Noting that the President’s fiscal 2006 budget proposes
to establish an office of screening coordination and
operations, part of “a continuous cycle of
reorganizations” that saw the transfer of the Federal
Air Marshals service from the Transportation Security
Administration to ICE among others, the committee
asked at what point the reorganizing process begins
to impede DHS from carrying out its mission.
“Too often the Department proposes solutions without
first clearly defining the problem, exacerbating it
further by shifting resources from one crisis to
another,” according to the report, adding that hasty
solutions could be leading to a “false sense of security.”
It said such rapid reordering “immobilizes the
department” and reduces its ability to effectively
address situations, and cited the Arizona Border Control
Initiative and the Domestic Nuclear Detection Office
as examples of actions taken to address serious problems
without “thoughtful planning.”
“From organizations repeatedly unable to operate on
the appropriations received, to organizations unable to
execute simple operational plans, the department has
myriad management incompetencies,” the committee said.
It said it would work with DHS to address the issues
“constructively.”
