Tool Against Terror or Taxpayer Shakedown? Study Asks Hard Questions of Homeland Security Dept. 1/6/2003
From: Maureen Tell, Jim Tyrell, or John Berthoud, 703-683-5700 All for the National Taxpayers Union ALEXANDRIA, Va., Jan. 6 -- The federal Department of Homeland Security (DHS), now under construction, was supposed to be an answer to America's need to reorganize against terrorism, but the new structure is raising many fiscal questions too. A new study from the 335,000-member National Taxpayers Union (NTU) explores these fiscal and managerial details from the taxpayer's perspective, and makes recommendations to ensure the new DHS learns from past mistakes and functions smoothly in the future. "Contrary to initial hopes, the new DHS will already cost taxpayers at least $3 billion to form, over and above the billions in transferred spending from other agencies," study author and NTU Associate Policy Analyst Jim Tyrell notes. "This sum, combined with others for a total terror-related price tag this year of $250 billion, means taxpayers have every right to insist upon better value for their money." Tyrell points out that the public is wary of giving the government authority to create a cabinet-level "super-bureaucracy." A recent Gallup Poll indicated that only 13 percent of Americans feel the Department of Homeland Security will make them feel safer. Amidst this skepticism over the creation of the DHS, policymakers will have to merge numerous structures, technologies, budgets, personnel, and cultures. As Tyrell's research indicates, these organizations already have their own problems: -- The U.S. Border Patrol has been cited for having so many "overlapping structures" of authority that there is a "significant disconnect" between its Headquarters and actual operations in the field. -- The Immigration and Naturalization Service, whose functions will be dispersed throughout DHS, has bungled more than $500 million worth of computer systems that still aren't sufficiently integrated to properly serve the new Department. -- New flexibility in management will need to be immediately applied to long-standing personnel problems, such as inconsistent hiring practices at the Customs Service and "skill gaps" at the Animal and Plant Inspection Service. Even if the chosen organizations adopt other agencies' policies, there is still an ongoing debate as to what parts of each organization actually merge. "In a situation where not all of one agencies' functions merge with the DHS, what happens to the remainder of that organization?" Tyrell asks. "This could lead to more confusion and taxpayer money spent. That means less time focusing on homeland security and more time spent collecting money to fix the problem." Tyrell offers numerous recommendations for DHS planners. Congress' General Accounting Office must join with the Executive Branch Inspectors General in monitoring the process and identifying emerging problems before they become full-blown debacles. Lawmakers should put strict caps on overall DHS personnel levels and costs, to protect taxpayers without micro-managing or interfering with the President's management flexibility. "We don't have to repeat the mistakes made with the creation of previous cabinet-level agencies," Tyrell concludes. "With careful planning, precision, and execution, the DHS could prove to be a miracle rather than a migraine for taxpayers." National Taxpayers Union is a 335,000-member non-profit, non- partisan research organization founded in 1969 to work for lower taxes, less wasteful spending, and accountable government at all levels. Note: Policy Paper #109, The Department of Homeland Security: New Solutions Meet Old Problems, is available online at http://www.ntu.org. LINK: http://www.ntu.org/taxpayer_issues/ntu_policy_papers/pp_ntu_109.p hp3 |