Critical Releases in Homeland Security: March 9, 2011

According to this report issued by the Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services' (USCIS) networks are vulnerable to insider threats. "USCIS employees and contractors hold the keys to one of the world's most coveted kingdoms: U.S. citizenship. This makes employees and contractors attractive targets for recruitment. Because of the sensitive nature of USCIS mission, some of its employees and contractors have been targets for recruitment for theft or unauthorized modification of USCIS data." However, "the USCIS has made progress in implementing elements of an effective insider threat program. Specifically, it has established a Conviction Task Force to review former employees convicted of criminal misconduct within the scope of their duties; performs risk management for IT and financial management; developed exit procedures for employees; improved protection of its facilities and assets; and adheres to formalized processes for some systems." The report also provides recommendations.

The Handbook for Campus Safety and Security Reporting was developed by the U.S. Department of Education to present step-by-step procedures, examples, and references for higher education institutions to follow in meeting the campus safety and security requirements of the Higher Education Act of 1965 as amended. The handbook "contains citations for the applicable legislation, highlights important information in side notes, provides examples of crime and fire scenarios, suggests helpful practices and provides sample documents to assist you in determining if your policies and procedures are compliant."

This report is the Government Accountability Office's (GAO) "first annual report to Congress in response to a new statutory requirement that GAO identify federal programs, agencies, offices, and initiatives, either within departments or governmentwide, which have duplicative goals or activities. Congress asked GAO to conduct this work and to report annually on our findings [...]. The objectives of this report are to (1) identify federal programs or functional areas where unnecessary duplication, overlap, or fragmentation exists, the actions needed to address such conditions, and the potential financial and other benefits of doing so; and (2) highlight other opportunities for potential cost savings or enhanced revenues. To meet these objectives, we are including 81 areas for consideration based on related GAO work. This report is divided into two sections. Section I presents 34 areas where agencies, offices, or initiatives have similar or overlapping objectives or provide similar services to the same populations; or where government missions are fragmented across multiple agencies or programs. These areas span a range of government missions: agriculture, defense, economic development, energy, general government, health, homeland security, international affairs, and social services. Within and across these missions, this report touches on hundreds of federal programs, affecting virtually all major federal departments and agencies. Overlap and fragmentation among government programs or activities can be harbingers of unnecessary duplication. Reducing or eliminating duplication, overlap, or fragmentation could potentially save billions of tax dollars annually and help agencies provide more efficient and effective services. The areas identified in this report are not intended to represent the full universe of duplication, overlap, or fragmentation within the federal government. We will continue to identify additional issues in future reports."

"When federal agencies and programs lack appropriated funding, they experience a funding gap. Under the Antideficiency Act, they must cease operations, except in emergency situations. Failure of the President and Congress to reach agreement on interim or full-year funding measures occasionally has caused government shutdowns, the longest of which lasted 21 days, from December 16, 1995, to January 6, 1996. Government shutdowns have necessitated furloughs of several hundred thousand federal employees, required cessation or reduction of many government activities, and affected numerous sectors of the economy. This report discusses the causes, processes, and effects of federal government shutdowns, including potential issues for Congress. For questions concerning congressional operations, see the contact information contained in the 'Key Policy Staff' table at the end of this report."