Homeland Security Is Faulted in
Audit
Washington Post
By Dan Eggen
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, December 29, 2005; Page A01
Nearly three years after it was formed, the immense Department of Homeland
Security remains hampered by severe management and financial problems that
contributed to the flawed response to Hurricane Katrina, according to an
independent audit released yesterday.
The report by Homeland Security Inspector General Richard L. Skinner aimed
some of its most pointed criticism at one of DHS's major entities, the Federal
Emergency Management Agency. Katrina and a subsequent storm, Rita, increased
the load on FEMA's "already overburdened resources and infrastructure," the
report said.
In addition, the report found, "the circumstances created by Hurricanes
Katrina and Rita provide an unprecedented opportunity for fraud, waste and
abuse," primarily because FEMA's grant and contract programs are still not
being managed properly.
"While DHS is taking several steps to manage and control spending under
Katrina, the sheer size of the response and recovery efforts will create an
unprecedented need for oversight," the report concludes.
The audit is the latest in a series of tough assessments of the beleaguered
department, which has been widely criticized since it was formed in March 2003
by combining 22 disparate agencies. In a final "report card" issued earlier
this month, for example, the former members of the Sept. 11 commission gave the
DHS low or failing grades in many key areas, including airline passenger
screening and border control.
Earlier this week, a group of House Democrats issued a report alleging that
the department had failed to follow through on 33 promised improvements to
border security, infrastructure protection and other programs.
In an 11-page response to the inspector general's findings, homeland
security officials acknowledged problems but disputed some of the criticisms
and offered explanations for others. For example, the department said it has
created a special procurement office to oversee hurricane contracts and is
using consultants to monitor the process.
Department spokesman William R. "Russ" Knocke said that "retooling FEMA is
one of our greatest and most urgent priorities."
"We continue to make programs more efficient, effective and
results-oriented," Knocke said, adding that "the department is making
substantial progress in implementing several core management initiatives,"
including improvements in personnel policies and financial accountability.
Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff, who took over the department
this year, is in the midst of implementing a broad reorganization of the
180,000-employee department and has announced initiatives in border security
and other areas.
But the department's bumbling after Katrina prompted widespread criticism --
along with the resignation of FEMA's director -- and many lawmakers have since
questioned whether DHS is capable of handling recovery efforts along the Gulf
Coast. White House homeland security adviser Frances Fragos Townsend is
reviewing the hurricane response by DHS and other agencies.
Congress has approved more than $63 billion in disaster relief funding, and
some estimate that the total federal recovery costs for New Orleans and other
storm-ravaged areas could exceed $200 billion. As of last week, officials said,
more than $4 billion in Katrina-related contracts had been awarded by the
department.
Skinner's audit deals not only with the department's response to Katrina but
also with an array of broader management challenges that have troubled DHS. The
department brought together immigration and customs agencies, the Secret
Service, the Coast Guard and the Transportation Security Administration, among
others. Although there has been progress, "integrating its many separate
components in a single, effective and economical department remains one of DHS'
biggest challenges," the audit said.
The report found, among other things, that U.S. Immigration and Customs
Enforcement has failed to maintain proper financial records; that much of the
department's technology infrastructure remains fractured and ineffective; and
that DHS faces "formidable challenges in securing the nation's borders."
Skinner also reiterated complaints about poor coordination between the
border patrol and immigration investigators. Chertoff has rejected Skinner's
recommendation that the agencies responsible for these employees be merged.
The audit followed a report Tuesday by 13 Democratic members of the House
Homeland Security Committee, who alleged that the administration has failed to
fulfill promises for improvements in areas such as border security and
intelligence sharing. The report also noted that the department has missed
deadlines to create a comprehensive database of critical infrastructure targets
that face a high risk of terrorist attack.
"The findings of the report are significant because they uncover a number of
unnecessary vulnerabilities to our homeland security that the American people
deserve to know about," the committee's ranking Democrat, Rep. Bennie Thompson
(Miss.), said in a statement with the report.
Knocke disputed many of the Democratic criticisms, arguing that they ignore
many specific changes that are underway and do not take into account
significant progress in homeland security since the Sept. 11, 2001,
attacks.
"Virtually each of these claims fall short of reflecting the substantial
work that has been done in securing America since 9/11," Knocke said.
Researcher Julie Tate contributed to this report.
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