Experts Dissect DHS Second Stage Review

Homeland Security experts praised the Department of Home­land Security’s (DHS) proposed reorganization as a step in the right direction at a forum hosted by HSPI on July 14.

One day after DHS Secretary Michael Chertoff released the “Second Stage Review,” the forum brought together Home­land Security experts from area think tanks and universities nationwide to grade the department’s prescription for change. Speakers included Scott Bates of the Center for National Policy, Paul Rosenzweig and Dr. James Carafano from the Heritage Foundation, David Heyman from the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), Daniel Prieto from Harvard University and HSPI Director Frank Cilluffo.

“The fact that the department did this, the largest reorga­nization of a federal agency ever undertaken by the agency itself without a major Pearl Harbor or somebody in Congress beating them over the head, is absolutely unprecedented,” Dr. Carafano said.

The Second Stage Review outlines a six-point agenda for the agency that includes: increasing overall preparedness, creating more efficient and secure transportation systems for people and cargo, stronger border security, improved infor­mation sharing, and more efficient DHS organization and financial man­agement. The review also in­cludes a number of recommenda­tions for the ap­pointment of an undersecretary for Policy and a DHS intelligence czar, as well as the installa­tion of a chief medical officer, among other major changes.

The reforms center around Chertoff’s proposed risk-based approach and endeavor to centralize policy development, strengthen intelligence functions, and improve efficiency and enhance coordination. Chertoff originally alluded to his risk-based approach during his first policy address March 16, 2005, at an event hosted by HSPI.