The contrast between the Senate's Improving America's Security
Act of 2007 (S. 4) and the legislation passed last month in the
House, the Implementing the 9/11 Commission Recommendations Act of
2007 (H.R. 1), is stark. While purporting to implement the
recommendations of the 9/11 Commission, the House bill offered
little more than "bait and switch" security, containing a
hodge-podge of "bumper sticker" election-year promises that had
little do with either the 9/11 Commission's report or the real
homeland security needs of the United States. The draft bill to be
introduced in the Senate, however, focuses mostly on practical
measures for addressing priority issues.
Hitting the Mark
The draft version of the Senate's Improving America's Security
Act of 2007 addresses key areas of homeland security where there is
legitimate room for improvement. These include enhancing
intelligence and early warning operations among federal, state, and
local agencies and strengthening information sharing between the
public and private sectors. Many of the provisions of the draft
legislation build on the pioneering work done by the Administration
in establishing a national intelligence network called the
Information Sharing Environment (ISE). Rightly, the legislation
places much of the responsibility for implementing the ISE on the
Department of Homeland Security (DHS). This is consistent with the
intent of the Homeland Security Act of 2002, which established the
department and directed that DHS serve as the hub for sharing
relevant information with the public and private sectors.
S.4 also places appropriate emphasis on strengthening measures
to combat terrorist travel. In particular, it strengthens the Visa
Waiver Program, a cooperative initiative of the United States and
27 other nations to permit free, secure travel between them for up
to 90 days without visas. The bill requires security enhancements
consistent with those already envisioned by the Administration to
ensure that the program provides for safe, secure, and convenient
travel between the U.S. and its friends and allies.
Missing the Target
The Improving America's Security Act of 2007 is not perfect. It
duplicates some of the shortfalls of the House legislation. One
shortfall is particularly noteworthy. The Senate bill continues the
tendency of the Congress to over-proliferate Homeland Security
grants, adding a new grant for interoperable communications and
perpetuating inefficient grant programs such as the Assistance to
Firefighter Grants. All these grant programs encourage states and
localities to view security grants as pork-barrel handouts and
recurring entitlements. Priority needs such as enhancing
interoperable communications should be funded out of existing
homeland security grant programs, displacing wasteful and
inefficient efforts that have done little to meet national
priorities.
A Base to Build On
By focusing on key issues, consistent with the national homeland
security strategy and the Administration's effort, S.4 contains
initiatives that will help rather than hinder. It should be the
starting point for crafting legislation intended to keep America
safe, free, and prosperous.
James
Jay Carafano, Ph.D., is Assistant Director of the Kathryn and
Shelby Cullom Davis Institute for International Studies, and Senior
Research Fellow for National Security and Homeland Security in the
Douglas and Sarah Allison Center for Foreign Policy Studies, at The
Heritage Foundation.