Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano is expected to outline Wednesday the Obama administration's domestic approach to preventing terrorist attacks -- a strategy that will rely in large measure on refining and expanding initiatives launched under President George W. Bush.
How to keep the U.S. safe and foil terrorists are charged issues that took a central role in last year's presidential campaign, when then-Sen. Barack Obama criticized the Bush administration's tactics. But Ms. Napolitano, in an interview this week, signaled that the Obama administration isn't contemplating a wholesale revision of the agencies or programs created under Mr. Bush to further antiterrorism efforts.
One element of Ms. Napolitano's approach, for example, will be the expansion of a pilot program started during the Bush administration to train police to report such suspicious behavior as the theft of keys from a facility that keeps radiological waste.
It is part of a much broader effort to significantly increase cooperation between her agency and state and local governments across the nation. Her aides say this is one area where her efforts will significantly exceed those of her predecessors in the Bush administration.
From Federal News Radio, on the department's new CIO:
The Homeland Security Department is bringing back a familiar face to be its chief information officer.
DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano today announces the appointment of Richard Spires to be CIO.
Spires is the former CIO and deputy commissioner for operations support at the IRS. He left government in July 2008.
Since Sept. 2008, Spires has owned his own consulting practice, according to his Linked In profile.
"Richard has an impressive record of managing large-scale IT programs and I look forward to working with him to find more efficient and innovative ways to help the department meet its strategic and information resource management goals," Napolitano says in a release.
Spires replaces Richard Mangogna, who left in March 2009. Margie Graves has been acting CIO since Mangonga left.
Spires will be responsible for managing and directing information management support processes, combining the functions of information technology and telecommunications to provide coordinated support strategies for meeting DHS-mission related information needs, DHS says in the release.
Leadership Events
9AM EDT
Secretary Napolitano will deliver remarks about homeland security and DHS’ approach to preventing terrorist attacks
Council on Foreign Relations
58 East 68th Street
New York, N.Y.
12 PM EDT
Secretary Napolitano will participate in a media availability following her meeting with counterterrorism experts, first responders and law enforcement leaders
Staten Island Ferry Terminal
Mezzanine Level
4 South Street
New York, N.Y.
1 PM EDT
Secretary Napolitano will make a transportation security announcement
Grand Central Terminal
Main Concourse
New York, N.Y.
2 PM EDT
Deputy Secretary Jane Holl Lute will testify before the House Committee on Homeland Security on “Beyond Readiness: An Examination of the Current Status and Future Outlook of the National Response to Pandemic Influenza.”
311 Cannon House Office Building
Washington, D.C.
Public Events
10:30 AM CDT
Civil Rights and Civil Liberties (CRCL) Senior Equal Employment Opportunity Manager Junish Arora will deliver remarks at the Examining Conflicts in Employment Law (EXCEL) conference
New Orleans Marriott Hotel
614 Canal Street
New Orleans, La.
10:45 AM CDT
Terry Adirim, M.D., Senior Advisor in the Office of Health Affairs (OHA), will deliver remarks during a special meeting of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices on Novel Influenza A (H1N1).
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Building 19, Room 232
1600 Clifton Road, NE
Atlanta, Ga.
1 PM PDT
U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Bertholf will lead the Elliot Bay Parade of Ships to start the Seattle SeaFair’s Fleet Week
Bell Harbor Pier 66
Seattle, Wash.