House Homeland Security Committee

• Marc Pearl, Homeland Security and Defense Business Council

  Collaboration between the Homeland Security Department\'s Science and Technology Directorate and its industrial base is still a work in progress. S&T Undersecretary Reginald Brothers outlines six main priorities for his directorate in September. But some industry groups say S&T needs to create more incentives so vendors get involved. Marc Pearl is the president and CEO of the Homeland Security and Defense Business Council. He testified recently before the House Homeland Security Subcommittee on Cybersecurity, Infrastructure Protection, and Security Technologies. He tells In Depth with Francis Rose about some of the goals within S&T, and the challenges that remain.

  All News

  June 03, 2015
• House bill offers liability protection for information sharing

  New bill to strengthen information sharing is a top legislative priority for House Homeland Security Committee.

  Congress

  March 17, 2015
• DHS shutdown, furloughs dominate subcommittee hearing

  A House subcommittee hosted a hearing Thursday to discuss emerging threats and technologies, but the topic that dominated conversation was whether the Homeland Security Department would be funded after Feb. 27.

  Budget

  February 12, 2015
• DHS’ push for clearer cyber authorities moves to the House

  Larry Zelvin, the director of the National Cybersecurity and Communications Integration Center in DHS's National Protection and Programs Directorate, is expected to tell the House Homeland Security Committee Wednesday that the implementation of the advanced intrusion detection and prevention program known as Einstein is hampered by the lack of clarity of the exact role DHS is allowed to play under the current set of cybersecurity laws.

  Congress

  May 21, 2014
• DHS Secretary Johnson offers few insights into management priorities

  In his first appearance before House overseers, Jeh Johnson, the DHS secretary, said employee morale is among his top priorities, but didn't say how he would address it. Johnson said he's working to fill top leadership positions on a permanent basis. DHS has a vacancy rate at top positions of 38 percent.

  Management

  February 26, 2014
• Draft bill would force DHS to change acquisition practices

  Rep. Jeff Duncan releases a discussion draft of a bill to add more discipline and oversight to the Homeland Security Department's acquisition process.

  Congress

  February 25, 2014
• ICE to restart a key element of $800 million, multiyear IT program

  Agency officials said Thursday that they will switch from a custom-built to a commercial-off-the-shelf approach to modernize TECS, a mainframe system that has been operating for more than a quarter of a century. ICE spent more than $60 million before deciding to change directions after realizing the custom-built approach wouldn't work.

  Technology

  February 10, 2014
• 27 vendors protest awards under DHS $22B IT services contract

  Unsuccessful bidders of one unrestricted portion of the EAGLE II contract are taking their arguments to GAO to try to get a spot on the multiple-award contract. Documents show DHS made no awards to any company whose total bid was more than $500 million.

  Congress

  December 13, 2013
• Cause, effect of DHS morale problems tied to leadership vacancies

  Despite progress in confirming a new secretary and deputy secretary, DHS still features a large number of officials in acting roles. Former Secretary Tom Ridge told lawmakers the department cannot build nor sustain a mission-focused culture with so many non-permanent positions. NTEU says pay freezes, budget cuts and the government shutdown are more to blame for low morale across DHS and the entire government.

  Management

  December 13, 2013
• DHS issues first-ever clean financial audit, but IG says more work needed

  For the first time in its history, the Homeland Security Department turned in a clean financial audit. A new DHS inspector general report, however, says the department has "significant deficiencies" in its internal control over financial reporting.

  Congress

  December 12, 2013
• Lawmakers raise cybersecurity concerns about HealthCare.gov

  The troubled HealthCare.gov website has been the subject of at least one attempted but unsuccessful cyber attack, according to one of the of the Homeland Security Department's top cyber officials. Lawmakers at a House Homeland Security Committee hearing said the consolidation of personal information and the glitch-prone website are cause for concern.

  Congress

  November 13, 2013
• Lawmakers question DHS’ awards under the EAGLE II contract

  Rep. Mike McCaul (R-Texas), chairman of the Homeland Security Committee, and Rep. Jeff Duncan (R-S.C.), chairman of the subcommittee on Oversight and Management Efficiency, wrote a letter to DHS Chief Procurement Officer Nick Nayak earlier this week questioning the agency's entire solicitation process.

  Congress

  November 11, 2013
• Federal building security at risk due to lax training, oversight

  A new report from the Government Accountability Office fueled a House subcommittee hearing that revealed security concerns regarding the training and certification of contract guards employed by the Federal Protective Service.

  Congress

  October 30, 2013
• Inside the Reporter’s Notebook: Communication breakdown over FITARA? Lawmaker wants answers from DHS

  News and buzz in the acquisition and IT communities that you may have missed this week.

  Congress

  April 29, 2013