FederalDaily - July 11, 2007
One Quarter of Top Jobs at DHS Vacant
About a quarter of the top positions at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) are vacant, vastly
reducing the nation's preparedness for a terrorist attack or natural disaster, said a new congressional
report. The House Committee on Homeland Security on July 9 released the report which showed that 24
percent of the top positions at DHS were unfilled—138 vacancies among its top 575 positions.
The greatest voids were reported in DHS’ policy, legal and intelligence sections, as well as
immigration agencies, the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the U.S. Coast Guard, the report
said. The vacant slots include presidential, senior executive and other high-level appointments, the
report said. Just as troubling, the committee noted that an unusually high number of critical national
security jobs at DHS are filled by political appointees, setting the stage for possible confusion during
the next change of administration. “The gaping hole in Department [DHS] executive resources is
a homeland security issue that must be addressed and rectified immediately,” said the report
by the committee, chaired by Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss. To see more, go to: http://homeland.house.gov/press/index.asp?ID=237
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Navy to Spend $12 Billion on Sea-Basing Ships
The Navy expects to spend about $12 billion over the next five years to purchase the ships it will
take to establish a unique sea-basing plan to station troops on floating military facilities at sea,
said a new government report. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) study compares the costs and capabilities
of the planned Maritime Pre-positioning Force (MPF) with other “access-insensitive” means
of employing and sustaining ground forces. The $12 billion, about half of the total projected MPF cost
of $22 billion, represents about 10 percent of the Navy’s planned ship construction budget from
2009 through 2014. Under current plans, an MPF squadron would consist of 14 ships loaded with most
of a Marine expeditionary brigade’s equipment, the report said. The ships would be pre-positioned
at a forward location—probably Guam in the western Pacific Ocean or Diego Garcia in the Indian
Ocean. In the event of a conflict, Marines flown from the United States would “marry up” with
their equipment aboard the MPF ships and prepare to move ashore, the report said. The CBO report did
not provide recommendations. To see more, go to: www.cbo.gov/ftpdocs/82xx/doc8284/07-05-Seabasing.pdf
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Texas Congressman Aids Veterans History Project
In an effort to support the seven-year-old Veterans History Project (VHP), Rep. Lamar Smith, R-Texas,
recently conducted a series of interviews with servicemembers to record their experiences in the military.
The VHP was created by Congress in 2000 and honors veterans and civilian workers by collecting stories
of their service. The VHP is aimed at collecting oral history interviews, memoirs, letters, photographs
and other original materials from veterans of World Wars I and II, the Korean, Vietnam, Persian Gulf
Wars and the Afghanistan and Iraq conflicts (2001-present). Those civilians who were actively involved
in supporting war efforts (such as war industry workers, USO workers, flight instructors & medical
volunteers) are also encouraged to contribute their personal narratives. Smith conducted his interviews
in Kerrville, San Antonio and Austin. To see more, go to: www.house.gov/hensarling/rsc/doc/CA_070907_smithsvetshistory.doc
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