Catalyst Partners Updates http://www.catalystdc.com/ Fri, 09 Apr 2010 00:00:00 GMT http://backend.userland.com/rss RSS.NET: http://www.rssdotnet.com/ There is a comforting feeling in attending a meeting with the National Emergency Managers Association (NEMA). You are literally surrounded by some of the world's best and brightest emergency managers in the public and private sectors. Probably no where else in the world could you assemble the talent, experience, and character in one room and fulfill the Allstate marketing adage of "you're in good hands." Such was my experience last weekend at NEMA's annual mid-year conference in Alexandria, VA. http://www.catalystdc.com/News/DocumentSingle.aspx?DocumentID=25694 http://www.catalystdc.com/News/DocumentSingle.aspx?DocumentID=25694 Fri, 09 Apr 2010 00:00:00 GMT Yesterday afternoon, President Obama announced that he will nominate Retired Army General Robert Harding to be the TSA Administrator. Harding is a well-known and highly respected military and intelligence officer, and under normal circumstances, his nomination should sail through the Senate. But these are not normal times in the Senate. http://www.catalystdc.com/News/DocumentSingle.aspx?DocumentID=25695 http://www.catalystdc.com/News/DocumentSingle.aspx?DocumentID=25695 Fri, 09 Apr 2010 00:00:00 GMT Following his testimony before the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs committee where he testified about chemical security, DHS Under Secretary Rand Beers met with national security bloggers for an "on the record" session hosted by the Heritage Foundation. It was a remarkably refreshing session - not only because Beers acknowledged the importance of reaching out to a wide range of critical thinkers (which occasionally includes bloggers), but also because he was characteristically candid. Would that other DHS officials followed his lead. http://www.catalystdc.com/News/DocumentSingle.aspx?DocumentID=25684 http://www.catalystdc.com/News/DocumentSingle.aspx?DocumentID=25684 Thu, 04 Mar 2010 00:00:00 GMT In one of her first appearances on Capitol Hill since becoming DHS' Under Secretary for Science & Technology, Tara O'Toole showed herself to be in complete comfort with the issues and challenges that face her. Her demeanor and candor at a FY2011 Budget Hearing before the House Subcommittee on Emerging Threats, Cyber Security and Science & Technology, also exhibited calm, cool and collected confidence in the programs she has inherited. This is just the reassurance that many from industry were looking for. http://www.catalystdc.com/News/DocumentSingle.aspx?DocumentID=25685 http://www.catalystdc.com/News/DocumentSingle.aspx?DocumentID=25685 Thu, 04 Mar 2010 00:00:00 GMT Someone needs to buy Janet Napolitano a beer. Or at least give her a double of whatever she wants. After two consecutive days on Capitol Hill testifying in front of four different Congressional Committees, she's earned it. In defending the Administration's proposed 2011 budget, she took on a whole set of bipartisan punches and barbs from an array of political players who weren't exactly happy with what she was trying to sell them. http://www.catalystdc.com/News/DocumentSingle.aspx?DocumentID=25658 http://www.catalystdc.com/News/DocumentSingle.aspx?DocumentID=25658 Fri, 26 Feb 2010 00:00:00 GMT Amidst the news today are reports that DHS employs more contractors than career civil servants. Lawmakers, notably Sen. Joseph Lieberman (ID-CT) and Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME), have described this situation as "unacceptable, untenable and unsustainable." The other notable word that they have used to describe this situation is "astounding." This is a situation that has been known about for some time. If we really want to be "astounded" and have a system that is "acceptable, tenable and sustainable," we can start by fixing the problem that created the civil service and contractor imbalance. http://www.catalystdc.com/News/DocumentSingle.aspx?DocumentID=25651 http://www.catalystdc.com/News/DocumentSingle.aspx?DocumentID=25651 Wed, 24 Feb 2010 00:00:00 GMT Yesterday's actions by the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) to represent TSA's 40,000 screeners has upped the ante in the high stakes poker game the Obama Administration seems to have avoided playing. Will there or will there not be a union at TSA? If we are to ever move forward, the White House's deafening silence has to end. Whatever decision it makes will have tremendous consequences and will leave some players at the poker table inflamed and outraged. http://www.catalystdc.com/News/DocumentSingle.aspx?DocumentID=25650 http://www.catalystdc.com/News/DocumentSingle.aspx?DocumentID=25650 Tue, 23 Feb 2010 00:00:00 GMT Last week, Transportation Security Administration (TSA) workers at the Philadelphia airport grossly mistreated Ryan Thomas, a 4-year-old boy who has intellectual and physical disabilities, and his parents. Headed for an Orlando-bound flight to celebrate Ryan's birthday at Disney World, TSA security screeners forced Ryan's parents to strip off his leg braces to clear security. What happened to Ryan is a symptom of what's wrong with the airport security process, and it should be leveraged to enhance safety while improving the airport experience for all flyers. http://www.catalystdc.com/News/DocumentSingle.aspx?DocumentID=25645 http://www.catalystdc.com/News/DocumentSingle.aspx?DocumentID=25645 Mon, 22 Feb 2010 00:00:00 GMT CBS News recently reported the number of illegal immigrants in the U.S. is down by about one million from 2008 to 2009. The DHS report CBS cited also shows a striking difference in the number of illegal immigrants entering the U.S. in two different periods. From 2000 through 2004, 28 percent of the current population of illegal immigrants entered the United States, and only 8 percent entered from 2005 through 2008. Having worked with these DHS statistics for a number of years, I am keenly aware of their limitations. I suspect the economy has played a role in this decrease, but I also think we need to give some credit to improved border enforcement and particularly to a little heralded but successful effort to end "catch and release." http://www.catalystdc.com/News/DocumentSingle.aspx?DocumentID=25643 http://www.catalystdc.com/News/DocumentSingle.aspx?DocumentID=25643 Thu, 18 Feb 2010 00:00:00 GMT After two large snowstorms and a pathetically minor dusting, we can see how Washington responded to emergency weather. As FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate has so aptly put in numerous ways, "It's time we treated the citizen as an asset and as a member of the response team, rather than as a liability," and the 2010 Mother Nature Winter rampage has put forward some great issues that public and private sector leaders, as well as citizens, should be acting on. http://www.catalystdc.com/News/DocumentSingle.aspx?DocumentID=25642 http://www.catalystdc.com/News/DocumentSingle.aspx?DocumentID=25642 Tue, 16 Feb 2010 00:00:00 GMT