For Immediate Release
U.S. Department of Homeland Security
May 25, 2004
Fact Sheet: A Better Prepared America: AYear in Review
Preparedness is the responsibility of every American. At the
Department of Homeland Security, we are hard at work creating and
implementing preparedness plans; developing procedures and policies
that will guide our actions in the event of a terrorist attack;
conducting training and exercises to ensure that our first responders
possess a necessary level of preparedness; enhancing partnerships with
state and local governments, private sector institutions and other
organizations; and funding the purchase of much-needed equipment for
first responders, states, cities, and towns. These activities, along
with an active American community, contribute to a level of national
preparedness that is critical to achieving our goal of a better
prepared America.
Progress Made in Interoperability:
The Department of Homeland Security is launching a new office for
interoperability and compatibility that will coordinate communications
interoperability, equipment and training compatibility between federal,
state, and local governments. By coordinating and leveraging the vast
efforts spread across the federal government, this office will reduce
unnecessary duplication in programs and spending, and identify and
promote best practices. Homeland Security recently released a technical
Statement of Requirements document for future communications
interoperability (posted at www.SafecomProgram.gov)
which is already prompting private
sector response, with over 5,000 copies downloaded from the web site
and industry already proposing solutions compatible with those
requirements. And Homeland Security has also issued new standards for
major pieces of first responder equipment, including personal air
filtration protection, personal protective clothing for personnel
working in contaminated areas, and basic protective clothing for law
enforcement for incidents involving possible chemical, biological, or
radiological incidents.
In addition to addressing the long-term solution to the problems of
interoperability and compatibility, Homeland Security has already
identified technical specifications for a short-term, baseline
interoperable communications capability that will allow first
responders to interact by voice with each other, regardless of
frequency or mode. When adopted at the state and local level, these
specifications will enable most first responders to have some form of
communication with each other at the scene of a crisis. As the first
initiative of this new office, Homeland Security will be demonstrating
the effectiveness of this approach by working with the state and local
leadership of ten cities this year, including New York, NY; Chicago,
IL; National Capitol Region, DC; Los Angeles, CA; San Francisco, CA;
Philadelphia, PA; Houston, TX; Jersey City, NJ; Miami, FL; and Boston,
MA. The interoperability achieved in these cities will serve as a
replicable model for communications that can be deployed throughout the
entire country.
These immediate steps lay the foundation within Homeland Security
for longer-term nationwide efforts managed at the federal, state and
local level to create an integrated system of regional communications
that allows public safety personnel to communicate with each other in
any mode. This office, based with the Science and Technology
directorate, will also research and test existing and emerging
technologies for improved public safety communications and
interoperability. The office will build on the communications focus of
the current SAFECOM program, which will continue as a part of the new
office. The new office will expand the focus on interoperability into
the areas of equipment, training, critical infrastructure protection,
and response and recovery.
Planning for a Better Prepared America:
National Response Plan (NRP): The NRP is designed to reflect the
policy established in the Homeland Security Act of 2002, and Homeland
Security Presidential Directive (HSPD) 5 to create a single
comprehensive approach to domestic incident management. In HSPD-5, the
President directed the development of a NRP to integrate federal
domestic prevention, preparedness, response, and recovery plans into
one all-discipline, all-hazards plan. The NRP, currently undergoing
final review by stakeholders, provides clear expectations for federal
support to state and local authorities, implementation of federal
incident management authorities and responsibilities under the law, and
coordination of resources among federal departments and agencies.
National Incident Management System (NIMS): Homeland Security led
the federal, state, local, and tribal development and completion of the
new NIMS, based in large part on the incident command system taught by
Homeland Security's U.S. Fire Administration and long-tested by first
responders throughout the country. NIMS is significant because it
ensures that all of our nation's first responders are working under the
same plan, using the same nomenclature, and are receiving consistent
training. NIMS embraces the Incident Command System (ICS) and
establishes a response structure that is scalable to meet the needs and
complexity of a disaster event. In addition, Homeland Security has
established a new organization, the NIMS Integration Center (NIC), to
ensure successful inter-agency coordination and implementation of the
NIMS.
Catastrophic Planning: Homeland Security is leading federal
efforts to develop a Catastrophic Incident Response strategy. This
strategy, which will be a component of the National Response Plan,
establishes a coordinated plan for accelerating delivery of the many
resources and capabilities state and local authorities may need in the
case of a catastrophic incident with large numbers of casualties.
Sharing Information More Efficiently:
Homeland Security Information Network (HSIN): The HSIN provides for
real-time information to be shared between state and local agencies and
our Homeland Security Operations Center (HSOC). Each state and major
urban area's Homeland Security Advisor or other designated points of
contact will receive software licenses, technology, and training to
provide better efficiency, flow of information and reduced
vulnerabilities between federal and state homeland security
professionals.
Developing and Executing Programs to Increase Preparedness:
National Exercise Program: Homeland Security Presidential
Directive (HSPD) 8 outlines actions to strengthen and measure homeland
security capabilities. The National Exercise Program has been
identified as a priority initiative under HSPD-8 and initiated by the
Department. The National Exercise Program establishes the framework
for exercise scheduling, design and evaluation for the exercises that
are designed to test the response capabilities of the federal
government and its state, local and tribal partners. Efforts are made
to include international and/or private-sector participation. The
cornerstone of the national performance-based exercise program is the
Top Officials (TOPOFF) National Exercise Series, a biennial program
that includes a functional exercise in year one and a full-scale
exercise in year two, with continuity provided by a series of
seminars.
Transit and Rail Inspection Pilot Program (TRIP): Homeland
Security launched a test program in May 2004, to measure the
feasibility of explosives screening for people and bags traveling on
U.S. trains.
National Emergency Management Baseline Capability Assessment
Program (NEMB-CAP): Under this program, Homeland Security is striving
to complete evaluations of 56 state and state-level emergency
management programs by the end of 2005. The NEMB-CAP involves a
multi-year effort to assess, analyze, evaluate, and collectively frame
state emergency management capabilities against a common national set
of criteria.
Setting Performance Standards for Response Equipment: Homeland
Security adopted its first standards regarding personal protective
equipment developed to protect first responders against chemical,
biological, radiological and nuclear incidents. These standards, which
will assist state and local procurement officials and manufacturers,
are intended to provide emergency personnel with the best available
protective gear.
Funding Preparedness and Streamlining Grant System:
Interoperability: Homeland Security awarded $79 million for
communication interoperability pilot projects in 17 communities. The
grants were awarded on a competitive basis in FY 2003. Results from
these projects will be featured as best practices, and serve as models
for other communities who are working to resolve this critical
problem.
Streamlined Grant Processes: In order to reduce the time and
effort spent by first responders and state and local governments, we
streamlined our grant process by eliminating multiple applications and
consolidating various administrative procedures into a single process.
This greatly reduces the time in which funding can be made available.
In FY 2004, five distinct programs, the State Homeland Security Grant
Program (SHSP), the Law Enforcement Terrorism Prevention Grant Program
(LETPP), the Citizen Corps Grant Program (CCP), the Urban Areas
Security Initiative (UASI), and the Mass Transit Security Program, were
integrated into two consolidated grant programs.
Grants Distributed:
- Since its creation, Homeland Security has provided states
and localities with over $8.2 billion in State Homeland Security Grants
for the purchase of specialized equipment to enhance the capability of
state and local agencies to prevent and respond to incidents of
terrorism involving the use of chemical, biological, radiological,
nuclear, or explosive (CBRNE) weapons; for the protection of critical
infrastructure and prevention of terrorist incidents; for the
development, conduct and evaluation of state CBRNE exercises and
training programs; and for costs associated with updating and
implementing each states' Homeland Security Strategy.
- The Urban Area Security Initiative (UASI) has provided a
total of $1.4 billion to address the unique equipment, training,
planning and exercise needs of large, high-threat urban areas, and to
assist them in building an enhanced and sustainable capacity to
prevent, respond to, and recover from threats or acts of terrorism.
- Port security grants have funded risk assessments, command
facilities and other projects that will help local officials foil
terrorism, as well as contribute to laying the foundation for ports to
continually make improvements and to employ new security technologies.
In three rounds of port security grants, $441 million has been
distributed.
- The Department disbursed $180 million in Emergency
Management Performance Grants (EMPG) in FY 2004 to enable state and
local governments to hire personnel and focus on an all-hazard approach
to emergency management: preparedness, mitigation, response and
recovery. This was a 9% increase over FY 2003 and a 54% increase over
historic levels (FY 2002 and earlier).
- By the end of FY 2004, $2 billion will have been
distributed to more than 20,000 local fire departments through the
Assistance to Fire Fighters Grant program. In FY 2004, $750 million
will be awarded to thousands of fire departments across America to meet
their preparedness needs.
Training for Tomorrow's Challenges:
First Responder Training: Through our first responders training
program, we have trained over 128,000 emergency responders in courses
ranging from awareness and prevention to chemical HAZMAT techniques
(473,000 from more than 5,000 jurisdictions since 1998). Through our
partnership with Texas A&M; University, our Blended Learning Strategy
was expedited to reach more emergency responders faster. Enrollment in
FEMA's Independent Study Program, a web-based training and distance
learning courses for the nation's emergency managers and first
responders, has increased to 187,520 in FY 2003, a 125% increase over
2001. Homeland Security trained a record number of leaders from
volunteer fire departments.
Noble Training Center: In 2003, Homeland Security began offering
courses at the Noble Training Center in Alabama. The center, a former
Army hospital turned into a training center, moved from HHS to Homeland
Security with the creation of the Department. Training focuses on
preparedness for mass casualty events.
Strengthening America's Readiness and Assets:
Strategic Communications Resources Effort (SECURE) Project: Over
the last year, Homeland Security has installed secure videoconference
capabilities, and secure phones and fax in the emergency operations
centers of all 50 states and the District of Columbia. In addition,
each state governor's office received a secure phone that allows states
to transmit and receive classified information. In addition, the
Department awarded $81 million in Emergency Operations Center (EOC)
grants to those states that best demonstrated the need for the funding
to reduce vulnerabilities and risk.
National Urban Search and Rescue System (USAR): Homeland Security
possesses 28 USAR task forces who have acquired the training and
equipment necessary to perform search and rescue in Weapons of Mass
Destruction (WMD) events.
National Disaster Medical System (NDMS): These teams of medical
professionals are assets within Homeland Security that can be activated
and pre-positioned during a disaster, thus ensuring faster response
time and closer cooperation between these specialized teams and other
teams providing direct aid to disaster victims.
Maritime Safety and Security Teams (MSST): Thirteen specialized
units, called MMSTs, will be in place by September 30, 2004, to provide
a rapid, deployable force to meet the nation's most serious port
security threats. MSSTs provide a robust mix of maritime interdiction,
law enforcement, and anti-terrorism expertise focusing on threats to
critical waterfront facilities, high interest vessels, cruise ships,
high value military units and major marine events.
BioWatch: Homeland Security has improved the nation's protection
against bioterrorism by deploying an environmental sensor system to
major cities across the nation. This sensor system is operated as a
joint program with the Centers for Disease Control and the
Environmental Protection Agency, in conjunction with the FBI. The
program, which has been successfully operating in more than 30 of the
nation's urban centers since early 2003, helps to quickly detect trace
amounts of airborne pathogens such as anthrax in time to take
protective actions, such as distributing life-saving pharmaceuticals.
Since its beginning, the system has performed over a million tests with
no false positives and only one true positive that was determined not
be an act of terrorism, but came from an environmental source.
Detecting Nuclear Materials: Homeland Security is developing
technologies for detection and deterrence, and incidence management,
against radiological and nuclear threats. Activities include
development of the capability for detecting the presence of nuclear
materials in shipping containers and vehicles that might otherwise
evade detection by conventional sensors. This new capability will
enable the Department to probe questionable objects inside containers
with a beam of radiation, which will positively identify materials of
concern.
Countermeasures Test Bed: Homeland Security has established a
field test bed in the New York/New Jersey region for evaluating new and
existing security-related countermeasures in urban transportation
venues, thereby facilitating their rapid transition to federal, state
and local operational end-users. Homeland Security has established
field test sites in seaports, airports, highways, and rail facilities.
In these sites, new countermeasure technology is tested for its
effectiveness in the hands of front-line law enforcement personnel and
other first responders.
Involving Communities in the Preparedness Effort:
Ready Campaign: In February 2003, Homeland Security launched the
Ready (www.Ready.gov ) Campaign, a national
public service advertising campaign designed to educate and empower
American citizens to prepare for and respond to potential terrorist
attacks and other emergencies. In December 2003, Homeland Security
launched the Listo (www.Listo.gov ) Campaign,
the Spanish-language version of Homeland Security's Ready Campaign.
Extensions of the campaign, Ready for Business and Ready for Kids, will
be launched by the end of the year.
Citizen Corps: Citizen Corps, which is a component of USA Freedom
Corps, creates opportunities for individuals to volunteer to help their
communities prepare for and respond to emergencies by bringing together
local leaders, citizen volunteers and a network of first responder
organizations. Their goal is to have all citizens participate in making
their communities safer, stronger, and better prepared for preventing
and handling threats of terrorism, crime, and disasters of all kinds.
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