Homeland Security Strategy Act of 2001

The Homeland Security Strategy Act of 2001 (H.R. 1292) was introduced on March 29, 2001, in the House of Representatives by Ike Skelton (then the Ranking Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee) and co-sponsored by Sylvestre Reyes (5/9/2001) and Gene Taylor (5/9/2001) at the 107th Congress, 1st Session. The bill was subsequently co-sponsored by John B. Larson (10/16/2001) following the events of 9/11.

The bill's intent was to "require the President to develop and implement a strategy for homeland security." The bill was referred to the Committee on Armed Services, as well as the Committees on Transportation and Infrastructure, the Judiciary, and Intelligence (Permanent Select), "for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned."[1]

The bill's status as of March 29, 2001, was that it was "Referred to House Intelligence (Permanent Select); on April 24, 2001, it was in a "Joint Hearing Held by the Subcommittee on Economic Development, Public Buildings and Emergency Management and by the Subcommittee on National Security, Veteran's Affairs and International Relations (Government Reform)." On August 10, 2001, reported House committee/subcommittee action status was that an "Unfavorable Executive Comment [was] Received from DOD."[2] No further action has been found.

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Homeland Security Strategy Act of 2001

• FINDINGS: Congress finds the following:

(1) The United States needs to enhance activities to improve homeland security for its citizens and territory in providing protection from the threat of terrorist or strategic attacks, including cyber attacks and attacks involving the use of chemical, biological, radiological, or nuclear weapons.

(2) The two key aspects of homeland security are--

• (A) antiterrorism activities, including activities relating to force protection, prevention and detection of attack, law enforcement, public health, reporting, and other activities that precede a domestic attack against the United States; and
• (B) consequence management, including activities carried out by government entities that are designed to respond to and mitigate the effects of a domestic attack against the United States.

(3) There is currently no well-publicized, widely understood, comprehensive, governmentwide strategy concerning the role of the United States Government in homeland security crisis and consequence management.

(4) Development and implementation of a homeland security strategy will necessarily involve several executive departments and agencies and will only succeed if the heads of those departments and agencies agree to fully support implementation of the strategy within and across those departments and agencies, including implementation of all aspects of the strategy relating to resourcing and funding of personnel and equipment.

(5) The United States Government does not currently have an adequate strategic sense of the unconventional threats to the United States. Due to the significant conventional military superiority of the United States, future adversaries are unlikely to risk a direct head-to-head military confrontation with the United States, but rather are likely to seek to exploit weaknesses in the domestic preparedness and counterterrorism preparedness of the United States.

(6) A United States homeland security strategy should reflect a layered approach to homeland security that provides for activities relating to each of the following: prevention of an attack, protection from an attack, and response to an attack.

(7) The Department of Defense has assets that could be used to provide and enhance homeland security, but those assets should only be used for that purpose in appropriate circumstances.

• REQUIREMENT TO DEVELOP HOMELAND SECURITY STRATEGY.

(a) REQUIREMENT TO DEVELOP STRATEGY-The President shall develop a comprehensive strategy for homeland security under which Federal, State, and local government organizations coordinate and cooperate to meet homeland security objectives.

(b) COMPONENTS OF STRATEGY-The homeland security strategy required to be developed under subsection (a) shall include the following components:

• (1) Identification of specific homeland security threats based upon the results of the assessment under subsection (c).
• (2) Development of a specific strategy with respect to antiterrorism activities and consequence management that includes specific, measurable objectives by which the efficacy of the execution of the strategy may be determined.
• (3) Identification of the Federal executive departments, agencies, and other organizations that should play a role in protecting homeland security and specification of the role of each such organization.
• (4) Providing for the selective use of personnel and assets of the Armed Forces in circumstances in which those personnel and assets would provide unique capability and could be used without infringing on the civil liberties of the people of the United States.
• (5) Optimization of the use of intelligence assets and capabilities, including improvement of the processes by which intelligence information is provided to State and local governments.
• (6) Providing for augmentation of existing medical response capability and equipment stockpiles at the Federal, State, and local levels.
• (7) Development of a multiyear plan for phased implementation of the strategy and a comprehensive projected budget.

(c) RISK ASSESSMENT-The President shall conduct a comprehensive threat and risk assessment with respect to homeland security to be used as the basis for the identification of specific homeland security threats for purposes of subsection (b)(1).

• IMPLEMENTATION OF STRATEGY.

• (a) IN GENERAL-The President shall implement the homeland security strategy developed under section 3. The President shall begin to implement the strategy as soon as practicable and shall carry out such implementation in accordance with the plan developed under section 3(b)(7).
• (b) DESIGNATION OF RESPONSIBLE OFFICIAL-The President shall designate a single official in the United States Government to be responsible for, and to report to the President on, homeland security.
• (c) PARTICIPATION OF AGENCY HEADS-The President shall ensure that the homeland security strategy, including any organizational changes within the executive branch required for the implementation of that strategy, is carried out through the heads of the appropriate executive departments and agencies.
• (d) RESTRUCTURING OF APPROPRIATIONS ACCOUNTS AS NECESSARY-The Director of the Office of Management and Budget shall restructure appropriations accounts as necessary to carry out the organizational and operational changes made in implementing the homeland security strategy.

• REPORT TO CONGRESS.

(a) REPORT REQUIRED-Not later than 90 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the President shall submit to Congress a report describing--

• (1) the process by which the homeland security strategy required by this Act will be developed;
• (2) the time line for developing such strategy; and
• (3) the anticipated funding and any legislative changes necessary to carry out the strategy.

(b) CLASSIFIED ANNEX-The report required under subsection (a) shall be in unclassified form, but may contain a classified annex as necessary.

• HOMELAND SECURITY DEFINED. In this Act, the term homeland security means the protection of the territory, critical infrastructures, and citizens of the United States by Federal, State, and local government entities from the threat or use of chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, cyber, or conventional weapons by military or other means."

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Related SourceWatch Resources

• Homeland defense

External links

• Press Release from Ike Skelton, March 29, 2001.