TO: DHS Secretary — Nominee
DATE: Dec. 1, 2016
RE: Improving Homeland Security, The Challenges Ahead
Congratulations on your presidential nomination to become the fifth secretary of the Department of Homeland Security. Upon your confirmation by the United States Senate, you will inherit the third largest department in the U.S. government, with 240,000 employees, a $66 billion budget and a sprawling enterprise that encompasses critical missions ranging from border and cybersecurity to protecting the commander in chief.
With the recent 15th anniversary of 9/11, many are asking what can be done to further improve the country’s homeland security. DHS sits at the center of a vast network of departments and agencies that have pieces of the important job of protecting our citizens from external and internal threats.
DHS has come a long way in the years since it was created by Congress in 2002, yet much more needs to be done if the department is to fulfill the promise of an integrated enterprise that leverages all its varied components. DHS is an organizationally immature enterprise that suffers from management growing pains and a culture that is suspect of centralized decision-making processes. Managing the enterprise business functions of DHS in this kind of an environment where the components are used to getting their way will be a challenge.
The tenures of your four predecessors were each marked by key events or signature initiatives. One former senior official described the evolution in this way: Secretary Tom Ridge had the job of launching a startup; Secretary Michael Chertoff’s time was dominated by Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath; Secretary Janet Napolitano sought to mature the department into "One" DHS; and Secretary Jeh Johnson has sought to apply a Defense Department-centric approach to DHS through his Unity of Effort initiative. You now have the assignment from the president-elect to take DHS to the next echelon.
Based on my experience serving Napolitano and Johnson in DHS senior management for six years, here are several areas that will need your attention right from the start.
THE PEOPLE
You will be working with one of the most dedicated, mission-focused workforces in the federal government. Former DHS Deputy Secretary Jane Lute described DHS as a "department of operators" because most of the workforce is actually located across the country in border stations, air and sea ports, or the hundreds of field offices that reside in all 50 states.
In recent years, the Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey (FEVS) has consistently ranked DHS last among large agencies for employee morale. This rating can only change through a sustained leadership commitment to employee communication, transparency in hiring/promotion, open dialogue with the unions, advocacy for targeted pay increases and recognition of employee accomplishments. You will be over-scheduled from Day One, yet a note or call from the secretary to an employee to say "thank you" or "well done" has a significant impact and positive ripple effect.
THE MONEY
As you would expect, resource decisions drive a large part of the dialogue around the budget process. Knowing where the money sits and how it is allocated will be one of the keys to your success. The reason the budget is so important is because it signals where the major investments will be for the department over a 12- to 24-month horizon. Major budget drivers in recent years that have crowded out other priorities are the Coast Guard’s shipbuilding program and the expense of detention beds at Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Napolitano was a master of understanding the budget process. Dating back to her days as governor of Arizona, she was able to outmaneuver and out negotiate the legislature every time to get her priorities funded. She applied these same skills to navigating the deep budget waters here in Washington as well. Not only will you have to work with Congress to get a good budget package for DHS, you will also have to navigate the swift currents of the White House Office of Management and Budget. They keep a tight rein on how the president’s policy priorities are translated into the annual budget proposal that goes to Capitol Hill. Overall, spending for Homeland Security has been relatively flat over the last few fiscal years. DHS has total budget authority of about $66 billion, but that number can be deceiving. Of the total, about $19 billion are fees collected by DHS that are a pass through to the U.S. Treasury. Another $7 billion is set aside for the FEMA Disaster Relief Fund. That leaves around $40 billion for all other department components and functions. Congress is supposed to approve an FY2017 budget for the entire government by Oct. 1. Since that is unlikely to occur, a continuing resolution will be put in place until after the election. You will have to live largely within the budget constraints put forward by Johnson and his team until October 2017.
THE ORGANIZATION
It is often said that DHS was created by fusing together 22 different federal agencies to form the department in 2003. That is not really accurate. DHS has seven main operating components where most of the people and money reside.
The other 15 entities are comprised of smaller headquarters directorates, such as the Office of Management, and offices, like Public Affairs, that serve as support functions for the Office of the Secretary. One of the four directorates, National Protection and Programs Directorate (NPPD), houses the department’s cyber protection programs that also serve the entire federal government. NPPD would like to be an operating component, yet has struggled to make the case with OMB and key committees in Congress. If DHS is to serve as the lead entity for government cyber protection, a reorganization and infusion of additional resources will be necessary. Because of the ongoing importance of cybersecurity, you will likely be asked to weigh in shortly after your confirmation. There are other organizational changes that need to occur such as the creation of a Weapons of Mass Destruction Directorate, yet your ability to bring about organizational change has been severely limited by laws requiring congressional prior approval.
THE COMPONENTS
Here are the seven DHS operating components with approximate employee and budget totals for fiscal 2017, as well as some of the major issues facing each one:
CUSTOMS AND BORDER PROTECTION (CBP)
Full-time employees:
61,000
FY17 budget estimate:
$12 billion
Major issues:
Securing the border while allowing the free flow of trade, using technology to better facilitate trade and travel, upgrading air and marine assets.
TRANSPORTATION SECURITY ADMINISTRATION (TSA)
Full-time employees:
52,000
FY17 budget estimate:
$7 billion
Major issues:
Aviation security at airport checkpoints, what screening policies to enforce and what technology to deploy, training of Transportation Security Officers.
COAST GUARD (CG)
Full-time employees:
41,000
FY17 budget estimate:
$8.5 billion
Major issues:
The biggest issue for the Coast Guard is recapitalization of their fleet. They are preparing to embark on one of the largest acquisitions in DHS history with the procurement of the Offshore Patrol Cutter at a cost of up to $10 billion. They have also been asked to start the planning for a new U.S. icebreaker, which could cost as much as $1 billion.
IMMIGRATION AND CUSTOMS ENFORCEMENT (ICE)
Full-time employees:
20,000
FY17 budget estimate:
$6 billion
Major issues:
ICE is always caught in the middle of the immigration debate. How much should the country spend on enforcement and removal operations as well as detention costs? This has been further complicated by the influx of families and children from Central American countries in the last two years. Be ready for a very public and potentially contentious debate with Congress.
US CITIZENSHIP AND IMMIGRATION SERVICES (USCIS)
Full-time employees:
17,000
FY17 budget estimate:
$4 billion (mostly from fees)
Major issues:
USCIS is another agency trapped in the immigration debate. One major difference is that only a small portion of their budget is appropriated by Congress, the rest comes from fee collections from people paying for immigration services. Recent court rulings have frozen programs to provide temporary status to children brought to the U.S. when they were children as well as their parents. Ultimately, this issue will have to be resolved by Congress and the courts. USCIS is also trying to modernize its technology platform, yet has been met with cost, schedule and performance challenges.
FEDERAL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY (FEMA)
Full-time employees:
9,800
FY17 budget estimate:
$11 billion (access to other funds through the Disaster Recover Fund)
Major issues:
FEMA has done a good job of improving disaster response in recent years. The agency pushes out billions of dollars each year to states and cities for disaster preparedness and individual assistance following disasters. One area of scrutiny continues to be the accountability for those funds and how to best ensure funds are spent for the right purposes.
UNITED STATES SECRET SERVICE (USSS)
Full-time employees:
6,700
FY17 budget estimate:
$2.1 billion
Major issues:
The USSS has had a number of high-profile incidents since 2012, such as the White House fence jumpers, that have overshadowed the fine work they do each day to protect the president and fulfill their other core mission of pursuing financial crimes. The 2014 DHS task force report directed by Johnson provided a road map for helping the agency resolve many of the areas highlighted for needed change. Increased staffing, better training and technological upgrades continue to be high on the priority list.
CONCLUSION
It is said by the pundits that you are about to take on one of the toughest jobs in Washington. That is true. There are few departments in the federal government that have to contend with a potential terrorist attack, natural disasters, cyberthreats and border incidents, sometimes all at once.
The good news is that you are about to work with a highly dedicated workforce that cares about the mission, strong interest in Congress to make sure you have the needed resources, and a department that is uniquely qualified to detect and prevent the ever-changing threats that face our country.
Chris Cummiskey is a former acting under secretary for management at DHS and a senior fellow with the George Washington University Center for Cyber and Homeland Security.
