DHS to bolster FEMA IT

 

Connecting state and local government leaders

Homeland Security secretary Chertoff, under pressure, refocuses agency on disaster response

Homeland security Department secretary Michael Chertoff last week had to turn away, at least temporarily, from his preferred focus on deploying border technology to improving disaster management IT, amid continued public outrage over the response to last year's hurricanes.Chertoff's shift in policy emphasis did not apparently entail changes to the administration's overall budget request for the widely derided Federal Emergency Management Agency.Instead, the announcement of FEMA upgrades including use of IT for disaster management, logistics and telecommunications, came against the background of Congressional testimony, Government Accountability Office analysis and a DHS inspector general report describing pervasive waste, fraud and abuse in the hurricane response.The FEMA technology upgrades will draw on the administration's proposal to increase the department's overall budget by 6 percent to $42.7 billion in fiscal 2007.Chertoff detailed technology improvement plans in a speech to the National Emergency Management Association last week. FEMA is set for a 10 percent budget increase in the 2007 spending plan. FEMA's core budget has increased by 40 percent since 2004, the department said. DHS' IT budget would increase next year by $772 million'the most of any agency'to $5.4 billion.Before the negative Katrina reports, Chertoff had called the 2007 spending plan 'a strong budget for the Homeland Security Department.'He emphasized in his budget presentation and in a separate briefing the importance of securing the borders and improving immigration law enforcement.And despite the new emphasis on disaster relief, border programs are still due for a boost.The Secure Border Initiative, a collection of technology, personnel and infrastructure programs, is set to receive a major funding boost, to $541 million next year.For example, DHS plans to increase by $135 million spending for the Employment Verification pilot program, a database to help employers check worker eligibility.The administration has allocated $100 million to SBI.net, a project to further upgrade technology among ports of entry.Chertoff emphasized that controlling illegal entry takes many forms, including better screening of visa applicants as well as improved intelligence about risks.The budget includes an additional $60 million for improvements to databases used by the U.S. Visitor and Immigrant Status Indicator Technology system.The new U.S. Visit funds will help pay for the coordination of information exchange between the department's IDENT database, which uses two-fingerprint data, and the FBI's 10-fingerprint Integrated Automated Fingerprint Identification System. DHS now is seeking technology for small, portable terminals it can use to gather 10-fingerprint data at border crossings.

FEMA to field new disaster tech

Problem: Disaster relief supplies have not been flowing to catastrophe victims in proper quantities, or at the right places or times.

Technology fix: FEMA plans to build a logistics management system to track shipments of disaster relief supplies, manage inventories, and improve distribution and delivery. The system will use radio frequency identification devices to track shipments in real time.

Problem: FEMA's outdated IT backbone, the National Emergency Management Information System, needs upgrades to handle increasing demand, block fraud and adjust to changing needs of disaster populations following catastrophes.

Technology fix: FEMA plans to issue a request for proposals for the next generation of NEMIS, which CIO Barry West recently said is in the planning stages. It will adjust to the increase in online disaster relief registrations, which have grown from about 15 percent in 2004 to 48 percent in 2005. FEMA seeks to increase NEMIS' capacity to 200,000 registrations daily.

Problem: FEMA needs upgraded technology to help gather, search and track data about specific cases.

Technology fix: The agency plans to increase its use of Web services technology and migrate away from client server systems.

Problem: Disaster victims need access to broadband communications to register for benefits, contact relatives, and communicate with private insurers and other companies.

Technology fix: FEMA has bought 60 Mobile Disaster Recovery Centers mounted in vans that work partly via satellite links. The agency also plans to buy 30 more of the communications vans.

Problem: Catastrophes destroy communications systems. The command and control tangle hinders disaster response and recovery.

Technology fix: Chertoff has called for hardened, interoperable communications gear to help responders assign priorities to resource needs and improve decision-making. West is working with the Pentagon and other agencies to develop an overall plan for interoperable communications that would include both voice and data services. 'Wilson P. Dizard III

Chertoff, under pressure, refocuses agency on disaster response



























X
This website uses cookies to enhance user experience and to analyze performance and traffic on our website. We also share information about your use of our site with our social media, advertising and analytics partners. Learn More / Do Not Sell My Personal Information
Accept Cookies
X
Cookie Preferences Cookie List

Do Not Sell My Personal Information

When you visit our website, we store cookies on your browser to collect information. The information collected might relate to you, your preferences or your device, and is mostly used to make the site work as you expect it to and to provide a more personalized web experience. However, you can choose not to allow certain types of cookies, which may impact your experience of the site and the services we are able to offer. Click on the different category headings to find out more and change our default settings according to your preference. You cannot opt-out of our First Party Strictly Necessary Cookies as they are deployed in order to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting the cookie banner and remembering your settings, to log into your account, to redirect you when you log out, etc.). For more information about the First and Third Party Cookies used please follow this link.

Allow All Cookies

Manage Consent Preferences

Strictly Necessary Cookies - Always Active

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Sale of Personal Data, Targeting & Social Media Cookies

Under the California Consumer Privacy Act, you have the right to opt-out of the sale of your personal information to third parties. These cookies collect information for analytics and to personalize your experience with targeted ads. You may exercise your right to opt out of the sale of personal information by using this toggle switch. If you opt out we will not be able to offer you personalised ads and will not hand over your personal information to any third parties. Additionally, you may contact our legal department for further clarification about your rights as a California consumer by using this Exercise My Rights link

If you have enabled privacy controls on your browser (such as a plugin), we have to take that as a valid request to opt-out. Therefore we would not be able to track your activity through the web. This may affect our ability to personalize ads according to your preferences.

Targeting cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.

Social media cookies are set by a range of social media services that we have added to the site to enable you to share our content with your friends and networks. They are capable of tracking your browser across other sites and building up a profile of your interests. This may impact the content and messages you see on other websites you visit. If you do not allow these cookies you may not be able to use or see these sharing tools.

If you want to opt out of all of our lead reports and lists, please submit a privacy request at our Do Not Sell page.

Save Settings
Cookie Preferences Cookie List

Cookie List

A cookie is a small piece of data (text file) that a website – when visited by a user – asks your browser to store on your device in order to remember information about you, such as your language preference or login information. Those cookies are set by us and called first-party cookies. We also use third-party cookies – which are cookies from a domain different than the domain of the website you are visiting – for our advertising and marketing efforts. More specifically, we use cookies and other tracking technologies for the following purposes:

Strictly Necessary Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Functional Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Performance Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Sale of Personal Data

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.

Social Media Cookies

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.

Targeting Cookies

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.