Homeland watch

The Office of the Director of National Intelligence may not be the best place to develop a governmentwide information-sharing policy because the office is primarily focused on intelligence information, Meridith Fuchs, general counsel for the National Security Archive, told the House Homeland Security Committee on March 22."I was not left with any strong impression that a transparent, governmentwide information-sharing plan will emerge anytime soon," Fuchs told the House Homeland Security Committee after she met with ODNI officials.Placement of the Information Sharing Environment within the intelligence director's office makes it less likely that the focus will be as comprehensive as it should be, she said.The arrest of airport employees charged with entering secure areas to smuggle guns aboard planes in Orlando, Fla., has inspired Rep. Dan Lungren (R-Calif.) to propose the creation of a new biometric identification card for aviation employees.Lungren suggested at a March 28 congressional hearing that the Transportation Security Administration adopt standards similar to those used in the Registered Traveler program to fingerprint about 1 million airport workers.The controversial Automated Targeting System disclosed recently by the Customs and Border Protection bureau would become officially authorized and funded under a recent amendment Rep. Charles Dent (R-Pa.) is sponsoring. Dent said the system is used to screen international airline passengers en route to the United States. It uses the Passenger Name Record database and the Treasury Enforcement Communication System to determine whether a traveler should be flagged for additional screening.Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.), chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, opposed Dent's amendment because the bureau operated the system for five years without public notice of the system's effect on privacy.