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Homeland Security Week |
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| WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 3, 2008 | Subscribe or unsubscribe from this newsletter |
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Federal Protective Service Director Gary Schenkel has not had an easy time of it during the past 18 months. When Schenkel was appointed to lead the agency tasked with protecting federal buildings in March 2007, he almost immediately was subjected to contentious congressional hearings and reports of lax oversight and lapsed security. But Schenkel insists he is slowly turning the ship in the right direction.
"A lot of people don't understand where FPS is going and a lot of people really don't even understand where FPS is coming from," Schenkel said in an interview with Government Executive. He noted that the service had difficulty making the transition from the General Services Administration to the Homeland Security Department in 2003. "Coming out of GSA, business was done a different way," he said. "Not saying that GSA was doing business wrong. GSA just had a way of doing business differently, and we had to kind of reinvent the wheel when it came down to our business practices."
In addition to the shift of parent agencies, FPS was forced to reconsider its strategic vision in light of modern security threats and budgetary constraints. Schenkel said the new vision entails an increased focus on an overarching "protection mission," rather than the traditional "straight police-type mission." That involves building a workforce made up almost entirely of inspectors and contract security guards with very few dedicated FPS police officers.
Full story: http://www.govexec.com/story_page.cfm?articleid=41519&dcn=e_hsw
President-elect Obama's national security nominees won praise Monday from key Senate Democrats and appear to be headed toward smooth confirmations. As expected, Obama nominated Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., to be secretary of State; Eric Holder as attorney general; Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano as Homeland Security secretary and Susan Rice as ambassador to the United Nations. Obama also said he plans to keep Robert Gates as Defense secretary and name Jim Jones as national security adviser. "Democrats and Republicans alike agree that with these extraordinary nominees, we will begin to make Americans more secure and restore America's leadership around the globe," Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said. Republicans were largely silent on the picks Monday.
Democratic chairmen who will hold confirmation hearings praised the selections, although they pointed to areas where they will seek to influence policy. Senate Armed Services Chairman Carl Levin, D-Mich., said Obama "has selected a rock-solid national security team." Levin praised Gates' "actions in restoring a measure of accountability in the Pentagon" and highlighted the secretary's call for Afghans to increase their security role by doubling their army's size. Since he is already in office, Gates will not need to be confirmed again. Calling Napolitano a "strong nominee," Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Chairman Joseph Lieberman, I-Conn., said he looks forward to getting her "perspective on the anti-terrorism responsibilities of the department." Lieberman, who campaigned strongly for Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., and questioned Obama's qualifications to run the country, also praised Obama's other selections: "At a moment in history when our nation faces both great dangers and great opportunities in our foreign relations, the president-elect has begun to build an administration that can lead America forward on the world stage with purpose and principle," he said. At a briefing, Judiciary Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., said he will schedule a confirmation hearing for Holder "as promptly as possible" after consulting with Judiciary ranking member Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania.
Citing frequent conversations with Holder, a former U.S. attorney and deputy attorney general, Leahy suggested Holder will ally with Democrats who want to further overhaul the department in the wake of the firing of U.S. attorneys and a perception the department is too politicized. Holder "is well aware of the scandals ... He is going to put it back together," Leahy said. He said Holder's popularity with career staff would help restore morale damaged under former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales. Republicans have raised concerns about Holder's failure to prevent former President Bill Clinton's pardon of financier Marc Rich, but Leahy said he expected several Judiciary Committee Republicans to support Holder. "It wasn't Holder who gave the pardon," Leahy said. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., and Armed Services Chairman Ike Skelton, D-Mo., also praised the picks Monday. When asked about Obama's national security team, Pelosi said the choices should give "great confidence" and show the foreign policy of the next administration will be "respected" and "built around strength."
Full story: http://www.govexec.com/story_page.cfm?articleid=41534&dcn=e_hsw
Following in the wake of last week's Mumbai terrorist attacks, President-elect Barack Obama announced his national security team at a press conference this morning in Chicago. With unrest between India and Pakistan rising over the weekend, Obama addressed the situation briefly but declined to comment further when pressed by a reporter.
"This is one of those times that I reiterate that there is one president at a time," the president-elect said. "We will be engaged in delicate diplomacy in the next several days and weeks. It would be inappropriate for me to comment, but what I can so unequivocally is that both myself and the team that stands beside me are absolutely committed to eliminating the threat of terrorism."
That team includes several appointments that had been rumored for weeks -- Hillary Rodham Clinton as secretary of State, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, Eric Holder as attorney general, Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano as Homeland Security Department secretary, Obama's campaign foreign policy adviser Susan Rice as ambassador to the United Nations and Gen. Jim Jones as national security adviser.
Full story: http://www.govexec.com/story_page.cfm?articleid=41530&dcn=e_hsw
The State Department has launched a social networking site to promote international exchanges and enhance the United States' image abroad, particularly among young people.
ExchangesConnect, administered by the department's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, includes blog postings, photos and videos from users across the world interested in trading information on culture, language and global education programs. A newly designed Web site, exchanges.state.gov, is a portal to the social network and the agency's Facebook page. ExchangesConnect is free, but requires users to fill out a brief online registration.
"It's a natural expansion of our exchange programs," said Goli Ameri, outgoing assistant secretary of education and cultural affairs, in an interview with Government Executive.
Full story: http://www.govexec.com/story_page.cfm?articleid=41529&dcn=e_hsw
If history is a guide, there's a good chance President Bush will give federal employees a parting gift: an additional day off around Christmas.
Historically, presidents often have granted an extra day or half-day of vacation when the holiday falls on a Tuesday or Thursday. This year, Christmas is on a Thursday, so it's likely that federal agencies also will be closed on Friday, Dec. 26, giving most government workers a four-day weekend.
Federal employees also were granted an extra day off around the holidays in 2007, when Christmas fell on a Tuesday. And in 2003 -- the last time Christmas was on a Thursday -- feds got a bonus vacation day on Dec. 26.
Full story: http://www.govexec.com/story_page.cfm?articleid=41524&dcn=e_hsw
Defense Secretary Robert Gates Monday urged Air Force personnel at a troubled military base to step up their care over the installation's nuclear weapons. He spoke on the day that President-elect Barack Obama announced that Gates would remain in his job when the new administration takes office in January.
"I wanted to tell you in person that, as stewards of America's nuclear arsenal, your work is vital to the security of our nation. Handling nuclear weapons -- the most powerful and destructive instruments in the arsenal of freedom -- is a tremendous responsibility," Gates said in a speech at Minot Air Force Base, N.D.
In August 2007, Minot air crews mistakenly loaded six nuclear-armed cruise missiles onto a B-52 bomber that then flew to Barksdale Air Force Base, La. The weapons were not identified as missing for about 36 hours, when Barksdale personnel unloaded the cruise missiles from the bomber. The mishandling spurred an extensive investigation that ultimately resulted in scores of disciplinary actions and the resignations of the Air Force's top officials.
Full story: http://www.govexec.com/story_page.cfm?articleid=41540&dcn=e_hsw
After the bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building 13 years ago, things changed for federal employees, especially in Oklahoma City. Within two weeks of the attack, one building just four blocks away - occupied by the Internal Revenue Service, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, and other agencies - installed X-ray machines, magnetometers and glass security walls, and posted security guards in the lobby. Every person entering the building was scanned and their credentials verified.
Tightened security soon became a familiar sight at federal buildings throughout the nation, with policies quickly implemented to prevent similar attacks.
But what a difference a decade makes. That post-bombing ramp- up has been almost completely rolled back, says Lauri Goff, president of the National Treasury Employees Union Chapter 45 and an employee in that Oklahoma City building. And security faded even more after the Federal Protective Service's post-Sept. 11 transition to the Homeland Security Department's Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, she says.
Full story: http://www.govexec.com/story_page.cfm?articleid=41522&dcn=e_hsw
"I assembled this team because I'm a strong believer in strong personalities and strong opinions. I think that's how the best decisions are made."
-- President-elect Obama on his national security team.
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