Homeland Security Policy Institute Releases Task Force Report on the Future of the Homeland Security

April 1, 2009 - PRLog -- HSPI Contact: Daniel Kaniewski (202) 994-7890

The George Washington University Homeland Security Policy Institute (HSPI) today released The Homeland Security Council: Considerations for the Future.

The report is the product of a bipartisan Task Force composed of former senior federal officials, practitioners at the state and local levels, and subject matter experts in the area of homeland security policymaking.  Co-chaired by HSPI Director Frank Cilluffo and Deputy Director Daniel Kaniewski, the Task Force identified and reviewed arguments for and against merging the Homeland Security Council and National Security Council, and also assessed crucial factors that merit consideration whether or not there is a merger.

“As President Obama and his advisors strive to determine how best to manage policy in this area, the Task Force report offers the essential insights of many who have long studied and served on these councils,” Cilluffo said.  “Our hope is that this report contributes to the debate by identifying challenges and opportunities that may lie ahead.”  

Kaniewski added, “Our goal was to have a diversity of views inform our study. This multi-perspective and multi-disciplinary approach is the hallmark of this report, which differentiates it from other works on the subject.”

Three of the task force members, Frances Fragos Townsend, Kenneth Wainstein, and Dr. Bruce Hoffman are scheduled to testify on this subject tomorrow before the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Homeland Security.

The report can be downloaded from the HSPI website, http://homelandsecurity.gwu.edu/,  and the list of Task Force members appears below.


Task Force on the Future of the Homeland Security Council

Task Force Co-Chairs

Frank Cilluffo
Director
Homeland Security Policy Institute

Daniel Kaniewski
Deputy Director
Homeland Security Policy Institute


Task Force Members

Gordon Adams
Former Associate Director for National
Security and International Affairs,
Office of Management and Budget

Joel Bagnal
Former Deputy Assistant to the
President for Homeland Security

Matthew Bettenhausen
Homeland Security Advisor to
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and
Director of the California
Office of Homeland Security

Michael Bopp**
Former Associate Director,
Office of Management and Budget

James Jay Carafano**
Senior Research Fellow,
Heritage Foundation

P.J. Crowley
Senior Fellow and Director of Homeland Security,
Center for American Progress

Brandon Declet** (Ex Officio)
Counsel, Committee on Homeland
Security, U.S. House of Representatives

Michael Downing**
Deputy Chief
Los Angeles Police Department

Clark Kent Ervin
Former Inspector General
Department of Homeland Security

Leon Fuerth
Former Assistant to the Vice President
for National Security Affairs

Bruce Hoffman*
Professor
School of Foreign Service
Georgetown University

Phillip Lago
Former Executive Secretary
National Security Council

Gordon Lederman**
Director of Legal Affairs
Project on National Security Reform

Kenneth Rapuano
Former Deputy Assistant to the
President for Homeland Security

Charles Robb
Former U.S. Senator and
Former Governor of Virginia

Adam Thiel
Chief
Alexandria, Virginia Fire Department

Frances Fragos Townsend
Former Assistant to the
President for Homeland
Security and Counterterrorism

David Trulio**
Former Special Assistant to the
President and Executive Secretary
Homeland Security Council

Jim Turner*
Former Member of Congress

Kenneth Wainstein
Former Assistant to the
President for Homeland
Security and Counterterrorism

* Homeland Security Policy Institute Steering Committee Member.
** Homeland Security Policy Institute Senior Fellow, 2009.


Task Force Staff

Sharon Cardash
Associate Director
Homeland Security Policy Institute

Aaron Resnick
Policy Analyst
Homeland Security Policy Institute

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The George Washington University Homeland Security Policy Institute (HSPI) is a non-partisan “think and do” tank whose mission is to build bridges between theory and practice to advance homeland security through an interdisciplinary approach. By convening domestic and international policymakers and practitioners at all levels of government, the private and non-profit sectors, and academia, HSPI creates innovative strategies and solutions to current and future threats to the nation. For additional information about HSPI, please visit http://homelandsecurity.gwu.edu.