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Thompson Pans Unfinished National Planning Scenarios
by Mickey McCarter
Monday, 13 October 2008
Failure to complete scenarios 'astonishing,' congressman says
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has failed to draft national planning scenarios for specific threats as ordered in a presidential directive nearly five years ago, disregarding a top priority for the department and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), charged the chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee in an Oct. 9 letter.
Homeland Security Presidential Directive 8 ordered DHS to plan for 15 national scenarios where federal input would be vital in a response to a threat, but DHS condensed those scenarios to eight "key scenario sets" in the National Response Framework, Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) wrote in a letter to Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff.
Each scenario response plan should include a strategic guidance statement, a strategic plan, a concept of operations, and an operational plan. But DHS has completed only one strategic guidance statement for one of the eight scenarios as of Sept. 23, Thompson noted.
"Once again this administration and DHS have fallen behind in their effort to lead the unified national effort to secure the country and preserve our freedoms," Thompson said in a statement to reporters. "Despite the requirements set forth by a Presidential Directive, DHS failed to complete plans detailing how the Federal Government would respond should one of these eight critical attack scenarios occur.
"We all saw what happened with Hurricane Katrina when DHS and the government failed at its core to have a coordinated response. I am gravely concerned that the department's failure to complete these plans may have compromised the nation's readiness to respond to a catastrophic event. Keep in mind that the nation is especially vulnerable when it is transitioning from one presidential administration to the next," he added.
The eight planning scenarios would describe how DHS and FEMA would handle a terrorist attack, a natural disaster, a cyber attack, a pandemic influenza outbreak, and other threats.
Thompson's letter asks Chertoff to provide his committee with a program plan and a project schedule by Oct. 23 for finishing up the eight scenarios. Those plans should include a list of assignments and who is responsible for carrying out those assignments.
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Thompson Pans Unfinished National Planning Scenarios
by Mickey McCarter
Monday, 13 October 2008
Failure to complete scenarios 'astonishing,' congressman says
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has failed to draft national planning scenarios for specific threats as ordered in a presidential directive nearly five years ago, disregarding a top priority for the department and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), charged the chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee in an Oct. 9 letter.
Homeland Security Presidential Directive 8 ordered DHS to plan for 15 national scenarios where federal input would be vital in a response to a threat, but DHS condensed those scenarios to eight "key scenario sets" in the National Response Framework, Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) wrote in a letter to Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff.
Each scenario response plan should include a strategic guidance statement, a strategic plan, a concept of operations, and an operational plan. But DHS has completed only one strategic guidance statement for one of the eight scenarios as of Sept. 23, Thompson noted.
"Once again this administration and DHS have fallen behind in their effort to lead the unified national effort to secure the country and preserve our freedoms," Thompson said in a statement to reporters. "Despite the requirements set forth by a Presidential Directive, DHS failed to complete plans detailing how the Federal Government would respond should one of these eight critical attack scenarios occur.
"We all saw what happened with Hurricane Katrina when DHS and the government failed at its core to have a coordinated response. I am gravely concerned that the department's failure to complete these plans may have compromised the nation's readiness to respond to a catastrophic event. Keep in mind that the nation is especially vulnerable when it is transitioning from one presidential administration to the next," he added.
The eight planning scenarios would describe how DHS and FEMA would handle a terrorist attack, a natural disaster, a cyber attack, a pandemic influenza outbreak, and other threats.
Thompson's letter asks Chertoff to provide his committee with a program plan and a project schedule by Oct. 23 for finishing up the eight scenarios. Those plans should include a list of assignments and who is responsible for carrying out those assignments.
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