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Napolitano: Homeland Security priorities (decisons, decisions)
Vulnerabilities along the Canadian border are one of more than a half-dozen priorities identified by Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano during her first week, along with cybersecurity and ensuring that federal officials are properly communicating with state and local officials. Miss Napolitano asked for an oral report by Feb. 10 on current vulnerabilities, the overall strategy to reduce such, a budget and time frame for improving security, and the level of risk that will remain once the programs are completed. Citing the increasingly sophisticated number of threats to cyberspace, Miss Napolitano asked Friday for a second oral report Feb. 3 on Homeland Security's responsibility for protecting government and private-sector domains, as well as the current relationships with the departments of Defense, Treasury and Energy, and the National Security Agency. On her first day at the helm of the fledgling agency, less than 24 hours after Barack Obama took the presidential oath of office, the former Arizona governor issued directives to brief her in the coming weeks on state and local intelligence sharing, critical infrastructure protection, risk analysis, state, local and tribal integration, and transportation security. Miss Napolitano spent her first week meeting with top agency officials. She has asked some - including Deputy Secretary Paul A. Schneider, U.S. Customs and Border Protection Commissioner W. Ralph Basham and Coast Guard Commandant Thad Allen - to stay on during the transition period. Separately, Miss Napolitano announced that Mr. Obama will nominate U.N. Assistant Secretary-General Jane Holl Lute to serve as deputy secretary, and she has appointed two of her Arizona aides to Homeland Security posts - Noah Kroloff as chief of staff for policy and Jan Lesher as chief of staff for operations. During her confirmation hearing with the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, Miss Napolitano said she would increase prosecutions of businesses that hire illegal workers. Posted by: trailing wife 2009-01-26 |
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