Hearing of the Senate Homeland Security Committee - Nomination of Grayling G. Williams to be Director, Office of Counternarcotics, DHS and Nomination of Elizabeth M. Harman to be Assistant Administrator, FEMA, DHS

Statement

Hearing of the Senate Homeland Security Committee - Nomination of Grayling G. Williams to be Director, Office of Counternarcotics, DHS and Nomination of Elizabeth M. Harman to be Assistant Administrator, FEMA, DHS

Statement of Senator Susan Collins

The nomination of Grayling Williams to be the Director of the Office of
Counternarcotics Enforcement comes at a time when the threat to our nation
posed by illegal drug trafficking is escalating.

Earlier this year, the Committee held two hearings on violence along
the Southwest Border being perpetrated by Mexican drug cartels. The
horrific bloodshed that has resulted in the deaths of thousands in Mexico is
not constrained to the southern side of the border. It has, on multiple
occasions, spilled over into the United States leading to murders,
kidnappings, and other violent crimes. The cartels' trafficking and the
associated violence demand increased attention at the Department and
across the federal government.

The 2009 National Southwest Border Counternarcotics Strategy noted
an even greater threat to our homeland security: the possibility of
collaboration between drug cartels and terrorist groups. The Strategy noted
that the same smuggling routes and techniques used to bring narcotics
across the border could be exploited to smuggle in "terrorists and weapons
of terror." Our homeland security officials must fight this potential
confederacy, working closely with the many security elements arrayed
against illegal drug trafficking.

Coordinating DHS's work with these security elements, at the federal,
state, and local levels, is among the primary responsibilities of the Director
of the Office of Counternarcotics Enforcement (CNE). The Director serves as
the Secretary's primary advisor on all counternarcotics issues and
coordinates DHS counternarcotics enforcement efforts across the
Department and with other federal, state, and local entities. Working with
Joint Terrorism Task Forces, CNE also must help to detect and disrupt any
connections between drug trafficking and terrorist groups.

Mr. Williams comes before this Committee with more than 20 years of
experience in our nation's counternarcotics efforts, and I look forward to
hearing his views on the policies and practices needed to improve DHS's counternarcotics mission.

Statement of Senator Susan M. Collins "Nomination of Elizabeth Harman to be Assistant Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency" Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs

Homeland security grant programs are a vital part of enhancing the nation's capability to prepare for, protect against, and respond to a full range of natural disasters and man-made hazards. And because terrorists do not always live and plan in areas they ultimately intend to strike, these grants must ensure that states -- both large and small -- are able to build capabilities to confront terrorist activity and respond effectively to all hazards.

In 2006, Senator Lieberman and I co-authored the Post-Katrina Emergency Management Reform Act, which restored the administration of the grant programs to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). This reform improved FEMA's ability to support state, local, and tribal preparedness with funds for planning, training, exercises, personnel, and equipment.

In addition to providing such critically needed funding to improve the nation's preparedness, FEMA must play another important role as grant administrator: ensuring wise spending of taxpayer dollars.

Since Fiscal Year 2002, the Department has awarded more than $27 billion in homeland security grants. Given the size of this investment, it is crucial that the Department can identify, measure, and assess what this money has bought and where future investments are needed. And that is why Congress directed FEMA in 2006 to establish performance metrics to assess the nation's overall level of preparedness.

To meet this mandate, the Department developed the "Cost-to-Capabilities" initiative, or C-2-C, to measure the nation's return on this substantial investment. After 19 months of development, however, this program is still in its initial phases. The next leader of the Department's grant programs must accelerate its progress.

I join the Chairman in welcoming Ms. Harman to this hearing, and look forward to learning how she would put her experience as a first responder
to work on the many challenges confronting DHS's Grant Program Directorate.

Source