September 10, 2007—A new progress report on implementation of mission and management functions of the Department of Homeland Security from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) has been released to lawmakers.
It reports that, according to the GAO, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) shows inadequate funding, unclear priorities, continuing reorganizations and the absence of an overarching strategy, according to an article in Government Security News.
The GAO states that after the largest government merger in more than half a century, the DHS met fewer than half of its performance objectives, or 78 of 171 directives identified by President Bush, Congress and the department’s own strategic plans. The department strongly disputes the report.
In one of its harshest conclusions, the 320-page document states that the DHS has made the least progress toward some of the fundamental goals identified after the 2001 attacks and again after Hurricane Katrina in August 2005: improving emergency preparedness; capitalizing on the nation’s wealth and scientific prowess through “Manhattan project”-style research initiatives; and eliminating bureaucratic and technical barriers to information-sharing.
The GAO report draws on more than 400 earlier reviews and 700 recommendations by congressional investigators and the department’s inspector general, as well as the goals set by the Sept. 11 commission, the Century Foundation, congressional legislation and spending bills, and the administration’s own plans and internal strategic documents, such as the White House’s National Strategy for Homeland Security from July 2002.
For a copy of the report in PDF format, go to the GAO Web site.
