:
Station in Norfolk, conducted by a
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significant and experienced federal
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Mission 3— Enforcing and Administ
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Customs Enforcement is responsible
Page 63 and 64:
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
Page 71 and 72:
The decision by federal authorities
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women’s underwear that had a logo
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schools do not need to be accredite
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EB-5 Visa Program U.S. Citizenship
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An additional review of the EB-5 pr
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that the information was confidenti
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information, which can be used to w
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about 85,000 dams, including sensit
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Accelerated, raising serious questi
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program. 401 The contracts are stru
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“significant deficiency” and hi
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participation. Audits of DHS’s in
Page 95 and 96:
National Cybersecurity Protection S
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smuggling and money laundering, whi
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Conclusion Cyber attacks represent
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years, or in some cases even decade
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high-threat urban areas throughout
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$609,576. 473 Its application provi
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identified in their grant applicati
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performance. 496 The THIRA is a doc
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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
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Taxpayers have spent considerable r
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Other Key DHS Components, Directora
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missions and their relevance to the
Page 129 and 130:
presidential directives. 609 The re
Page 131 and 132:
securing the southern border raises
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The Office of Health Affairs (OHA),
Page 135 and 136:
Department has struggled with other
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million in R&D work that went unrep
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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
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waste, fraud, and abuse of grant fu
Page 149 and 150:
management oversight as key challen
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Part II: Recommendations Based on h
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Similarly, a majority of Senators v
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with its work to oversee federal ci
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homes to their place of work. 713 I
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suggests that there is an opportuni
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civil liberties. Moreover, the Depa
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Conclusion The nation continues to
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