Hearing of the Cybersecurity, Infrastructure Protection, and Security Technologies Subcommittee of the House Homeland Security Committee - Weapons of Mass Destruction: Bolstering DHS to Combat Persistent Threats to America

Hearing

"The Department of Homeland Security has approached this Committee with a reorganization proposal to
establish a central headquarters office responsible for assessing and responding to chemical, biological,
radiological, nuclear, and explosives threats (CBRNE) to the nation. The Department's proposal
recommends merging the Domestic Nuclear Detection Office (DNDO) and the Office of Health Affairs,
which is currently headed by the Department's Chief Medical Officer. The threat from a weapon of mass
destruction is complex and the potential harm that could affect our citizens is unimaginable.

First responders need a federal partner who can help them address these threats. I believe the
Department of Homeland Security can be that federal partner and throughout my tenure on this
Committee, I have supported bipartisan legislation to assist in these efforts. However, I still have concerns
about the consequences of this realignment structure. For instance, after Hurricane Katrina, it became
apparent that the Secretary of Homeland Security needed the counsel of a doctor who would be able to
provide advice on threats with public health consequences, provide necessary medical guidance on
workforce health, and serve as a resource to components.

As Congress worked to draft the Post-Katrina Emergency Management Performance Act, I worked closely
with the Department of Homeland Security's first Chief Medical Officer to ensure that the role of the Chief
Medical Office was appropriately defined. In the past, I have expressed concern that the CMO's mission
as primary medical advisor to the Secretary and her workforce health and component support
responsibilities have been overshadowed by challenges posed by managing BioWatch and the National
Biosurveillance Integration Center.

The Department's proposal to move the Chief Medical Officer to the new CBRNE office does not relieve
my concerns. In fact, I am concerned that if moved to a new CBRNE office, the Chief Medical Officer may
lose her direct line to the Secretary, which would be a step backward. The Chief Medical Officer's role as
the Secretary's doctor is vital and must be preserved.

Additionally, I would note that while the Office of Health Affairs struggled with the now defunct BioWatch
Gen-3 acquisition, it is unclear whether and how this reorganization would address the acquisition
challenges experiences by not only OHA but also DNDO. DNDO also has a history of flawed acquisitions
programs that have wasted taxpayer dollars. For instance, the Advanced Spectroscopic Portals were
intended to detect illicit nuclear materials and devices that could be shipped in cargo entering the United
States.

The Government Accountability Office determined that DNDO underestimated the cost of this acquisition,
overstated its benefits, and provided misleading information to Congress. Although I am not rejecting the
DHS proposal, it would be irresponsible for this Committee to act on it in a hasty manner, without giving
due consideration to why the reorganization is happening, how it will affect the missions currently carried
by the existing offices, whether and the degree to which it will improve DHS's CBRNE mission, and how it
will affect workforce morale. To legislate without careful consideration of these important issues could
undo a decade's worth of this Committee's work in that mission space."

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