FederalDaily - June 25, 2007
House Panel Blasts DHS on Cybersecurity
A House subcommittee investigating Department of Homeland Security (DHS) cybersecurity vulnerabilities
on June 20 criticized the agency’s Chief Information Office (CIO) and questioned whether DHS
was willing to make the needed security fixes. DHS CIO Scott Charbo was called onto the carpet at a
hearing before the cybersecurity subcommittee of the Committee on Homeland Security. “In light
of all the evidence in front of us, I think the first thing that Mr. Charbo needs to do is explain
to us why he should keep his job,” said Committee Chairman Bennie Thompson, D-Miss. Subcommittee
Chairman James Langevin, D-R.I., echoed that criticism and noted that DHS had reported as many as 844
security incidents in FY 2005 and FY 2006. The incidents occurred on IT networks at DHS headquarters,
at Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Customs and Border Protection (CBP) as well as the Federal
Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Langevin also was dismayed that “the finances show that Mr.
Charbo and the department’s leadership continue to underinvest in IT security.” Experts
agree that agencies should allocate 20 percent of their budgets to cybersecurity, but DHS is only spending
about 6.8 percent to secure its systems, Langevin said. To see more go to: http://homeland.house.gov/hearings/index.asp?ID=65.
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PASS Urges Additional FAA Outsource Oversight
Professional Airways Systems Specialists (PASS) union President Tom Brantley again urged the Federal
Aviation Administration to increase the number of inspectors assigned to review aircraft maintenance
done at foreign repair stations. Brantley testified June 20 at a Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation
subcommittee hearing that was looking into aviation operations and safety. While the airlines have
become increasingly reliant on maintenance work preformed at stations outside the United States, the
number of FAA inspectors assigned to the job has not kept up, Brantley said. Those inspections that
do take place are no more than a formality because foreign maintenance shops get word of a pending
inspection long before the FAA arrives, Brantley said. Also, the FAA’s Bilateral Aviation Safety
Agreements—which allow selected foreign countries to provide oversight on behalf of the FAA—don’t
work, Brantley said. There are no oversight procedures in place to ensure the quality of these inspections,
he said. To see more go to: www.passnational.org.
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NALC Picketing planned for Florida and New Jersey
National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC) members will engage in informational picketing in two
states to protest a trend within the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) to contract out to private firms the
business of sorting and delivering mail. The Florida protest is planned for June 27, while the Paterson,
N.J., picket is scheduled for July 1, NALC said in a June 19 statement. The picketing is intended to
draw attention to USPS policies that favor privatization, and to how such practices will diminish service
to postal customers, NALC Branch 120 President Joseph Murone said. NALC’s fight against privatization
of mail delivery has gained traction on Capital Hill. Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, has introduced legislation
(S. 1457) to outlaw most contracting out, and a similar measure is pending in the House. Letter carriers “have
witnessed first-hand this destructive policy of the Postal Service to outsource the delivery of mail
to low-wage, no-benefit, part-time contractors instead of career government employees,” said
NALC National President William Young. To see more go to: www.nalc.org/news/release/pr061907.html.
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