It is one thing for government entities to dismiss the criticisms from outside groups. It is quite altogether something else to dismiss the criticisms of government-empowered investigators who have access to the closely held data. Based on its reaction to an audit by the U.S. Department…
Executive Summary To assess the Japanese experience, The Heritage Foundation reassembled a team of experts to evaluate Japan’s long-term efforts to recover from the Great Eastern Japan Earthquake and to prepare for future catastrophes. Based on extensive literature and interviews with Japanese officials and experts, the team…
Abstract: Twenty-two states currently have volunteer state guard units. These units, formally known as state defense forces (SDFs), are today’s state militias. Authorized by the Constitution…
Before the Committee on Small Business, Subcommittee on Economic Growth, Tax and Capital Access of the United States House of Representatives Delivered February 16, 2012 Introduction My…
FYI: Heritage WebMemos are now called Issue Briefs. Senator Joseph Lieberman (I–CT) filed an amendment to reauthorize the ineffective fire grant program to the federal transportation bill, aptly named the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (S. 1813).…
FYI: Heritage WebMemos are now called Issue Briefs. The Obama Administration’s adoption of much of the previous Administration’s policies on fighting the war against terrorists is well known. Less well known is the increasing move toward other homeland security grant…
After three full years (January 20, 2009, to January 19, 2012), it is clear that the Obama Administration has adopted the views of the Clinton and Bush Administrations on how to use the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) as a political pork-barrel spending agency. In 2011, the Obama Administration shattered—an…
By the end of 2011, at least 43 terrorist plots aimed at the United States since 9/11 had been thwarted. The frequency of attempts against the U.S. homeland has increased over the past three years. These numbers are reminders enough that the White House and Congress cannot be complacent—even in…
Once again, the budget brinksmanship in Washington, D.C., ended with a deal that postponed one of the key questions driving the debate: Should the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) receive whatever funding it desires, or should the federal government rein in FEMA and its profligate spending by exercising fiscal restraint?…
Hurricane Irene and the East Coast earthquake earlier that week put national attention once again on America’s disaster response system, especially the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). And once again, the problems that The Heritage Foundation has been pointing out for years—the federalization of routine disasters, FEMA’s funding issues, and…
Executive Summary Getting the national homeland security enterprise right is among the most difficult challenges in Washington because the problems in protecting the homeland are rooted in overcentralization, pervasive complacency, and entrenched politics—problems that often cause Washington…
Executive Summary The massive earthquake and tsunami that struck Japan in March 2011, and the following release of radiation from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station, represent one of the greatest disasters to strike the nation…
Abstract: Most Americans—whether members of the public or politicians in Congress—ignore or are unaware of the very real threat of an electromagnetic pulse (EMP) attack. A nuclear device detonated high in the atmosphere above the American mainland can easily disable the country’s electrical grid—shutting…
Abstract: The President’s budget request would maintain homeland security funding at current levels, but the budget request would increase funding for several programs that add little additional security while cutting others that could significantly enhance U.S. homeland security. Congress should use the budget process…
On March 23, 1983, President Ronald Reagan gave a famous speech where he outlined his plans for the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI), aimed at protecting America from a nuclear missile attack using land- and sea-based missile defense systems. On the anniversary of this famous oratory, however, America…
Abstract The U.S. military force structure envisioned by the 2010 Quadrennial Defense Review and the President’s FY 2012 budget request is inadequate to protect vital U.S. national interests. After the “procurement holiday” during the 1990s and the wear and tear…
According to (confirmed) reports this morning, President Obama will send a bipartisan delegation led by former...…
The United States is ready for the next Hurricane Katrina according to Admiral Thad Allen, the former director of the...…
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