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The Washington Post editorial pages on 10/1012 included an oped by Committee Chairman Joe Lieberman in support of the President's intention to use the full range of his executive authority to better secure the nation's most critical cyber networks.
The oped follows on a letter the Chairman wrote to the President, specifically urging him to task the Department of Homeland Security with conducting risk assessments of critical infrastructure cyber systems and developing security standards. In the absence of Senate action on the Cybersecurity Act of 2012, S3414, and the presence of a real and imminent threat of cyber attack, Lieberman also asked the President to consider incentives for companies that comply voluntarily with minimum standards.
The Cybersecurity Act would help protect the nation's most critical infrastructure from cyber attacks by foreign nations, hacktivists, criminals, and terrorists. Opposition from the Chamber of Commerce appeared to have halted the measure in its tracks.
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WASHINGTON – Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee Chairman Joe Lieberman, ID-Conn., Wednesday reacted critically to a subcommittee report on fusion centers.
“I strongly disagree with the report’s core assertion that ‘fusion centers have been unable to meaningfully contribute to federal counterterrorism efforts,’” Lieberman said. “This statement is not supported by the examples presented in the report and is contrary to the public record, which shows fusion centers have played a significant role in many recent terrorism cases and have helped generate hundreds of tips and leads that have led to current FBI investigations.
“The report does include valuable findings in some areas. It cites examples of inappropriate use of homeland security grant funds and accurately notes that FEMA has struggled to account for how homeland security grant funds are allocated and used, a longstanding concern of mine.
“But the report also contradicts public statements by the Director of National Intelligence and the Director of the FBI, who have acknowledged the value fusion centers provide to the intelligence community.
“Fusion centers have stepped up to meet an urgent need in the last decade,” Lieberman said. “Without fusion centers, we would not be able to connect the dots. Fusion centers have been essential to breaking down the information silos and communications barriers that kept the government from detecting the most horrific terrorist attack on this country - even though federal, state, and local officials each held valuable pieces of the puzzle.”
Lieberman noted a number of shortcomings in the report that skew its conclusions. Among them, the report:
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The four Senate authors of bipartisan postal reform legislation have written to House leaders asking them to move swiftly on a reform bill to stop the loss of $25 million a day by the U.S. Postal Service and preserve an iconic American institution that still delivers 550 million pieces of mail daily.
In the meantime, Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe has begun to downsize the postal service - fortunately in a way that is consistent with Senate-passed postal reform legislation. But the urgency for House action increases with each passing day if the downsizing is to be fair and orderly. The Senate bill was approved April 25 on a strong bipartisan vote of 62-37.
The Postmaster general announced May 9 that he would begin reducing hours of service at 13,000 post offices nationwide. And on May 17, he announced that USPS would consolidate 48 mail processing plants this year and begin closing plants early next year. Chairman Lieberman was cautiously optimistic about both decisions.
The four Senators explain in a USA Today oped why their bill is the most reasonable approach to ensure the future of the USPS for millions of American people and businesses. The Senators hailed the legislation as a strong effort to put the USPS back on solid financial ground and prevent the wholesale closings of postal facilities.
Senators Lieberman, Collins, Caper, and Brown introduced a substitute to the 21st Century Postal Act, S.1789 in mid April to address concerns raised by a number of Senators, especially those who represent rural areas where post offices are heavily relied upon not just for mail but as centers of the community. The substitute amendment would give the USPS the flexibility and tools it needs to raise revenues, cut costs, and maintain its financial viability.
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The Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee issued a staff report February 20, 2012, detailing the internet radicalization of a homegrown terrorist to violent Islamist extremism and the inadequacy of U.S. policy to counter online radicalization.
The report presents a classic case study of how quickly online radicalization can occur compared to the traditional process of face to face contact between an aspirant and an established terrorist group.
In the case of Zachary Chesser, a young Virginia man now serving 25 years on terrorism related charges, the trajectory from high school graduate to incarcerated felon occurred in just two years.
“Chesser represents a growing breed of young Americans who have such comfort and facility with social media that they can self radicalize to violent Islamist extremism in an accelerated time period, compared to more traditional routes to radicalization,” the report said.
Read the full report here »
Senators Lieberman and McCain authored the legislation that created the 9/11 Commission to determine how our defenses failed us leading up to September 11, 2001, and to ensure a catastrophe of that magnitude never happens again. When the Commission issued its report and recommendations in 2004, the Committee worked quickly to shepherd through Congress in just three months legislation to implement most of the recommendations. In 2007, the Committee pushed through a second bill implementing the remaining recommendations. Since then, the Committee has spent much of its time ensuring those laws are implemented properly, reviewing them for possible changes and updates, and anticipating future needs.
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