House panel members laud Bush Homeland Security plan

Members of a key House technology panel June 7 responded enthusiastically to President Bush's proposed Cabinet-level Department of Homeland Security. The president announced his plan in a televised speech June 6. Republicans and Democrats praised the plan at a hearing of the House Government Reform subcommittee on technology and procurement policy, which met with industry executives to discuss how to improve homeland security through information sharing. If approved by Congress, Bush's plan would put under one department the Coast Guard, Customs Service, Federal Emergency Management Agency, Immigration and Naturalization Service, Secret Service and the Transportation Security Administration."I believe the proposed Department of Homeland Security will greatly assist information sharing by reorganizing the government along more rational, strategic lines that will more efficiently pursue homeland security," said Rep. Tom Davis, R-Va., chairman of the subcommittee. Davis, Rep. Jim Turner, D-Texas, ranking member of the subcommittee, and other lawmakers pledged to work with the Bush administration and toward enacting legislation that will implement Bush's plan. "I look forward to the work our committee will do in defining the proposal," Turner said.David Marin, spokesman for Davis, said congressional committee members and their staffs are working to discern which parts of the plan fall under their jurisdiction. Soon, "you're going to see hearing after hearing. It's going to be exciting," he said.Rep. Jane Harman, D-Calif., said she was one of 10 members of Congress invited to the White House June 7 to talk about steps toward resolving agency turf battles as the consolidation plan moves forward. It was a productive meeting, said Harman, who serves on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence."Information sharing is not a magic answer, but it is a critical piece and a reason why we need to do this department," Harman said.Industry executives at the hearing also praised the plan. "The president took a step in the right direction. I hope Congress will act," said Kevin Fitzgerald, senior vice president of Oracle Corp. of Redwood Shores, Calif. For the department to succeed, Congress with have to direct a significant amount of money for information technology that enables information sharing, Fitzgerald said. "It would not be prudent or practical to build a single, national system of homeland security information, but it is possible to build a system where information can be shared in support of the Department of Homeland Security," he said. That system would have to be built upon standards for data, integration of that data, and security, he added. After Bush established the Office of Homeland Security last fall, many federal IT contractors created special homeland security teams to sell IT products and services to the federal government. Now that Bush has proposed a new department, they may need to realign their business processes again."Now that there is going to be a new agency, that adds a lot more discipline and strategy. What I'm going to have to think about is how I realign our resources going forward," said Dan Johnson, executive vice president of public services for KPMG Consulting Inc. of McLean, Va."I think this [department] is a good idea ... to align responsibility and authority and eliminate duplication of effort," ultimately enabling faster provision of solutions to the government, Johnson said.