Opinion from Congresswoman Jane Harman

Congresswoman Jane Harman - Opinion

Securing American Homeland Requires A Strategy

Op-Ed by Rep. Jane Harman
June 4, 2002

A smarter approach to monitoring and protecting our nation’s airspace. More background checks for drivers of trucks carrying hazardous materials.

Improvements to the nation’s food safety programs. Additional safety measures for protecting buildings against conventional explosives and fires.

Various measures for reducing the odds that biological agents could circulate through the air intake systems of major buildings and other large facilities.

These are just a few of the many steps that must be taken as soon as possible to ensure our homeland security. While I would like to give credit to the administration and its Office of Homeland Security for identifying these critical steps, I cannot. These steps were outlined by the Brookings Institution, a private group with far fewer resources than the federal government. This administration is still in search of a homeland security strategy. Brookings has a strategy but is in search of an administration.

In just one week, the FBI announced a threat to New York City landmarks, Vice President Cheney remarked that the next terrorist attack was a question of “when” not “if,” and rumors of threats to apartment buildings and landmarks had Americans in panic.

In the past nine months, the administration and Congress have sought to improve our homeland security by focusing on a series of programs to prevent the types of terrorist attacks that we have already seen.

The Executive Order creating the Office of Homeland Security charges it to “develop and coordinate the implementation of a comprehensive national strategy to secure the United States from terrorist threats or attacks.”

Nine months have passed since the deadliest terrorist attack on our country, and that strategy still does not exist.

There is a 2003 budget request for homeland security of $37.7 billion, but no strategy to explain whether this is the right amount or the right priorities for federal spending.

Homeland Security Director Tom Ridge plans on presenting a strategy to the president by July 1. To be effective, he will need to do several things: identify and prioritize our vulnerabilities; define and assign resources to protect those priorities; apportion responsibility to federal, state and local government entities and the private sector; and hold all parties accountable.

According to Ridge, his strategy will not be a consensus document. How could it be? The strategy will, by necessity, make choices among competing programs and assign responsibility and resources. Some agencies will lose power and budget; others will gain.

“Turf” is the dirtiest four-letter word in Washington. Done right, the Ridge strategy will surely threaten someone.

To win any turf war, the Office of Homeland Security needs sufficient authority. Legislation in both houses, H.R. 4660 and S. 2452, would grant that authority, and its passage is urgent if we hope to prevent, disrupt and protect against an expected second wave of attacks on American soil.

Assuming the Ridge office is granted statutory and budgetary authority, what should its strategy include? The Brookings Institution suggests a focus on the highest consequence threats, such as biological and nuclear attacks. While less likely than other threats such as conventional attacks against buildings or infrastructure, bioterrorism could kill hundreds of thousands of Americans. As such, anticipating these threats must constitute a critical component of our national strategy.

The strategy must also be flexible enough to incorporate threats and attacks not previously considered. Terrorists use asymmetric tactics, and seek to circumvent protections in place. New tactics are unlikely to match our standard defenses. The homeland security strategy must not only anticipate these new threats, but also provide resources adequate to overcome them before an attack takes place.

The strategy must also clarify responsibilities for federal, state and local governments, and what needs to be done in the private sector. Various portions of homeland security fall naturally to each, and some areas will require new partnerships among them. The private sector, for example, should take the lead in providing security for its own assets and operations, including 90 percent of the nation’s critical infrastructure and computer systems. The strategy should also set guidelines for how the public sector can leverage private resources and expertise to conduct its own efforts.

Our homeland security efforts to date have been ad hoc and focused on preventing the types of attack that we witnessed on Sept. 11. Preventing a second major attack requires creating a comprehensive national strategy and putting together an integrated, seamless, digital and effective homeland security effort.

Jane Harman represents California's 36th congressional district. She is the ranking Democrat on the House Subcommittee on Terrorism and Homeland Security.