Anti-terrorism measure would require changes to alert system
Five-color advisory system has created confusion in the past, particularly because state, local and private-sector officials have not always known how to react.
Pending legislation to implement anti-terrorism recommendations would require changes in how the Homeland Security Department collects and disseminates information, notably by overhauling the color-coded alert system, according to a Congressional Research Service report.
House Democrats say one of their top priorities when returning next week from the Independence Day congressional recess will be to negotiate on House and Senate bills to fully implement the recommendations of the panel that investigated the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
The bills closely track in several ways when it comes to making changes to Homeland Security's information-sharing activities, CRS said. The five-color advisory system has created confusion in the past, particularly because state, local and private-sector officials have not always known how to react when threat levels are increased.
"With respect to the Homeland Security Advisory System, the bills would provide greater congressional direction to the [Homeland Security] secretary in the administration of this program by responding to often-heard criticisms directed at the system and the department by first responders, state and local law enforcement, and some private-sector entities," CRS wrote.
Homeland Security has gradually been moving away from using the system as a blunt instrument. For example, the department did not raise the U.S. threat level in response to the alleged terrorist attacks in the United Kingdom last week.
Lawmakers, however, want to codify changes to the alert system. The House and Senate bills would require Homeland Security to refine the system so that each warning includes specific information and advice regarding appropriate protective actions in response to threats, CRS wrote. Furthermore, the bills stipulate that warnings should, whenever possible, be limited "to a specific region, locality or economic sector believed to be at risk."
The House-passed bill said the department "shall not, in issuing any advisory or alert, use color designations as the exclusive means of specifying homeland security threat conditions." CRS noted, however, that some provisions in the legislation could prove challenging.
"State and local authorities may be more familiar with the resources they have at their disposal to take protective actions against any potential threat," the service concluded.
The bills also contain provisions intended to improve information-sharing within the department and among federal, state and local law enforcers.
The Homeland Security Department's inspector general released a summary last week of a classified report on problems the department faces in managing its information-sharing activities.
"[Department] elements that are part of the intelligence community detect and analyze threats to the national security of the United States, while other intelligence organizations in the department collect information and develop analytical products to aid in the capture of prospective or practicing criminals," the IG wrote. "Until these activities are differentiated and 'intelligence' explicitly defined, the department will face challenges in determining what activities and organizations should be integrated."