Critical Releases in Homeland Security: October 23, 2019

From the Document: "Under the U.S. Constitution, the House of Representatives has the power to formally charge a federal officer with wrongdoing, a process known as impeachment. The House impeaches an individual when a majority agrees to a House resolution containing explanations of the charges. The explanations in the resolution are referred to as 'articles of impeachment.' After the House agrees to impeach an officer, the role of the Senate is to conduct a trial to determine whether the charged individual should be removed from office. Removal requires a two-thirds vote in the Senate. The House impeachment process generally proceeds in three phases: (1) initiation of the impeachment process; (2) Judiciary Committee investigation, hearings, and markup of articles of impeachment; and (3) full House consideration of the articles of impeachment."

From the Message from the Director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency: "The National Emergency Communications Plan (NECP) is the Nation's roadmap to ensuring emergency communications interoperability at all levels of government. The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency leads the effort to update and implement the NECP, but it requires participation from the whole community to be successful. Since the last NECP release in 2014, the emergency communications landscape has experienced unprecedented change. The frequency and complexity of emergencies are on the rise during a time when technology is advancing at a faster pace than any other time in history. While responders still rely heavily on land mobile radio for voice communications, comprehensive strategies for emergency communications must integrate the full Emergency Communications Ecosystem, including broadband, alerts and warnings, social media, and Next Generation 911. Internet Protocol-based devices and applications have the potential to vastly improve emergency responder capabilities, yet also introduce new challenges such as cybersecurity threats, the need for a more technically skilled workforce, and shorter equipment lifecycles. The NECP emphasizes the need for strong governance structures, updated policies and procedures, as well as joint exercises and trainings to improve interoperability which ensures information is provided to the right people at the right time. The 2019 NECP update was developed in partnership with Federal, state, local, tribal, and territorial jurisdictions and the private sector."