HUD and DHS Launch Disaster Recovery Website

Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Shaun Donovan and Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Janet Napolitano today announced the launch DisasterRecoveryWorkingGroup.gov—a new inter-agency website that will allow federal disaster recovery officials to solicit public comments from state, local and tribal partners and the public.

The new website will be used by the federal government’s newly-formed Long Term Disaster Recovery Working Group—co-chaired by Secretary Donovan and Secretary Napolitano—to allow stakeholders to submit ideas for disaster recovery; articulate objectives for recovery assistance going forward; identify examples of best practices; raise challenges and obstacles to success; and share thoughts, experiences and lessons learned.

“It is vital to our success that disaster recovery professionals and stakeholders provide their input as we move forward to improve disaster recovery efforts across the country,” said Secretary Donovan. “This new website will give everyone involved in disaster recovery a voice in shaping how we respond, and then rebuild and revitalize communities in the wake of disaster.”

“Successful recovery relies on effective collaboration with partners from state, local and tribal governments and the private sector,” said Secretary Napolitano. “This new website will support the federal government’s efforts to enhance our nation’s resiliency in the face of emergencies by engaging directly with our stakeholders.”

Last month, President Obama asked Secretaries Napolitano and Donovan to co-chair the Long Term Disaster Recovery Working Group, comprised of more than 20 federal departments, agencies and offices, to ensure that individuals, communities and the nation’s economy can withstand and rapidly recover from disasters. In order to develop a better national strategy for an effective approach to long-term disaster recovery, the Working Group will:

* Provide operational guidance for Federal, State, Tribal and local authorities to provide for effective and unified disaster recovery. This includes defining roles and responsibilities, detailing recovery management and operational coordination, articulating communications strategies and establishing measurements for success;

* Review disaster recovery programs and the framework of disaster recovery, and identify gaps as well as overlapping and/or conflicting sources of authority for disaster recovery efforts;

* Examine areas for improved interagency planning and collaboration among federal agencies;

* Examine methods to build capacity within State, local and tribal governments as well as within the nonprofit, faith-based, and private sectors; both in recovery operations and in pre-disaster recovery planning; and

* Examine successful practices and lessons learned during previous disaster recovery efforts, with particular attention to catastrophic disasters such as Hurricanes Katrina and Rita

In addition, Secretaries Donovan and Napolitano will provide the President with recommendations to improve long-term catastrophic disaster recovery and help develop a National Disaster Recovery Framework that will provide detailed operational guidance to recovery organizations under existing authorities.

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Homeland Security National Review Dialogue Round 2 – QHSR

On Monday afternoon I had the opportunity to participate in a Department of Homeland Security Blogger’s Round Table. The round table was held to not only kick-off the second part of the National Homeland Security Dialogue but also to discuss the results from the  first dialogue.

It was an honor to be invited and included among such an outstanding group of  blogger’s including two of my favorites, John Solomon of InCaseofEmergencyBlog and Christopher Bellavita of Homeland Security Watch . If you don’t have these two sites bookmarked, you’ll want to add them.  Both are incredibly articulate, informative writers who regularly put forth some of the best, most insightful ideas and approaches to homeland security and preparedness that you’ll find anywhere.

Back to the QHSR. Now I could provide a lot of the details from the meeting upfront, however  if you don’t read the entire post you’ll miss the most important takeaway from it, so here it is.

If you’ve registered and are participating in the Quadrennial Homeland Security Review (QHSR),your comments are being read, your voice is being heard, and your ideas are being considered and discussed at the highest levels in the Department of Homeland Security.

One brief but convincing example to illustrate this point would be the removal of the term “man made disaster” from the lexicon shortly after the first dialogue. Comments in regards to the term were brought up, considered by the working group and based on feedback from round one it was immediately removed. DHS is not only listening, they’re engaged and responding to your ideas and comments… And they want more.

I encourage you to not take this lightly. You’re making a difference and helping to shape at least the next four years of Homeland Security strategy and policy. This is a unique and very rare opportunity, one that I know many of you have hoped for, for a very long time. If you haven’t participated up to this point, it’s not too late. Now is the time to register and get involved. Register here.

Alan Cohn, the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Strategic Planning for the Department of Homeland Security was the moderator for the round table and he shared the results from the first dialogue with the group. Over 20,000 individuals have visited the site, with over 8200 participants and over 200 separate proposals. Many of YOU are included in these numbers. Outstanding results for a new initiative such as this.

It was obvious from his comments and enthusiasm that  he and the various working groups at DHS are very excited with the participation thus far and hopeful that even more of you submit your ideas and comments for consideration in this second round.

The second round will run through September 6th so time is short. With the Labor Day weekend coming up, don’t delay in submitting your ideas and comments early.

To participate, you can go to directly to the site at www.homelandsecuritydialogue.org

Once  logged in, the online tool allows you to prioritize the objectives in the various categories by allocating points to each objective. You can allocate points in increments of 10 and the number of points you have to allocate per goal is dependent on the number of objectives in each goal. (This will make more sense once you log in)

You can assign negative points to objectives that you think are less important resulting in more points for you to assign to other objectives.

The categories are as follows:

• Counterterrorism and Domestic Security
• Securing Our Borders
• Tough, Smart Enforcement of Immigration Laws
• Preparing for, Responding to, and Recovering from Disasters
• Homeland Security Nation Risk Assessment
• Homeland Security Planning and Capabilities

If you’ve been an armchair Homeland Security quarterback in the past (and I know there’s many of you from the comments and emails I receive daily) now’s the time to step up, get in the game and get your ideas on the table.  The primary goal in this second round is simple; increase participation, comments and ideas.

This really is your opportunity to make a difference, take advantage of it.

QHSR Website

Homeland Security and Defense Domestic Operations?

The Pentagon and the Department of Homeland Security recently notified law enforcement agencies and associations, such as the National Association of Chiefs of Police, about the Obama Administration’s interest in using the military during “emergencies.”

Government officials reported that the Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency Administrator W. Craig Fugate met with the Commander of the US Northern Command, General Gene Renuart, to discuss “pre-disaster planning, response and recovery in support of the federal response to the 2009 hurricane season as well as wild fires, floods and other potential disasters.”

The meeting reinforced the important relationship between the two organizations and focused on the operational role of US Northern Command and what resources and skills they bring to any major Federal effort related to all-hazards preparedness, response, recovery and mitigation. It was also an opportunity to meet operational leaders who would fill key positions in those support efforts.

“NORTHCOM plays a vital role in disaster response in support of state and local officials,” Fugate said. “I am impressed by their commitment to teamwork and interoperability. They are leaning forward and are solutions-oriented partners among the nation’s emergency response team.”

“We are committed to teaming with and supporting our civilian partners,” added Renuart. “If our federal partners, state and local officials are successful in responding to contingency operations, then ultimately we a

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Homeland Security – Napolitano Offers Shift in Tone

Homeland Security Secretary Janet A. Napolitano on Wednesday called for closer collaboration with foreign partners, more intensive cooperation with local law-enforcement officials, and greater involvement by citizens in watching for and responding to terrorist threats.

“For too long, we’ve treated the public as a liability to be protected rather than as an asset in our nation’s collective security,” Ms. Napolitano said during a speech to the Council on Foreign Relations in New York. “This approach, unfortunately, has allowed confusion, anxiety and fear to linger.”

[...]

“The terror threat is even more decentralized, networked and adaptive than on 9/11,” she said. “The United States needed an approach that was “more layered, networked and resilient.”

In her speech, Ms. Napolitano seemed intent on a shift of tone, a recasting of the way Americans view the terror threat. Implicitly, she seemed to rebuke the approach taken by the Bush administration, which critics said too often seemed to exaggerate threats and sow a sense of fear.

[...]

Ms. Napolitano said she had traveled 30,000 miles just in the past few weeks — “from Islamabad to Seattle” — while brokering new international agreements to improve security arrangements that would be effective even before potential terrorists reached American shores.

She also emphasized the importance of the facilities, called intelligence fusion centers, that have been set up nationwide to improve and streamline communications between the local officials most likely to see the first signs of suspicious activity — like a flight school student showing interest in learning to take off but not to land a plane — and state and federal officials.

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Homeland Security To Reveal Terror Prevention Plans

U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano is expected to reveal on Wednesday the Obama administration’s domestic policies to prevent terrorist attacks, the Wall Street Journal said on Tuesday.

In an interview, Napolitano said the new strategy is expected to rely largely on refining and expanding initiatives launched under former President George W. Bush, the paper reported on its website.

The new plans are part of a wider effort to significantly increase the cooperation Napolitano’s agency has with state and local governments in the United States, the paper said.

Napolitano is also expected to call for more civic awareness and involvement to prevent attacks, the paper said, adding that she is likely to discuss efforts to work closer with foreign governments, from sharing airline-passenger data to intelligence about potential plots.

“We live in a world now where no one department of government can be held to be the sole repository of protecting security,” Napolitano told the paper in an interview on Monday. “There is a role to be played at every level.”

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Homeland Security Review QHSR National Dialogue

Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano invites you to participate in the National Dialogue on the Quadrennial Homeland Security Review (QHSR). This groundbreaking, web-based interactive dialogue is designed to allow a broader range of opinions and ideas to inform the QHSR process, and to strengthen the Department’s relationship with its vast array of partners and stakeholders, including other federal agencies, state, local, and tribal governments, law enforcement professionals, first responders, academic institutions, and the business community.

In order to capture this critical feedback, the Secretary is seeking your participation in three week-long, web-based dialogues. Each dialogue will build on the previous one, allowing participants to view and comment directly on proposed elements of the review before they are made final. Your invaluable participation will directly inform the work of the DHS study groups conducting the QHSR—and ultimately, our Homeland Security policies and priorities over the next four years. The final report is due to Congress on December 31, 2009.

What is the Quadrennial Homeland Security Review?

The Quadrennial Homeland Security Review (QHSR) is a congressionally mandated, top-to-bottom review of the Department’s policies and priorities that will guide the Department and the nation for the next four years. The review is conducted by the Secretary of Homeland Security with key assistance from a set of study groups within DHS, each charged with reviewing a different aspect of the Department’s mission and operations. For more information, see http://www.dhs.gov/qhsr.

What is the National Dialogue on the Quadrennial Homeland Security Review?

The National Dialogue is a conversation between you, other Homeland Security stakeholders, and DHS on an innovative web-based platform. The National Dialogue is an iterative process, building on your input over the course of three dialogues. Each of the three dialogues will involve discussions on six topics being reviewed by DHS:

• Counterterrorism and Domestic Security Management
• Securing Our Borders
• Smart and Tough Enforcement of Immigration Laws
• Preparing for, Responding to, and Recovering from Disasters
• Homeland Security National Risk Assessment
• Homeland Security Planning and Capabilities

This unique experiment in 21st-century stakeholder consultation is being hosted by the National Academy of Public Administration, an independent, non-profit, congressionally-chartered institution, on behalf of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

Read More – Register To Participate

Fusion Centers Expand Criteria to Identify Militia Members – Updated

UPDATE: The head of the Missouri Highway Patrol has quashed a controversial report linking conservative groups with the modern militia movement.

Superintendent James Keathley said distribution of the report has been halted, and that a new system is being created to review future reports before they’re released.

Lt. Governor Peter Kinder said the report unfairly targets conservative Missourians.

“We had a focus on pro-lifers, folks who are concerned about enforcement of our borders and the immigration issue, and other people all on the conservative side of the spectrum, and I think the focus is wrong,” Kinder said.

Kinder is calling for an investigation into the report and wants Public Safety Director John Britt placed on administrative leave.

A spokesman for Governor Jay Nixon voiced support for Britt and for the Missouri Information Analysis Center, which produced the report.

Press Secretary Scott Holste said the report’s premature release is due to a flawed oversight system that existed long before Nixon took office.
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If you’re an anti-abortion activist, or if you display political paraphernalia supporting a third-party candidate or a certain Republican member of Congress, if you possess subversive literature, you very well might be a member of a domestic paramilitary group.

That’s according to “The Modern Militia Movement,” a report by the Missouri Information Analysis Center (MIAC), a government collective that identifies the warning signs of potential domestic terrorists for law enforcement communities. Read more

Homeland Security Seeks Next Generation REAL ID

Privacy advocates are issuing warnings about a new radio chip plan that ultimately could provide electronic identification for every adult in the U.S. and allow agents to compile attendance lists at anti-government rallies simply by walking through the assembly.

The proposal, which has earned the support of Janet Napolitano, the newly chosen chief of the Department of Homeland Security, would embed radio chips in driver’s licenses, or “enhanced driver’s licenses.”

“Enhanced driver’s licenses give confidence that the person holding the card is the person who is supposed to be holding the card, and it’s less elaborate than REAL ID,” Napolitano said in a Washington Times report.

REAL ID is a plan for a federal identification system standardized across the nation that so alarmed governors many states have adopted formal plans to oppose it. However, a privacy advocate today told WND that the EDLs are many times worse.

Read More – WND