Critical Releases in Homeland Security: February 17, 2016

"DHS's FEMA is responsible for coordinating with state, local, and tribal governments to prepare for disasters. Specifically, FEMA provides preparedness grants to states and localities, and works to implement the National Incident Management System [NIMS] nationwide, among other things. GAO [Government Accountability Office] was asked to review FEMA's efforts to enhance coordination for regional preparedness. This report addresses the extent to which FEMA and regional offices have (1) addressed preparedness grant management coordination challenges, (2) established a system to assess NIMS implementation, and (3) collaborated with RAC [Regional Advisory Council] stakeholders. GAO analyzed FEMA documentation on grant management, NIMS evaluation, and RACs. GAO surveyed RAC members, visited 4 regional offices selected for their geographic representation, spoke with state emergency management officials from 10 states, and interviewed FEMA officials. The site visits cannot be generalized but provided insights."

From the press release, "WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The February 'Terror Threat Snapshot' was released today by Homeland Security Committee (HSC) Chairman Michael McCaul. The 'snapshot' is a monthly Committee assessment of the growing threat America, the West, and the world face from ISIS [Islamic State] and other Islamist terrorists. Chairman McCaul: 'The Islamist terror threat remains alarmingly high as recent arrests and terror plots demonstrate. ISIS recruits wage war in our communities, while thousands of deadly fighters trained in Syria stream back into the West - some of them infiltrating massive refugee flows. ISIS continues its global expansion on the shores of the Mediterranean Sea and the still-dangerous al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula seizes greater territory in Yemen. Meanwhile, Vladimir Putin and the revitalized Iran-Assad-Hezbollah terror axis are further destabilizing the Syrian crisis in the absence of U.S. leadership. This year is on track to be as dangerous as - if not worse than - 2015 for the American homeland and our national security.'"