Yesterday afternoon, President Obama announced that he will nominate Retired Army General Robert Harding to be the TSA Administrator. Harding is a well-known and highly respected military and intelligence officer, and under normal circumstances, his nomination should sail through the Senate. But these are not normal times in the Senate.

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There is a comforting feeling in attending a meeting with the National Emergency Managers Association (NEMA). You are literally surrounded by some of the world’s best and brightest emergency managers in the public and private sectors. Probably no where else in the world could you assemble the talent, experience, and character in one room and fulfill the Allstate marketing adage of “you’re in good hands.” Such was my experience last weekend at NEMA’s annual mid-year conference in Alexandria, VA.

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The Washington Times reported on Monday that the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Secure Border Initiative (SBI), designed to stem illegal immigration and secure U.S. borders, is far behind schedule, despite the $672 million spent thus far. This is not breaking news, as the Government Accountability Office (GAO) has been reporting to Congress since September that the project is in trouble.

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In one of her first appearances on Capitol Hill since becoming DHS’ Under Secretary for Science & Technology, Tara O’Toole showed herself to be in complete comfort with the issues and challenges that face her. Her demeanor and candor at a FY2011 Budget Hearing before the House Subcommittee on Emerging Threats, Cyber Security and Science & Technology, also exhibited calm, cool and collected confidence in the programs she has inherited. This is just the reassurance that many from industry were looking for.

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The Heritage Foundation sponsored a special event for Homeland Security Related Bloggers on March 3. They invited DHS Undersecretary for National Protection and Programs, the Honorable Rand Beers, to have a candid on-the-record chat with non-traditional “news” folks. I was honored to be included. He next joked that his title (National Protection & Programs) was not always helpful, as he invariably had to explain what it was he did before he could begin to act. Basically, this man is in charge of the resilience (through prevention and mitigation) of the cyber and other critical infrastructure of our nation. It is a daunting task indeed.

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Following his testimony before the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs committee where he testified about chemical security, DHS Under Secretary Rand Beers met with national security bloggers for an "on the record" session hosted by the Heritage Foundation. It was a remarkably refreshing session – not only because Beers acknowledged the importance of reaching out to a wide range of critical thinkers (which occasionally includes bloggers), but also because he was characteristically candid. Would that other DHS officials followed his lead.

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California Issues Telework Policy to Curb Cyber-Security Risks - Government Technology To bolster security and create consistency in California's IT infrastructure, the Office of the State Chief Information Officer (OCIO) issued a new policy Tuesday, March 2, that includes telework and remote access security standards as well as a compliance form that state agencies must submit by July 1.

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Obama's Nuclear Posture Review - NationalSecurity.org As President Barack Obama prepares to release his Nuclear Option Review, many are wondering how different his strategy will be from the Bush administration's and whether it will effectively deter proliferation and keep the U.S. and our allies safe.

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By Julie Myers Wood and Dawn Lurie A recent report conducted on behalf of US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) by Westat highlighted what some employers using E-Verify know all too well – when unauthorized workers roll the dice and try to get a job, far too often the E-Verify system lets them win. The report estimates that the inaccuracy rate for unauthorized workers on E-Verify is 54 percent. 54 percent! Those are incredibly tempting odds for those seeking employment. Considering all of the improvements made to the E-Verify system over the past two years, this report is disappointing but will surely serve as a motivator for the government to place additional focus on the number of false positives passing through the system.

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Kerry Frustrated By Pace Of Smart Grid - Tech Daily Dose Senate Commerce Communications, Technology, and the Internet Subcommittee Chairman John Kerry, D-Mass., expressed "frustration" Tuesday that the Obama administration has not moved fast enough to build out the country's electricity infrastructure.

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U.K. shipper complies with "known shipper" requirements by installing Avigilon surveillance system - Homeland Security Newswire By August this year, 100 percent of cargo on U.S. passenger planes will have to be screened. Most of the screening — and the safe warehousing and delivery of the screened goods — will be handled not by the government, but by private shippers who, if they comply with government regulations, will be certified as “safe shipper” (or “known shippers,” as they are called in some countries). The goods delivered to airports by these safe shippers will be subjected to less rigorous — and, hence, speedier — security checks.

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Burning Question: Will full-body scanners get TSA in hot water with the Pope? - Government Executive The Associated Press has reported that the first of 150 full-body scanners slated to be deployed by the Transportation Security Administration at U.S. airports will be installed next week. The scanners have attracted their share of criticism on privacy grounds--and the latest has come from the Vatican.

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Will the Pentagon Finally Get Web 2.0? - Wired On Friday, the Pentagon announced a new social media policy that will the troops to use Twitter, Facebook and other social networking sites, within limits. True to form, Pentagon social media czar Price Floyd announced the policy change in a Twitter update.

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U.S. to Reveal Rules on Internet Security - NY Times The Obama administration on Tuesday plans to declassify portions of the Comprehensive National Cybersecurity Initiative, created during the Bush administration as a secret effort to harness the nation’s defensive and offensive strategies for protecting commercial and government networks.

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The first panel of AFCEA’s Annual Homeland Security Conference had Cyber Security as a subject. That alone says something for the predominance and importance of this issue today. The discussion was a fine starting point for the event. Overall, it was a superb panel that covered a wide swath, and did it well.

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Someone needs to buy Janet Napolitano a beer. Or at least give her a double of whatever she wants. After two consecutive days on Capitol Hill testifying in front of four different Congressional Committees, she’s earned it. In defending the Administration’s proposed 2011 budget, she took on a whole set of bipartisan punches and barbs from an array of political players who weren’t exactly happy with what she was trying to sell them.

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E-Verify finds only one out of two illegals - Homeland Security Newswire The U.S. government’s E-Verify program to detect illegal workers has an “inaccuracy rate” of about 54 percent, outside consultants have determined. An evaluation of E-Verify carried out for DHS by a Maryland firm found the program allows “many unauthorized workers” to obtain employment, the Wall Street Journal’s Louise Radofsky and Miriam Jordan writee that reported Thursday.

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Napolitano Takes Bipartisan Hits on Border Budget Proposals - CQ Homeland Security Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano defended the border security aspects of President Obama’s fiscal 2011 budget request against criticism from the right and left Thursday. Chairman Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., raised concerns about the inability of the department to implement provisions of the Sept. 11 commission recommendations (PL 110-53) that mandated the screening of all maritime cargo entering the country.

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The Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee held a long awaited hearing on Cyber Security. Chairman John Rockefeller began with the thought that a major cyber attack could shut down our nation’s most critical infrastructure. He called for legislation to “modernize the relationship between the government and the private sector on cyber security.” A stellar group of witnesses appeared, all who added to the growing discussion on cyber security.

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Napolitano Faces Questions About Screening Technology Funding - CQ Homeland Security Both the Democratic and Republican leaders of the Senate Homeland Security Appropriations Subcommittee on Wednesday questioned a request for technologically advanced airport scanners in President Obama’s fiscal 2011 budget request, but for seemingly opposite reasons.

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