Critical Releases in Homeland Security: December 4, 2019

From the Executive Summary: "The 'National Preparedness Report' summarizes the progress made and challenges that remain in building and sustaining the capabilities needed to prevent, protect against, mitigate, respond to, and recover from the threats, hazards and incidents that pose the greatest risk to the Nation. As a requirement of the 'Post-Katrina Emergency Management Reform Act of 2006' and a key element of the National Preparedness System, this annual report offers all levels of government, the private and nonprofit sectors, and the public practical insights into preparedness that support decisions about program priorities, resource allocation, and community actions. The '2019 National Preparedness Report (2019 Report)' presents an overview of the five preparedness mission areas--Prevention, Protection, Mitigation, Response, and Recovery-- and describes major findings identified through community-wide research and engagement."

From the document: "The United States faces heightened danger in an increasingly interconnected world. As the global population presses towards 9.7 billion by 2050 and expands into wild frontiers, as agriculture becomes more intensive, as cities of greater density and scale proliferate, and as the earth grows hotter, the threat of new emerging infectious diseases rises steeply. [...] The business case to invest early in preparedness is crystal clear--and powerful. The United States must either pay now and gain protection and security or wait for the next epidemic and pay a much greater price in human and economic costs. [...] The steps we have laid out are the foundation of the Commission's proposed U.S. doctrine of continuous prevention, protection, and resilience."

From the Executive Summary: "American taxpayers contribute over $150 billion each year to scientific research in the United States. Through entities like the National Science Foundation, the National Institutes of Health and the Department of Energy's National Labs, taxpayers fund innovations that contribute to our national security and profoundly change the way we live. America built this successful research enterprise on certain values: reciprocity, integrity, merit-based competition, and transparency. These values foster a free exchange of ideas, encourage the most rigorous research results to flourish, and ensure that researchers receive the benefit of their intellectual capital. The open nature of research in America is manifest; we encourage our researchers and scientists to 'stand on the shoulders of giants.' In turn, America attracts the best and brightest. Foreign researchers and scholars travel to the United States just to participate in the advancement of science and technology."

From the Executive Summary: "The impeachment inquiry into Donald J. Trump, the 45th President of the United States, uncovered a months-long effort by President Trump to use the powers of his office to solicit foreign interference on his behalf in the 2020 election. As described in this executive summary and the report that follows, President Trump's scheme subverted U.S. foreign policy toward Ukraine and undermined our national security in favor of two politically motivated investigations that would help his presidential reelection campaign. The President demanded that the newly-elected Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelensky, publicly announce investigations into a political rival that he apparently feared the most, former Vice President Joe Biden, and into a discredited theory that it was Ukraine, not Russia, that interfered in the 2016 presidential election. To compel the Ukrainian President to do his political bidding, President Trump conditioned two official acts on the public announcement of the investigations: a coveted White House visit and critical U.S. military assistance Ukraine needed to fight its Russian adversary."