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Provides information on how departments fared in the 2005 budget proposal of U.S. President George W. Bush. Budget allocated for the Agriculture Department; Discretionary funds allocated for the Commerce Department; Amount allocated by Congress to increase military personnel budget.

Reports on the changes in the personnel system of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security as of January 2005. Reduction of union influence; Creation of additional rules that will enable managers to act in response to the changing needs and circumstances in the department; Reaction of the Congress to the system.

Discusses the disadvantages of excessive secrecy in the U.S. federal government. Reasons why several documents are overclassified; Effect of improper classification on intelligence officials; Standards that intelligence officers must adopt.

Focuses on the need to address shortcomings in the intelligence service in the U.S. Information on a resolution being drafted by lawmakers regarding the issue; Obstacles that are needed to be removed in order to address reform; Support for the appointment of a national intelligence director by the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee.

Focuses on the U.S. Visitor and Immigrant Status Indicator Technology (US-VISIT), the new information technology project of the U.S. government in response to the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. Challenges faced by Homeland Security officials in the implementation of the project at the U.S. land borders; Project management deficiencies cited by the General Accounting Office on the immigration entry-exit system of Homeland Security and Accenture; Comment from security expert Bruce Scheiner on the project.

The article offers information on strategies of U.S. senator Jeff Sessions, who is selected by President-elect Trump for attorney general post in the Department of Justice (DOJ), for limiting immigration to the U.S., increasing deportation of refugees and supporting Trump's immigration policies.

Reports on a review initiated by U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff in an effort to reorganize the management structure of the agency. Factors that could influence Chertoff to initiate changes in the department according to retired Coast Guard commander Steven Flynn; Role of risk-based analysis approach in Chertoff's vision for the department; Potential impact of a risk-based approach on the nation's critical infrastructure and on the department's policies and operations; Problems that may arise on the potential merger between the Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Customs and Border Protection.

Reports that the Bank of America has lost its backup data for accounts belonging to U.S. federal employees enrolled in the government charge card program SmartPay. Personal information included in the lost data tapes; Status of an investigation into the missing tapes led by the Secret Service; Plan of Senator Jon Corzine to introduce a legislation that would provide more protection against identity theft.

Focuses on the efforts of U.S. federal managers to participate in continuity-of-operations planning (COOP) training courses offered by the Federal Emergency Management Agency in preparation for any type of disasters. Assessment of the agencies' COOP plans based on the Government Accountability Office's February 2004 audit report; Factors which are critical to contingency planning, according to the November 8 Congressional Research Service's report "Continuity-of-Operations in the Executive Branch: Background and Issues for Congress."

Discusses challenges facing U.S. Department of Homeland Security secretary Michael Chertoff in implementing a reorganization of the agency. Responsibilities of Chertoff; Significance of corporate management skills in implementing policy changes in the agency; Factors that affected the organization of the agency, including high turnover.

Discusses issues on the implementation of nondisclosure of unclassified information policy by the U.S. Homeland Security in 2004. Opinion of the critics on the policy; Comparison of the policy with other nondisclosure agreements; Impact of the policy on contracting companies; Implications of the policy for employees and contractors.

Focuses on the implications of operating under a continuing resolution (CR) for several U.S. government agencies. Effect of the delay in passing spending legislation by the Congress on government agencies as of November 2004; Actions taken by the judicial branch to address the problem; Impact of long term CR.

Provides an overview of the draft homeland security strategy of the U.S. Department of Defense which describes a layered defense for improved surveillance near U.S. borders. Details of the strategy produced by assistant secretary for homeland defense Paul McHale; Development of a plant for a joint deployable area air and cruise missile defense system; Criticisms on the layered defense approach for homeland security.

Provides information on the Fight Plan blue print which is a strategic plan developed by the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to bring transparency and accountability to the agency once tainted by poor management. Categories under the Plan which identifies a number of goals to accomplish in 2008; Function of the computerized tracking system where the blueprint is built in; Top management challenges of FAA according to Sharon Pinkerton, assistant for administrator for policy, planning and acquisition projects.

Reports on issues related to security-related spending of the U.S. Homeland Security Department according to a study conducted by the department's advisory council in June 2004. Recommendations and comments on equipment and training necessary to protect the public from terrorism; Information on the State Homeland Security Grant Program; Problems with the distribution process of grants. INSET: Call for coordination in D.C. area.

Provides information on the continuity-of-operations planning (COOP), an emergency exercise to test crisis preparedness in agencies in the U.S. Purpose of COOP; Information on the Federal Preparedness Circular 65; Role of Federal Emergency Management Agency in developing COOP plans; Lessons learned from the COOP exercise in December 2003; Importance of COOP to crisis management. INSETS: EMERGENCY CHECKLIST;BUILDING A PLAN.

Focuses on the merger of the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) with the U.S. Homeland Security Department. Opinions of several FEMA managers on the merger; Effects of organizational restructure within FEMA on its ability to provide services to the public; Integration of programs, policies and budget of the agency.

Reports on the plan of the administration of U.S. President George W. Bush to propose a personnel system for the Homeland Security Department in 2004. Areas to be affected by the personnel system; Options for the system; Motive for planing a phased roll-out of the system.

Deals with the challenges faced by U.S. inspector generals with regard to filing deadline for performance and financial reports as of December 2003. Requirements under the Office of Management and Budget rules; Government agencies that filed their 2003 financial and performance reports within 45 days; Success in achieving permanent law enforcement authority in 2003.

Reports on the arrest of illegal aliens by the New York City fugitive unit launched by U.S. Homeland Security's Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Increase in the arrest since director Ray Simonse took over the unit; Number of additional officers for the unit; Views of Simonse on a morale issue among officers in New York City.

Reports on the approval of a resolution addressing issues related to judicial security by the Judicial Conference of the U.S. on March 15, 2005. Improvements needed in the Judiciary Security Division of the U.S. Marshals Service according to a Justice Department inspector general report released in March 2004; Increase in budget allocated for the protection of the judicial process for fiscal 2006; Need for inspectors to be more aggressive in handling threats and making arrest when federal judges are threatened.

Presents information on the appointees to a committee that will advise the U.S. Department of Homeland Security secretary on issues regarding programs, policies and operations that affect personal privacy. Nuala O'Connor Kelly as the department's chief privacy officer; Rebecca Richards as the executive director; Information on members of the committee.

Reports on the performance of the counterterrorism program of the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation. Consolidation of a terrorist watch list to be used in screening operations; Appointment of the National Academy of Public Administration to track the agency's progress by the Congress; Release of a study regarding the purchase of firearms by individuals in the watch list by the Government Accountability Office.

Reports on the preparedness of the U.S. Agriculture Department for agroterrorism. Shortage of veterinarians in the country; Designation of agricultural inspectors in the Homeland Security Department; Recommendation for the Agriculture Department to make cost-benefit analyses before developing vaccines.

Reports on the performance of student Melanie Graham in her internship at the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Department. Commendation for the employment of Graham in the agency by Jim Kuiken, director of the department's National Incident Response Unit; Information on the works of interns at the unit.

Reports on the loss of backup data at the Bank of America in the U.S. Content of the lost data; Changes made by the bank in handling backup information on federal accounts; Actions taken by the National Treasury Employees Union on the issue; Employees who were affected by the lost information.

Reports on the efforts of U.S. Department of Homeland Security and Technology officers to accelerate the Regional Technology Integration initiative with regional, state and local agencies to create emergency preparedness plans. Potential benefits of the initiative; List of states that participated in the initiative; Details of the initiative.

Profiles Mike Vanacore, director of international affairs at the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Career background; Duties and responsibilities as director; Challenges faced by Vanacore in his job.

Discusses the problems with the aviation security agenda of the U.S. Homeland Security Department. Security screening at airports; Deployment of equipment and technology at airports; Division of security responsibilities.

Reports that Michael Chertoff has been confirmed as U.S. Homeland Security Department Secretary by the Senate on February 15, 2005. Perspective on the sense of public ownership experienced since he became a nominee; Qualifications of Chertoff for the position, according to Senator Susan Collins; Other cabinet appointees in the department.

Interviews Reynold Hoover, director of national security coordination at the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency, about things that employees can expect on carrying out the agency's continuity-of-operations (COOP) plan in emergency situations. Notification of employees about the decision to implement the COOP plan; Person responsible for making the decision to implement the COOP plan; Need for agencies to figure out what works best for them in alerting employees of a COOP plan.

Reports on the nomination of John Negroponte as the first director of national intelligence by U.S. President George W. Bush. Duties and responsibilities of Negroponte; Legislators who supported Bush's nomination; Challenge that will be faced by Negroponte in the intelligence community, according to Tom Malinowski, advocacy director of Human Rights Watch.

Reports that the Transportation Security Administration has began testing explosive-detection systems at the Baltimore Washington International Airport in Maryland in February 2005. Features of the detectors; Costs of the detectors like the Smiths Detection portal.

Focuses on issues related to the financial management at the U.S. Homeland Security Department in 2005. Key to successful financial management at the department; Amount of assets of the department; Consolidation of programs of the department.

Focuses on issues related to the personnel system proposed by the U.S. Homeland Security Department in January 2005. Changes provided by the system; Requirements for the system to succeed; Number of affected department employees.

Reports that officials of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has confiscated counterfeit National Football League items that were being sold illegally at flea markets in Florida in February 2005. Efforts of the agency to enforce intellectual property right across the country; Importance of the Operation End Zone to target criminal organizations selling the items in the state; Participation of the business community of Jacksonville in identifying the organizations involved in the crime.

Presents edited excerpts from a U.S. Senate hearing on the possible appointment of Michael Chertoff as secretary of the Homeland Security Department on February 2, 2005. Solutions offered by Chertoff to end the problems faced by the department; Plan for the welfare of the work force of the administrative agency; Views of Chertoff on the risks associated with the implementation of the revised human resources management system in the agency.

Reports on the retrieval of stolen antique Mesopotamian cylinder seals which were returned to Iraqi Ambassador Samir Sumaida'ie by Michael Garcia, assistant secretary for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, who found the artifacts in an anthropologists' bag during a routine customs check at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City. Information on the investigative operations of ICE agents in Iraq in 2003; Outcome of the international investigations.

Reports on the decision of the U.S. Homeland Security Department to modify its nondisclosure policy imposed on employees and contractors on access sensitive but unclassified (SBU) information. Factor that contributed to the decision of the agency; Terms of the new directive issued by the agency on SBU, as of January 2005; Components of the previous directive that were retained.

Reports on the decision of the U.S. Homeland Security Department to review a controversial policy for protecting unclassified information. Concerns of labor unions over the legality of the policy; Advice on improving the secrecy policy; Refutation of the claim that the policy serves as a way to cover up waste, fraud and abuse. INSET: Controversial chief security officer resigns.

Reports on the problems posed by interagency clashes to integration of fingerprint databases. Background on the deployment of the U.S. Homeland Security Department's immigrant entry-exit tracking system; Significance of the Integrated Automated Fingerprinting Identification System database; Importance of the databases in preventing terrorism.

Reports on the establishment of a permanent U.S. Homeland Security Council by the U.S. House of Representatives. Significance of the move in the effective management of the U.S. Homeland Security Department; Jurisdiction of the U.S. Homeland Security Council; Results of a report on the shortcomings of the U.S. House Select Committee on Homeland Security.

Focuses on the management challenges being faced by the leaders of the U.S. Homeland Security. Need for additional structural changes in the department; Decision of Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge to resign from the agency; Accomplishments of the department, including its entry-exit system for immigrants in 2004.

Reports on the National Intelligence Reform Act which creates a director of national intelligence with budget control and the power to move personnel among intelligence agencies in the U.S. Resistance of U.S. House Republicans and the U.S. Defense Department on the legislation; Provisions in of the legislation; Remarks from Senator Joseph Lieberman (D-Conn.), on the bill.

Reports on the delay of the deployment of a human resources system for the U.S. Homeland Security Department. Goal of the system; Structure of a pay-performance system; Involvement of Northrop Grumman Corp. in the development and management of the system; Apprehension of government employees about pay banding; Concerns of the managers over the system.

Reports on the decision of the U.S. Congress to pass the intelligence reform legislation on December 8, 2004. Role of a national intelligence director in the reform legislation; Reason of the Conservative House Republicans for stalling the progress of the reform legislation; Provisions of the intelligence bill.

Highlights the recommendations made by the Cyber Security Industry Alliance on December 7, 2004 to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security for tracking and protecting against cyberattacks. Objective of the alliance group; Importance of coordination between the government and the private sector to the prevention of cybercrimes; Efforts of the U.S. Congress and the alliance to inform other department officials about cybersecurity issues; Effect of cyberattack on the economy.

Reports on the appointment of New York City police commissioner Bernard Kerik as secretary of the U.S. Homeland Security effective December 3, 2004. Reason behind the appointment of Kerik; Job responsibilities of Kerik; Importance of the appointee's presence to the agency; Challenges facing Kerik in succeeding incumbent secretary Tom Ridge.

Reports on the status of intelligence reform in the U.S. as of November 29, 2004. Debate over the intelligence budget and immigration laws of the U.S. Department of Defense; Provisions of the intelligence reform; Information on the funding priorities of the intelligence reform.

Profiles Wendell Shingler, director of the U.S. Federal Protective Service (FPS). Views of Chris Yingling, an FPS inspector since 1997, on Shingler; Responsibilities of Shingler in the agency; Challenges faced by Shingler before coming to FPS; Remarks on the mission of the agency; Changes made to FPS.