NCJ Number
189530
Date Published
2001
Length
12 pages
Annotation
This documents outlined three House of Representatives bills to change the overall leadership and management of programs to combat terrorism.
Abstract
The three bills and related proposals vary in scope. H.R. 525 focuses on Federal programs to prepare State and local governments for dealing with domestic terrorist attacks. Both H.R. 1158 and H.R. 1292 focus on the larger issue of homeland security, which includes terrorism and additional threats such as military attacks. Other proposals include both domestic and international terrorism and/or both crisis and consequence management. Based upon the problems identified during five years of evaluations, the following actions need to be taken: (1) create a single high-level Federal focal point for policy and coordination; (2) develop a comprehensive threat and risk assessment; (3) develop a national strategy with a defined end state to measure progress against; (4) analyze and prioritize government-wide programs and budgets to identify gaps and reduce duplication of effort; and (5) coordinate implementation among the different agencies. There is no consensus on the required scope of duties or the location for a single focal point. In addition, the three bills provide the focal point with different, but often similar, duties to improve the management of Federal programs. To the extent that these three bills -- or some hybrid of them all -- address the problem areas identified, Federal programs to combat terrorism will be improved. Developing a consensus on these matters and providing the focal point with legitimacy and authority through legislation, is an important task that lies ahead. 12 footnotes and appendix