Y 4.G 74/7:T 27/19 FED-DOCS COMBATING TERRORISM: PROTECTING THE HEARINGS BEFORE THE SUBCOMMITTEE ON NATIONAL SECURITY, RELATIONS OF THE COMMITTEE ON GOVERNMENT REFORM HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES ONE HUNDRED SEVENTH CONGRESS SECOND SESSION MARCH 12 AND 21, 2002 Serial No. 107-156 Printed for the use of the Committee on Government Reform For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office 2501-017 COMMITTEE ON GOVERNMENT REFORM DAN BURTON, Indiana, Chairman BENJAMIN A. GILMAN, New York STEVEN C. LATOURETTE, Ohio DOUG OSE, California RON LEWIS, Kentucky JO ANN DAVIS, Virginia TODD RUSSELL PLATTS, Pennsylvania DAVE WELDON, Florida CHRIS CANNON, Utah JOHN J. DUNCAN, JR., Tennessee HENRY A. WAXMAN, California PATSY T. MINK, Hawaii CAROLYN B. MALONEY, New York ELEANOR HOLMES NORTON, Washington, DC ELIJAH E. CUMMINGS, Maryland DENNIS J. KUCINICH, Ohio ROD R. BLAGOJEVICH, Illinois JOHN F. TIERNEY, Massachusetts THOMAS H. ALLEN, Maine JANICE D. SCHAKOWSKY, Illinois DIANE E. WATSON, California STEPHEN F. LYNCH, Massachusetts BERNARD SANDERS, Vermont (Independent) CONTENTS Page Bremer, Ambassador L. Paul, III, chairman, National Commission on Terrorism, Marsh Crisis Consulting; Randall J. Larsen, director, ANSER Institute for Homeland Security; Joseph Cirincione, Director, Nonproliferation Project, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace; and Henry L. Hinton, managing director, Defense Capabilities and Management, General Accounting Office Keating, Frank, former Governor of Oklahoma; and Edwin Meese III, former Attorney General, co-chairman, Homeland Security Task Force, Verga, Peter, Special Assistant for Homeland Security Office of the Sec- retary of Defense; Stephen McHale, Deputy, Under Secretary, Trans- portation Security, Transportation Security Administration, Depart- ment of Transportation; William Raub, Deputy Director, Office of Pub- lic Health Preparedness, Department of Health and Human Services; Kenneth O. Burris, Director of Region IV, Atlanta, Federal Emergency Management Agency; James Caruso, Deputy Assistant Director for Counter Terrorism, Federal Bureau of Investigation; and Joseph R. Green, Deputy Executive Associate Commissioner for Field Operations, Caruso, James, Deputy Assistant Director for Counter Terrorism, Federal Cirincione, Joseph, Director, Nonproliferation Project, Carnegie Endow- 61 Green, Joseph R., Deputy Executive Associate Commissioner for Field Operations, U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service, prepared Hinton, Henry L., managing director, Defense Capabilities and Manage- McHale, Stephen, Deputy, Under Secretary, Transportation Security, Meese, Edwin, III, former Attorney General, co-chairman, Homeland Se- Verga, Peter, Special Assistant for Homeland Security Office of the Sec- 49 127 21 135 3, 109 118 COMBATING TERRORISM: PROTECTING THE UNITED STATES, PART I TUESDAY, MARCH 12, 2002 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, SUBCOMMITTEE ON NATIONAL SECURITY, VETERANS AFFAIRS AND INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS, COMMITTEE ON GOVERNMENT REFORM, Washington, DC. The subcommittee met, pursuant to notice, at 10:05 a.m., in room 2154, Rayburn House Office Building, Hon. Christopher Shays (chairman of the subcommittee) presiding. Present: Representatives Shay, Otter, Kucinich and Tierney. Staff present: Lawrence J. Halloran, staff director and counsel; Dr. R. Nicholas Palarino, senior policy advisor; Thomas Costa, professional staff member; Sherrill Gardner, detailee-fellow; Jason M. Chung, clerk; David Rapallo, minority counsel; and Earley Green, minority assistant clerk. Mr. SHAYS. I would like to call this hearing on, "Combating Terrorism: Protecting the United States, Part I," to order and welcome our witnesses and our guests. Yesterday, we paused to remember all of those lost 6 months ago in the deadliest terrorist attack to date within our borders. In the unimaginable horror of those events, we are reminded of another harsh reality, the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and a field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, were not the first and will not be the last plots of American ground sanctified by innocent civilian blood. How prepared are we for the next act of terrorism? Long before the events of September 11, 2001, panels of experts and special commissions identified critically needed actions to improve counterterrorism preparedness and response. The General Accounting Office, GAO and others, called for timely, integrated threat assessments and a comprehensive national strategy to combat terrorism as early as 1998. The U.S. Commission on National Security, 21st Century, also called the Hart-Rudman Commission, proposed creation of a cabinet level homeland security department to streamline and consolidate counterterrorism programs spread across more than 40 Federal departments and agencies. Governors and mayors joined the call for better first responder training and improved public health systems. In the wake of the airline and anthrax attacks last year, air travel has been made somewhat safer, border security strengthened, and medical stockpiles are being augmented. The President created the Office of Homeland Security, and Governor Ridge has as his (1) |