HomelandSecurityLeader.com

No Official Events Announced

 8:45 AM EST  US-VISIT Director Robert Mocny, Secure Border Initiative Director Greg Giddens, and Screening Coordination Director Kathy Kraninger will participate in a WTOP/WFED radio broadcast at the Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Association Homeland Security Conference on progress in securing the borders (Ronald Reagan International Trade Center).9:30AM CST  Private Sector Office Assistant Secretary Alfonso Martinez-Fonts Jr. will participate in the launch of the Red Cross Ready Rating Launch with the St. Louis American Red Cross Chapter and Anheuser Busch in St. Louis, MO.10:00 AM EST  Transportation Security Administration Assistant Secretary Kip Hawley will testify before the House Appropriations Committee, Subcommittee on Homeland Security on improving the efficiency and accuracy of aviation security (2359 Rayburn House Office Building).10:00 AM EST  National Protection and Programs Directorate Under Secretary Robert Jamison will testify before the House Homeland Security Committee on the Cybersecurity initiative (311 Cannon House Office Building).1:30PM CST  Private Sector Office Assistant Secretary Alfonso Martinez-Fonts Jr. will participate in a question and answer session on importance of preparedness and the launch of the St. Louis Red Cross Ready Rating at American Red Cross’ St. Louis Area Chapter Headquarters.2:30 PM EST  Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy Assistant Secretary Paul Rosenzweig will testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Subcommittee on Terrorism, Technology and Homeland Security on the Visa Waiver Program (226 Dirksen Senate Office Building). 3:00 PM EST  U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Director Emilio Gonzalez will participate in a naturalization ceremony with Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte for 50 new citizens and a presentation of the Outstanding American by Choice recognition (U.S. Department of State).

10:00 AM EST  Deputy Secretary Paul Schneider, Border Patrol Chief David Aguilar, and Secure Border Initiative Executive Director Gregory Giddens will testify before the House Homeland Security Committee, Subcommittee on Border, Maritime and Global Counterterrorism and Subcommittee on Management, Investigations and Oversight on Project 28 (311 Cannon House Office Building).

10:30 AM EST U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Director Emilio Gonzalez will participate in a special naturalization ceremony for 300 new citizens with Department of Labor Secretary Elaine Chao and a presentation of the Outstanding American by Choice recognition in New York, NY.

10:00 AM EST  U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Assistant Secretary Julie Myers will testify before the House Appropriations Committee, Subcommittee on Homeland Security on Immigration and Customs Enforcement fiscal year 2009 budget (2358-C Rayburn House Office Building).

10:00 AM EST  U.S. Coast Guard Vice Admiral Robert Papp will testify before the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation on the U.S. Coast Guard fiscal year 2009 budget (2167 Rayburn House Office Building).
 
10:00 AM EST  Assistant Secretary for Infrastructure Protection Robert B. Stephan will testify before the House Homeland Security Committee on the Chemical Anti-Terrorism Act of 2008 (311 Cannon House Office Building).

4:00 PM EST  Under Secretary for Intelligence and Analysis Charlie Allen will testify before the House Homeland Security Subcommittee on Intelligence, Information Sharing, and Terrorism Risk Assessment in a hearing entitled, “Homeland Security Intelligence at a Crossroads: the Office of Intelligence and Analysis’ Vision for 2008” (311 Cannon House Office Building).

From DHS Release

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced today that it will further advance the department’s Homeland Security Presidential Directive-12 (HSPD-12) goals by awarding contracts to BearingPoint of McLean, Va.; EDS of Herndon, Va.; and XTec, Incorporated of Reston, Va. The three five-year contracts have a total potential value of approximately $180 million.

“Award of these three contracts, in the form of blanket purchase agreements, is the next major step toward meeting our goal in deploying an HSPD-12 compliant credentialing system,” said Elaine Duke, Deputy Under Secretary for Management. “We are doing more than issuing ID cards; we are establishing a common identification credential, in one infrastructure, for technological and physical access across the department.”

The three contracts will support the execution of core services for HSPD-12 implementation and support the issuance of compliant cards for DHS employees and contractors across the department. Each vendor will be required to provide services and equipment to issue Personal Identity Verification cards that meet performance, security, and operational standards.

HSPD-12 calls for a mandatory, government-wide standard for secure and reliable forms of identification issued by the federal government to its employees and employees of federal contractors for access to federally-controlled facilities and networks.

From ynetnews.com By Aviram Zino

Following deliberation on petition protesting IDF medical experimentation on soldiers, government announces Ministry of Health to supervise such experiments

Full Story

No Official Events Announced

From Christian Science Monitor By Kenneth Ballen and Reza Aslan

Washington and Los Angeles - This week’s election results in Pakistan give Islamabad’s next government the mandate to finally put the terrorists out of business. Violence in Pakistan – mostly driven by Taliban and pro-Al Qaeda forces – has not abated since the December assassination of leading opposition candidate and former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto. But in a potential hinge moment for what Newsweek recently called “the most dangerous nation in the world,” Pakistani public opinion has turned dramatically and decisively against the radicals.

Full Story

11:00 AM EST  Secretary Michael Chertoff will participate in a press conference with Attorney General Michael B. Mukasey to highlight the Administration’s immigration enforcement and border security efforts.

12:00 PM EST  Under Secretary for Science and Technology Jay M. Cohen will deliver remarks at the Fourth Annual Homeland Security Innovation Security Conference in Hanahan, SC.

From FEDagent.com

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has abandoned its effort to install new labor relations regulations as part of a revamp of the DHS personnel system. The news came in a filing with the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia last Friday, when DHS told the court that it and the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) “will not revise the permanently enjoined regulations … at any time prior to the expiration of the agencies’ authority to revise those regulations.” That authority, which expires January 23, 2009, was granted under the Homeland Security Act (HSA).

The announcement prompted the National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU) to claim victory in its 5-year legal battle with the Administration over the department’s creation of a new labor relations system. “This successfully concludes the union’s lawsuit against DHS,” NTEU reported.

The overriding impact of this latest development, NTEU says, is that full collective bargaining rights will continue to be available to DHS employees. “This is a monumental victory,” said NTEU President Colleen M. Kelley. “It puts to rest DHS efforts to gut employees’ collective bargaining rights and give management unfettered discretion to alter fundamental conditions of employment without giving employees any say.”

NTEU says that it will continue its fight over the non-labor relations aspects of the regulations.