The task of homeland security is to help keep America safe, free, and prosperous. Congress plays an important role in achieving these goals. By any measure, 2007 was not the best year for homeland security in Congress. Its landmark legislation for the year, the "Improving America's Security by Implementing Unfinished Recommendations of the 9/11 Commission Act of 2007," did anything but what its title promised, adding numerous unnecessary mandates that were never mentioned by the Commission. At the same time, Congress left unfixed homeland security faults that have lingered for years. Congress can do better in the new year by sticking to five New Year's resolutions that fix the errors it introduced in 2007 and address long-time oversights.
1. Consolidate congressional oversight of the Department
of Homeland Security.
Congress has failed to consolidate jurisdiction of the department
under one committee in each chamber as recommended by the 9/11
Commission. DHS officials report to a plethora of committees that
offer conflicting and competing guidance. Committees continue to
tinker with the department, moving offices and adding missions;
committees other than the homeland security committees still retain
jurisdiction over major parts of the department, including the
Coast Guard. Consolidating jurisdiction in a single committee in
each chamber will resolve these and other coordination
problems.
2. Stop turning homeland security grants into
"pork-barrel" funding.
The 9/11 Commission warned about this problem, and 2007's 9/11
Commission Act made things worse. Though the bill reduces the
minimum in homeland security grants that must go to each state from
0.75 to 0.375 percent of the total, it applies that minimum to
other grant programs as well, which had never been done before.
This change is an enormous step backwards, fencing off even more
money for each state (regardless of its need) than before. Based on
authorized funding levels, the change will give each state a
minimum of $6,750,000, which is $200,000 more than the smallest
states received in 2007. Congress should eliminate all
minimums and insist that all funds be allocated based on national
priorities. Congress should also eliminate grants which contribute
little to national homeland security, such as Assistance to
Firefighter Grants.
3. Establish an Undersecretary for Homeland
Security.
Since DHS was created, many have come to recognize that the agency
needs a high-level, high-powered office to develop policies that
bind the more than 22 federal entities consolidated within the
department, to coordinate with other federal agencies, and to
manage international affairs for the department. Congress has yet
to authorize an undersecretary for the department to supervise
these activities.
4. Repeal the requirement for 100-percent scanning of
all shipping containers bound for the United States.
Congress mandated 100-percent scanning in the 9/11 Commission Act,
despite the fact that the 9/11 Commission rejected this proposal.
No congressional mandate is more intrusive, expensive, and
unnecessary. Inspecting every container that is shipped to the U.S.
makes no sense. Doing so would cost billions of dollars and drown
authorities in useless information. Moreover, it is not clear why
every container would require inspection. The "nuke-in-a-box"
scenarios deployed to justify such drastic measures are highly
implausible. Scanning and sealing every container will not make
Americans much safer but will increase the cost of just about
everything that American consumers buy. Already, the United States
evaluates every container coming into the country and inspects the
suspicious ones. It is not a perfect system-it can be improved-but
it is a reasonable precaution and deterrent. One-hundred percent
inspection is not.
5. Finish immigration and border security
reform.
Congress must let DHS move forward with border security and
internal enforcement initiatives. This includes changing the law to
allow the sharing of Social Security "no-match" data with DHS so
that the department can track down employers who regularly hire
large numbers of unlawfully present workers. In addition, Congress
should move forward on visa reform and improve visa services so
that employers can legitimately get the workers they need to grow
the economy.
Congress has much to do to improve on its below-par performance on homeland security in 2007. These five priorities are good places to start.
James Jay Carafano, Ph.D., is Assistant Director of the Kathryn and Shelby Cullom Davis Institute for International Studies and Senior Research Fellow for National Security and Homeland Security in the Douglas and Sarah Allison Center for Foreign Policy Studies at The Heritage Foundation.
