Major Changes

Here are the key renovations proposed by Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff on July 13:

• The Border and Transportation Security and Information Analysis and Infrastructure Protection directorates would be eliminated.
• Emergency preparedness activities would be folded into a single directorate.
• A central policy directorate would help Chertoff set priorities.
• A strengthened information analysis division would fuse intelligence across the department.
• The Federal Emergency Management Agency would return to its traditional mission of response and recovery.
• FEMA, along with the Transportation Security Administration, Customs and Border Protection, the Secret Service, Citizenship and Immigration Services, Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Coast Guard, would report directly to Chertoff.
• Background checks would be made earlier in the immigration benefit application process.
• A preparedness baseline would allow Homeland Security officials to match threats against targets and assess risk.