The United States needs an improved homeland security strategy to strengthen security in communities facing the greatest risk, improve the use of intelligence, increase the role of state and local officials, and sharpen disaster response capabilities, a federal commission said.
In a report to President Bush and the Congress, the commission -- chaired by former Virginia Gov. James S. Gilmore III and known as the Gilmore Commission -- says the creation of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has resulted in improved planning and readiness. But the report concludes that the overall national homeland security strategy should be directed by a White House-level entity that "must have some clear authority over the homeland security budgets and programs throughout the federal government."
The report gives several suggestions on how homeland security measures should be funded in the future, including technology measures. If the recommendations are taken, there would also be several new databases and information sharing systems created. In the past five years, 87 percent of the Gilmore Commission's recommendations have been enacted.
Some key recommendations from this year's report are:
oCombine all departmental grant making programs into a single entity in DHS;
oRevise the Homeland Advisory System to include (1) a regional alert system (2) training to emergency responders about preventive actions; and (3) specific guidance to potentially affected regions;
oEstablish sustained funding to enhance EMS response capacity for acts of terrorism
oEstablish comprehensive procedures for sharing information with relevant state and local officials.
The Gilmore Commission will disband early next year.
