S&T to Play Critical Role for Homeland Security
Department
(originally published in the SSTI Weekly
Digest
A Publication of the State Science and Technology
Institute)
Participants of the Federal Biodefense Research FY
2003 Conference recently held in Washington D.C. were
given the opportunity to see how the new Department
of Homeland Security (DHS) will work. With its passage
in November 2002 by congressional legislation, the
Homeland Security Act that created DHS initiated the
largest reorganization of the federal government since
the 1950s. Now, several agencies and departments will
be affected by DHS, and each figures to have an important
role in the biodefense arena. Below are a few highlights
of the conference, which was sponsored by the American
Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS),
Research America, a nonprofit organization that promotes
health and medical research, and The Scientist, an
online news journal.
S&T Role
John Marburger, Director of the Office of Science
and Technology Policy (OSTP) and Co-Chair of the President's
Council of Advisors on Science and Technology, gave
the keynote on the first day of the conference, stressing
the important role that S&T will play in both
DHS and biodefense.
The
structure of the newly created DHS includes a directorate
of science and technology that will be headed by an
under secretary for science and technology, Marburger
noted. This under secretary will advise the DHS secretary
on R&D efforts, priorities, goals, objectives
and policies. With this type of involvement, Marburger
said, OSTP and the S&T community will have a direct
line in the creation of S&T functions within the
DHS. One of the members of the presidential appointed
transition team for DHS is from OSTP, he added.
The
new department also calls for the creation of a 20-member
Homeland Security Science and Technology Advisory
Committee. With a goal of highlighting issues important
to the nation's security, this committee will provide
an annual report that will seek to shed light on critical
research areas and other initiatives.
During
his keynote, Marburger addressed The National Strategy
for Homeland Security, which outlines six critical
mission areas in which S&T will be vital: intelligence
and warning; border and transportation security; domestic
counterterrorism; protecting critical infrastructure
and key assets; defending against catastrophic threats;
and emergency preparedness and response.
Released
in July 2002, the strategy also outlines 11 major
initiatives specifically aimed at S&T:
Develop
chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear countermeasures;
Develop systems for detecting hostile intent; Apply
biometric technology to identification devices; Improve
the technical capabilities of first responders;
Coordinate research and development of the homeland
security apparatus;
Establish a national laboratory for homeland security;
Solicit independent and private analysis for science
and technology research; Establish a mechanism for
rapidly producing prototypes; Conduct demonstrations
and pilot deployments;
Set standards for homeland security technologies;
and Establish a system for high-risk, high-payoff
homeland security research.
The
National Strategy for Homeland Security is available
in its entirety at: http://www.whitehouse.gov/homeland/book/.
