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Release Date: 11/13/03 00:00:00
For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
November 13, 2003
Thank you, Dr. Fraser for that introduction. Good morning to you all. It's a pleasure for me to be here with a group of individuals who are working in photonics. This fascinating field of the technology of light has found its way to military applications and similarly may have potential in our research and development work at the Department of Homeland Security. I understand from Dr. Fraser that the Photonics Center develops prototypes for the military and that some of these ideas may hold promise for commercial applications.
I can tell you that in the Science and Technology division that I lead at the Department of Homeland Security, we have a strong interest in adapting technologies developed for military uses for the commercial sector. In my remarks, I will address some of the ways we are collaborating with the private sector, with the academic community and with federally funded research centers and labs to identify and pursue the most appropriate technologies for homeland protection.
As Victor Hugo once said: "An invasion of armies can be resisted; an invasion of ideas cannot be resisted." We are very interested in your ideas; and invite you to share them with us.
I'd like to give you a federal perspective on some of the challenges and opportunities we face in Science and Technology in the mission to protect the homeland and to tell you about some of the progress we've made.
While doing research for my talk today, I came upon an interesting historical note that I thought I'd share with you. It was 76 years ago today - in 1927 - that the Holland Tunnel opened to the public - linking New York City and New Jersey beneath the Hudson River. Today we know that the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center was intended to be accompanied by the bombing of several other targets in New York City - the Holland Tunnel among them. Protecting our tunnels and bridges - our coastal waterways and ports, borders and airports - our food and water supplies - even cyber space - all of these activities and more fall under the purview of the Department of Homeland Security.
Our enemies use our open society to their full advantage - working quietly in the shadows, assessing our vulnerabilities, and waiting for the most opportune time to strike. Our challenge at the Department of Homeland Security is to be several steps ahead of our adversaries so we are able to anticipate, detect and counter their threats against our nation. I can tell you, this is an enormous undertaking. I'm pleased to report that we are making progress and that the homeland is far better protected than it was prior to 9-11.
With the creation of the Department of Homeland Security, President Bush envisioned an organization that would engage entrepreneurs and tap America's inventive spirit and our strengths in science and technology in the war on terror.
The Department mobilizes the efforts of 22 federal agencies under a common mission and chain of command. This greatly enhances the Department's ability to react swiftly and effectively to threats against our nation.
It also facilitates better coordination with homeland security partners in the private sector and state and local governments including first responders.
Science and Technology - also referred to as S&T - is the primary research and development arm of DHS. It exchanges information and coordinates operations with other key divisions of the Department, which include:
• The Department also has the services of the Coast Guard and the Secret Service. These combined elements enable us to spring into action and act decisively in the event of a terrorist threat or strike, or natural disaster.
S&T is specifically tasked with marshalling the intellectual capital of the engineering and scientific communities to develop fresh and effective approaches to safeguard the American public.
Science and Technology is guided by:
S&T is building an unprecedented R&D capability with demonstration, testing, evaluation and procurement components that will guide investment in those evolutionary and revolutionary technologies likely to yield the best results or the "highest pay-off."
The President's budget for S&T for FY 2004 is $918 million - with $874 million of that earmarked for R&D. Much of this funding will be dedicated to science and technology research to improve the government's ability to detect and counter chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear and high-explosives threats and attacks. And we are looking for industry partners - perhaps some of you here today - who can help us develop the kind of cutting edge technologies that will help keep the American people safe.
Now I'd like to address an important new component of the Department of Homeland Security. The Homeland Security Advanced Research Projects Agency - known as HSARPA - offers a breadth of capabilities and possibilities that are very exciting to us. It has at its disposal the full range of contracting vehicles and the authority under the Homeland Security Act to engage businesses, federally funded research centers, universities and other government partners - in an effort to gather and develop viable concepts for advanced technologies to protect the homeland.
HSARPA's mission is to:
Its customers are state and local first responders and federal agencies that are allied with homeland security such as the Coast Guard, Secret Service, Citizenship and Immigration, and others.
HSARPA's first priority is to seed the development of the next generation of chemical/biological sensors and systems to meet anticipated threats under existing conditions.
HSARPA has engaged the private sector in its first solicitation seeking detection systems for chemical and biological countermeasures. Interest and response from the private sector has been strong. S&T held a bidders' conference in Washington in September that drew approximately 400 participants and we received more than 500 white papers as a result. We are now selecting the finalists who will be invited to submit full proposals - and expect to be in contract negotiations in late January.
HSARPA plans to issue a series of solicitations to address radiological, nuclear and high-explosives threats soon.
Perhaps 90 percent of HSARPA's efforts are focused on improving existing technologies that can be developed and deployed to the commercial sector quickly, while the remaining 10 percent address revolutionary long-range research for breakthrough technologies.
I am pleased to say that the Department has been granted "Other Transactions Authority" - which allows us to customize agreements that can give the private sector a greater comfort level in doing business with us. It also makes it easier for small businesses to work with us.
This lets us craft a contractural vehicle that takes the conditions, desires and sensitivities of the private sector into account - that removes the burden of meeting rigorous federal accounting and financial reporting requirements - and that offers protection of intellectual property.
For example, DHS can use Other Transactions Authority to license intellectual property - but not own it - and require less onerous financial reporting and accounting practices. This kind of flexibility makes it possible for us to cast a wider net to engage those small businesses and non-traditional vendors that are at the forefront of technology research and innovation.
Through the S&T Office of Research and Development, DHS is contributing to a government-wide effort to build U.S. leadership in science and technology. The office is reaching out to the academic community in an effort to provide students with opportunities to pursue career paths in sectors of science and technology that are vital to our national security. Two examples of this are the Homeland Security Centers of Excellence program and our Scholars and Fellows program.
With the Centers of Excellence program, the Department plans to establish a network of university-based Homeland Security centers, each with a different area of focus in research and development. The first Center will examine the nation's resiliency to various acts of terrorism, in terms of impact and consequences, using risk-based economic modeling. The Department's call for white papers regarding the initial Center drew over 70 responses and 12 of these were selected to submit full proposals. We will announce the first Center of Excellence later this month.
The Homeland Security Scholars and Fellows Program provide scholarships for undergraduate and graduate students pursuing degrees in areas that are already aligned with our mission. The first 100 awardees of this program began their studies this fall - in areas such as life sciences, engineering, computers, information sciences, mathematics, physical sciences, social sciences and psychology.
The National Biodefense Analysis and Countermeasure Center, based at Fort Detrick in Maryland, is the hub within homeland security for research and operational capabilities to anticipate, prevent, respond to, and recover from current and next-generation biological threats to the American people and our agricultural system.
NBACC is dedicated to protecting human health and agriculture by advancing the scientific community's knowledge of potential bioterrorism. The Center integrates facilities and technical expertise in biodefense that includes Plum Island Animal Disease Center, national and DHS laboratories, universities, the private sector and other government agencies. Its three programmatic thrusts - biodefense characterization, bioforensics and agricultural security - are executed through five research and operations centers.
One program we've established, "Border Safe," promotes information sharing between local law enforcement and the Department of Homeland Security to assist in stopping terrorists at the border - or in arresting them if they succeed in crossing a border. Scientists are working together to develop real-time methods that allow sharing data. The system will particularly focus on individuals who attempt to change their identity or steal someone else's identity.
We have a very strong need to be able to properly identify individuals who enter our country. Advances in equipment that will make it possible to read physiological features with a high degree of accuracy are of great interest to us. This may be an area that presents opportunities for those involved in photonics.
In many of our cities, we have deployed sensors that are capable of detecting aerosol releases of dangerous biological pathogens such as anthrax - in a timely enough manner to treat the exposed populations and minimize the impact
S&T and our partners at the San Francisco International Airport are involved in a pilot program that couples biological and chemical detection with vulnerability analysis, response, and restoration. This program integrates networking sensors with the operation of ventilation systems, enabling systems to redirect contaminated air, and allowing an effective evacuation should an event occur.
And at our borders, we are deploying radiation sensors to detect the illicit transport of radioactive materials, and are experimenting with capabilities to similarly protect our cities.
HSARPA has joined with the U.S. Coast Guard to build a prototype integrated maritime surveillance facility covering Port Everglades, Miami and Key West. The program will integrate existing facilities and upgrade equipment to detect, track, and identify vessel traffic around ports, in the near-shore zones around ports, and over the horizon. This evolutionary testing will provide an immediate coastal surveillance capability in a high priority area.
I often say that we did not become more vulnerable on September 11, we simply became more aware of our vulnerabilities. And I can tell you that while the Department has made great strides in getting systems in place to safeguard the American people, in the grand scheme of things, we are still in the early stages. The Department and its Science and Technology division are committed to pursuing activities that are designed to thwart, deflect and counter biological, chemical, nuclear and other attacks from our enemies. And we are looking for partners to join us in the formidable challenge to combat terrorism.
We can never return to the days that preceded September 11, 2001 - when we could move about so freely, so easily, with little concern about our safety and well being. But I am confident that with your help, we can bring the nation to an unprecedented level of readiness that will save lives if we are ever attacked again on our own soil.
Thank you for your time. I will be happy to take your questions.
This page was last modified on 11/13/03 00:00:00