Four Friday morning briefs
Later this morning Secretary Napolitano will meet with the new Homeland Security Advisory Council in Albuquerque (10:00 mountain). The PSD-1 recommendations include “enhancing” the role and influence of advisory councils as a way of better ensuring the involvement of State, local, tribal, and private-sector leaders in policy-making. You can follow the meeting via a new social media tool being deployed by DHS at http://www.ustream.tv/channel/nmspirg-hsac
Yesterday the Associated Press reported, “The Obama administration’s pick for a top intelligence post at the Homeland Security Department has ties to the CIA’s harsh interrogation program, a congressional aide said. This could become an issue during Philip Mudd’s confirmation hearing, which is expected next week. Mudd was nominated to be under secretary of intelligence and analysis at Homeland Security.”
While yours truly, in particular, has been obsessing about resilience, other issues relevant to Homeland Security have certainly been popping. In Case of Emergency, Read Blog is a good complement to HLSwatch. This week the coverage there includes an exclusive look at Mike Chertoff’s new book.
Among several other matters not covered since May 26 is the nomination hearing of Rand Beers as DHS Under Secretary for National Preparedness and Protection. I appreciate William R. Cumming asking about it. The hearing was conducted on June 2. The Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs has an archived video of the 105 minute hearing. Prepared statements and testimony are also available for review. Chairman Lieberman gave notice that his priorities for the NPPD include, cybersecurity, critical infrastructure, target hardening, visa policy and enforcement, and chemical security. I heard — or recognized — no surprises in the testimony or inquiries. Toward the middle of the hearing, Mr. Beers explained that, without a statutory reorganization, he will — when confirmed — be “in charge” of all DHS cybersecurity operations, as has been reported elsewhere.
