Homeland Security Watch

This is the first budget request for the new Preparedness Directorate which was created subsequent to the Second-Stage Review last July and subsumed a number of existing DHS activities – infrastructure protection, cybersecurity, grants and training, etc. – as well as taking on new activities such as the office of the Chief Medical Officer.

The budget request for the Undersecretary of Preparedness is $74.6m in FY 2007 (up from $16m in FY 2006), most of which would be for new projects and activities, most notably the National Preparedness Integration Program (NPIP) – a new acronym for DHS-watchers. The description of the NPIP in the budget request is vague:

[The NPIP] supports the Preparedness Directorate by strengthening the nation’s capacity to prepare for and respond to terrorism and other major incidents. Activities include assistance to state and local homeland security planning; assessments of Federal, state, and local preparedness; and enhancement of Federal emergency communication functions.

Funding is proposed at a level of $50m. I’ll withhold judgment until I learn more about the strategic intent of the program.

One of the major accounts within the budget request for the Preparedness Directorate is “Infrastructure Protection and Information Security.” This account includes the Infrastructure Protection part of the former IAIP directorate and the National Cyber Security Division. DHS proposes an 11.3% cut in funding for this account from FY 2006 levels, from $619m to $549m. It’s unclear what programs within this account are actually being cut, although the object classifications indicate that most of the cuts are for procured activities (equipment, maintenance of equipment, and advisory services).