Review and evaluate the Homeland Security Act of 2002
The Homeland Security Act of 2002 is considered a very essential Act in the United States of America. It is an Act that is responsible for the establishment of the Department of Homeland Security which is an executive and highly esteemed unit of the United States. The Department is headed by a Secretary in charge of Homeland Security who is entitled with a lot of powers and duties and is assisted by other officers for instance the director of the secret service, a chief information officer, a chief human capital officer, a chief financial officer and an officer for civil rights and civil liberties.
The Homeland Security Act of 2002 stipulates the missions and duties of the Department of Homeland Security for instance the prevention of terrorism within the United States of America, reduction of chances of terrorist attacks in the United States and minimization of damages that may occur from terrorists attacks in the United States. The acts outline the duties of the Homeland Security Department to include ensuring maximum border and transportation security, emergency preparedness and response, information analysis and protection of infrastructure, adoption of science and technology to support Homeland Security and liaising with other bodies and agencies among others (Anonymous 2002).
Evaluate the “Bush Administration Analysis of Homeland Security Legislation”, Government Executive, 2002
Bush being the then president of the United States of America had a critical role in regard to the Homeland Security legislation and the Homeland Security Act of 2002 in particular. Bush administration analysis of Homeland Security Legislation Government Executive, 2002 is more of the general review of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 but in regard to Bush’s view. Apart from the missions and responsibilities of the Department of Homeland Security, the analysis also looks into the administrative functions of the bill which have been named earlier.
The secretary to the Homeland Security Department is given full authority and control over all the issues that pertain to the department including the personnel as long as the efforts are directed towards protecting the United States Homeland. The Homeland Security Legislation talks much of the functions of Homeland Security Department with much emphasis on the duties of the Secretary and how functions are transferred (Government Executive.Com., 2002).
Assess the GAO Report: Preliminary Observations on Efforts to Target Security Inspection of Cargo Containers, 2003
The GAO report gives important information on the security inspections of cargo containers. According to the report, the Customs and Border Protection( CBP) which is charged with the responsibility of handling the potential threat associated with the movement of cargo containers has taken some efforts to curb problems of terrorism in regard to the cargo containers for instance the setting up of a national targeting center , reviewing the rules and regulations governing the cargo movement, enhancing training for the various personnel involved and enhancing the targeting system to make it effective. Despite this, some essential elements are lacking for instance appropriate risk assessment and management strategies and hence some changes have to be adopted (Stana, 2003).
It is also evident the CBP also faces some challenges in the course of fulfilling it duties for instance there is a problem of the lack of a national system which makes it difficult to track what is happening and hence make necessary adjustments. This leads to errors that would otherwise be corrected by an effective national system (GAO, 2005). The targeting system is also not well established. Another problem comes in with regard to the staff since although they have been trained, they have not been practically tested to ascertain whether they are competent and hence there is likelihood that they may not be able to utilize the learnt skills effectively (Stana, 2004).
Reference List
Anonymous (2002). Public Law 107 – 296. Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents, Vol. 38.
GAO. (2005). Homeland Security: Process For Reporting Lessons Learned From Seaport Exercises Needs Further Attention. United States Government Accountability Office.
Government Executive. (2002). Bush Administration Analysis of Homeland Security Legislation. Web.
Stana, R. (2003). Homeland Security: Preliminary Observations on Efforts to Target Security Inspections of Cargo Containers. United States General Accounting Office.
Stana, R. (2004). Homeland Security: Summary of Challenges Faced in Targeting Oceangoing Cargo Containers for Inspection. GAO.