Transportation agency chiefs support homeland consolidation

In testimony before a House subcommittee Tuesday, transportation authorities voiced their approval for the White House plan to consolidate several transportation-related agencies under the proposed Homeland Security Department.

John Magaw, head of the Transportation Security Administration, said he fully supports the plan under H.R. 5005 and called the initiative "a logical consolidation of government resources" and said the new homeland secretary must have the authority to relocate resources as needed.

"The reorganization will bring unity of effort, unity of command," Adm. Thomas Collins, Coast Guard commandant, told the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security.

Although expected to attend, Federal Emergency Management Agency Director Joseph Allbaugh was not present at the oversight hearing.

Representatives expressed concern for the health of non-security functions within agencies, and asked whether they would wane under the homeland-security umbrella. Witnesses, however, were uneasy about separating functions, arguing that security concerns are endemic to customs as well as border control.

Trade and security are "interlinked," said Customs Service Commissioner Robert Bonner, who added that homeland security must not cripple trade. "It would be unwise to try to separate these two functions," Bonner said. "If you want maximum security, just shut [the borders] down."

Rep. Mark Green, R-Wisc., asked Collins whether the Coast Guard's responsibility for port safety would be compromised if the agency is included in the new department. Collins told the lawmaker that attention to maritime security would relieve local stations, and new and maintained equipment would enhance the agency's resources, improving interoperability.

Representatives also raised concerns over the Secret Service's non-security functions, including control over white-collar crime. Identity theft, counterfeiting and cybersecurity are among the agency's diverse concerns, said Brian Stafford, Secret Service director. Stafford said that in the 1990s, the agency realized that "technology-based crime was [characterizing] everything we did."

"It is clear the Department of Homeland Security will be built on the pillars of protection and prevention," said Stafford, adding that homeland security is his agency's "mantra."

Bonner discussed agreements with other countries, including Singapore, that allow cargo to be pre-screened before arriving in the United States, and said he foresees expanding such relations. "Our physical border is the last line of defense," Bonner said.

Magaw said the new Homeland Security Department would have to examine its information technology (IT) needs and structure. For effective communication between agencies within the department, Magaw said the right technology is needed to link up databases, and added that Homeland Security Director Tom Ridge has emphasized the need for evaluation of the new department's IT capabilities. "I think it will be carried forth in a very robust way," Magaw said.

Witnesses all promoted their departments' security initiatives instituted after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

"The president is taking the next logical step, the necessary change," Collins said.