FederalDaily - March 15, 2006

DOJ Creating National Security Division

The recently renewed Patriot Act, signed into law by President Bush last week, authorized the creation of a National Security Division within the Department of Justice (DOJ). The division will oversee the primary national security components of DOJ, including counterterrorism, counterintelligence and foreign intelligence. In a Monday press release, DOJ asserted that the new division would allow for greater coordination among department organizations involved in national security issues. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales requested $10 million from Congress to establish the National Security Division, as well as $67 million in the 2007 budget request. President Bush nominated Kenneth Wainstein, U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, to head the new division.

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Congress Considers Whistleblower Protection Enhancement

The Government Accountability Project (GAP) announced its support on Monday for legislation proposed in both the House and Senate that would enhance protections for government whistleblowers. The bill, proposed by Sen. Frank Lautenberg, D-N.J., adds to whistleblower reforms by doing the following:

• giving full whistleblower rights for FBI and intelligence agency employees not covered by the civil service merit system;
• providing jury trials rather than administrative hearings;
• allowing individuals stripped of security clearances to sue for damages; and
• allowing reprisal victims to seek special prosecutor assistance.

Mary Brumder, executive director for GAP, stated, “With this legislation, government whistleblowers will again have a fair chance to reveal corruption and mismanagement without losing their careers in the process.”

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Survey Shows CIOs Focused on IT Security

Federal Chief Information Officers (CIOs) expect information technology (IT) security and information sharing and collaboration to be top priorities in the future, based on a February 2006 survey by the Information Technology Association of America (ITAA). Asked what key issues they would face in future years, CIO main concerns included:

• IT security and privacy;
• information sharing; and
• consolidation and integration of applications.

Though CIOs viewed IT security as the top future concern, the survey also found that CIOs viewed advancements in IT security as the top recent achievement. Other notable accomplishments noted in the survey included enterprise architecture improvements, consolidating IT infrastructure and improving scores on the President’s Management Agenda. The full survey is available at www.itaa.org/govt/docs/cio_survey.pdf.

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