Democrats Urge Suspension Of New Terror Threat Alert System
July 25, 2008 by national
Filed under Homeland Security News
Responding to warnings in a government audit, congressional Democrats are calling on the Homeland Security Department to suspend a new threat alert system until the program is retooled to meet state and local needs.
Department spokesman Russ Knocke said Thursday that the department does not plan to put the program on hold.
The new system, which is to be the main way the department communicates regular threat information to local and private sector officials, has had a troubled history. The department scrapped a $91 million system, dubbed the Homeland Security Information Network or HSIN, after reports found that the program lacked critical security and structural functions that made it unworkable.
It’s been placed on life support until it can be replaced by “HSIN Next Gen,” which is due to be completed next September with an estimated price tag of $62 million.
The taxpayers of this country paid $91 million dollars and the system doesn’t work? The first thing we need to do is get back the $91 million. Let’s find out who proposed this idea, who approved it, what company and which lobbyists were involved. Then we need to check the financial connections of all the parties involved. At that point, everyone who dipped into the financial pot has a choice to make…get the system up and working, refund all monies received, or go to jail for fraud.
There is a lemon law for cars, it is time we institute a lemon law for anything sold to the taxpayers.