security department was created over this we have the t.s.a. i feel like it's going to be a never ending expansion now you know that we have this this gigantic surveillance state which is obviously on the part of this and that cost us a lot of money to do absolutely the fear based responses that cause us to dump money into security apparatus in the united states can be enormously counterproductive but if you look at the comparison homeland security spending is just a fraction of what is being spent on the afghanistan war and other military first options around the world so if we're going to cut costs the best posts cut those costs is with those occupations and if folks want to add their voice to our petition campaign they can go to rethink afghanistan dot com right now and say that we need to bring our troops home in response to this killing of bin laden. and that will save us hundreds of billions of dollars a year why do you think it works and what is it about our psyche or the way the politicians really approach americans that makes fear of s

more and more, the homeland security department is looking at military technology. these are big balloons that they put down along the border. they are being used in arizona, texas, and new mexico. host: like blimps? guest: yes, and a flood and look at what is happening and they run unmanned drones. i have about seven zones that are flying along the southwest border -- five along the sorts -- southwest border and two along the northern border. the drones have cameras and radars to be able to communicate back to the border patrol. what is taking place along the surface. they will look at the movement of people trying to sneak illegally into the country and the movement of a unauthorized aircraft coming across the border from mexico into the united states. they will relay that information back to the border patrol. there is a debate over how effective you can be with unmanned drones because they don't actually secure anything. if you're going to capture people on the ground, you will have to send border patrol agents to do that. the drones can alert the border patrol

them within the department of homeland security? mr. butler, why don't you start? >> a key element was an agreement between the secretaries that we would share personnel, developed a set of activities under the joint coordination element to help us understand how we could better leverage what is the department of defense today. a good example is the work being done to help put the response plan. looking at other efforts where we can share both in capability expertise as lost technology. intrusion detection, intrusion protection systems as we move forward in time. the einstein 3 efforts. >> how would do you buy with the relationship between your department and dod? part of that was building up your expertise with dod. >> thank you. that is exactly correct. i think we each print unique things to the table -- i think we each bring unique things to the table. we have built up our own expertise, predict iran control systems and how to work broadly -- particularly in control systems and how to work broadly. as a result, we're very good fr

. >> you had a homeland security department that probably wouldn't be here today but for osama bin laden. he has changed -- he had changed the entire national security appear are t apparatus of our country in so many ways, this one man. >> every time people travel through an airport, not only in this country but in most of the world, they're reminded of what one man, one terrorist and the sma small cadry of individuals did to change the norm in which people try to live, raise their families and grow their economies. it's pretty clear this is a chapter, george, that is closed. unfortunately, i'm afraid, there will be a few others written. many men and women talking with you this evening talked about continued concerns in yemen and somalia. we know we have yemen cleric now who could become the inspirational leader. we also see a new wave of terrorism. we see homegrown terrorism in many countries, including our own. so, this is a -- this is an incredible evening. >> it is an incredible evening. take us back inside and what you think might be happening in your former department, department o

them, within the department of homeland security? mr. reitinger what you start? >> a key element of that was an agreement between the two secretaries that we would one, share personnel and two to actually develop a set of activities under the joint coordination element to really help us understand how we could better leverage what is in the department of defense today. take a good example is the work being done to help with the national cyberincident response plan and then going beyond that, looking at other efforts where we can share both in capability expertise as well as in technology. what we are doing with intrusion detection and intrusion prevention systems as we move forward in time so the efforts and where we are going moving forward in time. >> mr. reitinger from a dhs perspective how would you evaluated relationship between your department and dod? obviously part of what you wanted to do was build up your own expertise within dhs but also as i said to leverage on what party exists in dod and nsa. >> thank you chairman. that

security department. you can follow the house live here on c-span. coming up next his "washington journal." we will have the associate editor of "the atlantic." he will look at the presidential candidates. bill ger

grant program funds from the department of homeland security for security improvements at the port of san francisco. 8b. request authorization to accept and expend $7,783,556 in 2009 infrastructure protection program port security grant program funds from the department of homeland security for security improvements at the port of san francisco. 8c. request authorization to advertise for competitive bids for construction contract no. 2749, heron's head park improvement project. 8d. request authorization to execute contract modification with cochran, inc. to retroactively extend the substantial completion date by an additional 150 days, to march 30, 2011, for the installation of a shoreside power system for cruise ships at pier 27, contact no. 2722. >> so moved. is there any public comment on the consent calendar? all in favor? resolution 11-27, 11-28, 11-29, 11-30 have been approved. >> 9a. informational presentation on the preliminary design concept for the expansion of the downtown ferry terminal. >> good afternoon, commissioners. dan hood. we are here to provide an informational up

of homeland security. some argue that amounts to profiling. >>> and today a bronze statue of president gerald ford will be dedicated in the rotunda.

of homeland security. less than an hour ago they issued a joint intelligence bulletin warning that spinoff groups of al-qaeda around the world could use his death to speed up plans for attacks. bruce leshan begins our team coverage on the death of osama bin laden live from the satellite center. bruce. >> reporter: yeah, lesli, in the white house situation room, the president, his advisers monitored the raid on osama bin laden in realtime. homeland security adviser says it felt not like hours, it felt like days. on the fbi's 10 most wanted list officials have now changed osama bin laden's status to deceased. but the fbi and homeland security have just flashed out a bulletin warning local law enforcement that the killing of the terrorist will likely inspire home grown extremists to step up their efforts to hurt america in the near term. al-qaeda less of a threat. al-qaeda spinoffs, perhaps more dangerous. >> this does not mean that we are putting down our guard as far as al-qaeda is concerned. it may be a mo

the grant is a $2 million grant for department of homeland security. we have two pieces. there is the stay at home security grant program and medical response. this is basically the bread-and- butter grant for disaster planning for the city and county of san francisco. we get into every year. there are six projects supported in this. you may have seen them as projects a, b, c, d, e, and f. there is general preparedness, strengthening communications, chemical biological nuclear explosives, things like that. the four basic things that are funded are the bread and butter for emergency planning in the city. it is equipment, training, exercises, planning, and a couple of things i want to point out to you that are funded are several of our planning positions that we think do great work for the city. we have a business liaison who does business in downtown in san francisco with the small business community to get them prepared and offer us resources. two years ago, we had a disaster veterinary planner. a lot of people will not leave their homes if they cannot take their pets wit

but the associated press attained a nationwide alert sent out today by the homeland security department. it warned law enforcement officials about this potential threat. this is a quote from that warning. while it is clear there is some level of warning we have no recent information to indicate an active ongoing plot to target transportation and no information on possible locations or specific targets. a homeland security spokesman said the al-qaida plot is quote on initial reporting which he said can be misleading or inaccurate. and despite the alert released by the ap, it says the government has no plan to issue an official terror alert. >> julie. thank you. >>> we called amtrak about the threat. and they said they received the advisory and released this statement. we will encounter and change measures when and if ready. >>> a senior defense official says only one of the five people killed inside the compound was armed and he says that person never fired a shot. the official was talking off the record and anonymously. he also says the defense team made a floor by floor search eliminat

this is a $1.2 million award, funded through the department of homeland security. through the state of california to the department of emergency management. and the department is acting as the fiscal agent. and i would be happy to answer any questions you might have about it. commissioner mirkarimi: any questions? i had mine answered in meetings we already had. so thank you for that. i think it's very straightforward. just one -- on the 700 megahertz system, which agencies within san francisco will be utilizing

committee chaired by the department of homeland security. old office, the assistant secretary position, is the chair of that group. the have taken on the task of identifying high-risk federal facilities within the universe of federally owned buildings across the country and have done a prioritization of those facilities around the country. the question, of course, becomes an issue of funding from the united states congress, which is an important subset to the risk analysis piece. that important work has been done and continues to be refreshed on an annual basis. host: is congress interested in these types of topics? are they receptive? guest: i always had an open ear in terms of the united states congress. i participated in quite a few hearings during my tenure. i found them always willing and concerned to hear our problems. again, however, it's always a question of resources. where do the federal responsibilities begin and where do they anend? how do you wisely spent the resource dollars in a highly constrained environment? more constrained

this is a $1.2 million award, funded through the department of homeland security. through the state of california to the department of emergency management. and the department is acting as the fiscal agent. and i would be happy to answer any questions you might have about it. commissioner mirkarimi: any questions? i had mine answered in meetings we already had. so thank you for that. i think it's very straightforward. just one -- on the 700 megahertz system, which agencies within san francisco will be utilizing that system? >> supervisor, to the best of my knowledge it's all the first responder agencies, fire, police, sheriff, department of public health. commissioner mirkarimi: this will also be a complement to the current 800 megahertz system they currently use as well too,? >> it will, supervisor. commissioner mirkarimi: i'm curious, what does that look like practically speaking? they have two systems they are carrying with them in the event of an emergency? in other words, for simplistic reasons, two walkie-talkies? >> i don't believe so, supervisor. michelle f

. >>> information seized during the raid that killed osama bin laden has prompted the homeland security department and the fbi to warn police across the u.s. that al qaeda has a continuing interest in attacking oil and natural gas targets. that's according to a government official. randy savage, the pro wrestler, was killed today in a car crash in florida. he was 58. the state highway patrol said he lost control of his jeep, jumped a median and slammed into a tree. his wife was injured in the crash. >>> and indiana governor mitch daniels is recovering after a door at his gym clipped his forehead. the potential 2012 presidential candidate needed 16 stitches. that guy has a lot going on his mind right now. >> apparently. joe, thank you very much. >>> coming up, the end is near. not the end of the show, the end of the world. don't worry about that. you've heard the hype. i'll explain next in the "ridicu-list." maybe that's why j.d. power and associates ranked us "highest in customer satisfaction in the united states." so, we thought we'd take a little time to celebrate. ♪ all right, then

. >>> a legal think tank asking the homeland security department to stop the policy of searching travelers with electronic devices. they say the argument is that travelers carry so much in the way of laptops and twices, is at risk. they suggest that it only be done if agents have a reasonable suspicion of wrong doing. >>> and transportation secretary looking into the napa airport. more on the landing system that is going to make the airport much safer in bad weather, and the overall airport much better. >> reporter: true, in fact, major players in the wine, agriculture and other industries that are related to that, especially tourism, do a lot to create jobs. but soon, bad weather here wouldn't be a major factor. >> one, two, three, it is official. >> reporter: on a nice day, napa county airport is a delight to fly into. but with frequent north bay winter rains and many foggy rains, napa can be a real challenge even for pilots who land here regularly. that is because napa lacks a precision landing system that allows for totally safe landings when visibility is at or near zero at the runway

security department and the fbi issued this warning to police departments and oil companies across the u.s. because what they found is there's a continuing emphasis by al qaeda through this year to target those oil and natural gas interests. john? >> and so chris, what specifically is being done now because of the warning? >> reporter: well, because they don't have actionable intelligence, john, nertin othe words, they don't have a specific target on a specific date, that's why they didn't go as far as issuing a full alert. so what they're doing is warning their partners saying remember those random screenings, remember to instruct people how to report suspicious activity, and also remember to go over your protocols and instruct your people. stay vigilant because we know the targets are out there. >> chris lawrence tonight live at the pentagon. >>> president obama and the israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu come face to face at the white house. >> obviously, there are some differences between us in the precise formulations and language. and that's going to happen between friends.

that is what the homeland security department is saying. they have gone on to say this warning has come as a result of information that they have actually received from that bin laden raid that happened on may the 2nd and a homeland security spokesman saying we're not aware of any indications of specific or imminent terror attack plotting against oil or natural gas sector overseas or the united states, but they certainly want police to be aware of al qaeda's interest in these particular sectors. this is coming directly from homeland security and the fbi. we may get additional information from our pentagon folks as well. >>> in our political update today, we are talking with republican leader about some of the hot issues, from the middle east to the 2012 presidential race. joining us live in studio 7, house majority leader eric cantor. it's nice to see you outside of washington, you can loosen the tie a little in atlanta here. thanks for joining us. i want to talk about a couple of things, first of all, middle east peace. we saw the presiden

an the excellent work down by the department of homeland security, justice department, and the other agencies all working together to tackle these threats that require the expertise and participation from a number of agencies around government, including the fcc. congress is looking at doing its part, which is very important. congress has been actively considering legislative proposals that include increase information sharing between the government and private sector to respond to threats and attacks. it's vital that small businesses be part of the cybersecurity equation. in many respects, small businesses have the most to gain from addressing the cybersecurity threats and increasing trust on this platform. small businesses that don't take protective measures are particularly vulnerable targeting for criminals, and we talked about the benefits for small businesses. a recent study found american small businesses lose billions of dollars annually to cyber attacks and 74% of small businesses reported being attacked by cyber attacks in the last 12 months. the average cost of each attack

here at home, the san francisco police department is in touch with the department of homeland security. the department doesn't anticipate problems, but warning people to be on alert. pay attention to transit areas and places or warship. if you are flying today, a spokesman says fso has not made any changes to security or flights but b.a.r.t. has. a b.a.r.t. spokesman says stations increased security and are on high risk alert today. looking long term, a political analyst says america needs to be prepared for reinvestigation. >> the armed forces across the world, american and otherwise have beefed up their high alert. this organization has been known not necessarily for realuating, sometimes six months to a year or two later. then they say this is because of that. i think everyone has to be very much on guard tonight and tomorrow and really for years to come. >> on our nbc bay area morning news facebook page, we posed the question, are americans safer now? lonnie writes the war on terrorism goes on. we cannot lower our guard and a false sense of permanent victory. lisa young, a proud na

with your department. -- homeland security will be shared immediately with your department. >> it is being shared. quite good. a lot to highlight what i believe i heard you say. although you have not raised the national threat advisory system alert -- you are right. it is important to put out that 1 cents these changes put into the system last week have us always at a state of alert. the judgment you make in changing that would -- would be to raise that to an elevated state of alert and then to end and in that state of alert. >> we have a counter-terrorism advisory board comprised of all the members of the intelligence community to are constantly reviewing intelligence coming in as it relates to the homeland. they analyze it for whether a threat is either elevated or is so specific and credible that it actually reveals an eminent threat. at that point, an advisory would be issued. we would tell people as many facts as we can. it tells them what they can do to protect themselves or their families. it tells them what they can do to help us with regard to the threat. for example, we may

. >> let me bring in something else here we're getting from department of homeland security. we just got word some of that information, and the president said it was one of the largest or was the largest collection of information ever taken from a terrorist leader, all that information that came out of the bin laden compound. apparently from that the homeland security department put out some warnings to local police departments, warning them about al qaeda possibly wanting to target oil tankers and commercial oil infrastructure at sea. saying this is part of their continuing interest, is what the statement said. tell me what you make of that and also tell me, can we expect to see more of those types of warnings as they continue to go through this treasure-trove of information? >> yes, i think we will. to your latter point, i think we will continue to see these pieces of information come out. i mean, one of the first things they do when they're scouring all this information that we've been talking about is they're looking for the imminent threats. it's like if you were to pick

the department of homeland security issued a situational awareness alert last night. they killed the al-qaeda leader in pakistan and then buried the body at sea. >> at ground zero, people waved american flags and chanted american patriotic slogans and sang the national anthem. they were pleased to hear the mastermind behind the 9/11 attacks is dead. >> turkey's foreign minister saying they are closing their embassy in libya. a mob went on rampage for a nato airstrike that rumored killed the son of moammar khadafy setting fire to the british and italian embassies in tripoli. they showed damage to the embassies and cars parked outside. buildings have been ransacked including the ambassador's residence. >>> season is now eligible for federal disaster assistance. obama signed a declaration after the storms killed 34 people in in that state. flooding problems in parts of the state. residents say the flood levels have risen four feet in the last 24 hours forcing residents to higher ground. storm killed a total of 342 people in the south. president obama has already signed a

department of homeland security. mr. assumcumins is responsiblpr as director for european and multilateral affairs in the department of homeland security 0 office of international affairs from june 2007 to august 2008. prior to joining dhs in june 2007, mr. koumans served in the u.s. foreign service. welcome to you both. we'll recognize you, ambassador benjamin, if your statement is going to be excessively long, we'll just accept that for the record. but we'll give you as much time as we think is reasonable. >> thank you very much, chairman burton and distinguished members of the committee. i have submitted testimony for the record that provides additional detail about u.s. counter-terrorism cooperation with europe and eurasia. i want to thank you for the opportunity to appear before you today, and i must say it's a great deal to testify today as the united states celebrates al-qaeda. you mentioned my service on the national security council for t -- for the last two years of that time, i was director of threats when pre

the department of homeland security and the defense department have offered to help gauge the impact of the attack detected last saturday. lockheed martin believes they made duplicate electronic keys to gain access to its security system. >>> in afghanistan, an attack at a gathering of high-ranking afghan and nato officials claimed the lives of six people and wounds a high-ranking nato commander. this is a still photo of that attack. a suicide bomber dressed as a policeman blew himself up at the capitol there. two afghan commanders and two german soldiers and two afghans were all killed. the attack comes just weeks before the draw it dawn of u.s. troops is set to begin. >>> in other world of the news tonight in moscow russian police arrested 18 gay rights activists attempting to hold a gay right march. dan chow who fought for the end of the pentagon's don't ask, don't tell policy was among those arrested. 18 russian men were also arrested as they tried to attack the gay activists. the mayor of moscow has banned any gay rights demonstrations calling them "satan inning." >>> in bell gr

the we continue our series at looking at homeland security department said. we will be right back. >> the commerce department reported that construction of new homes fell over 10% -- 10.5% in april. less than half the number economists consider the sign of a healthy market. millions of foreclosures continue to affect the housing market. an update on dominique strauss, -- dominique strauss kahn. he should think about another line of work to protect the reputation of the international monetary fund. bail inng held without new york at rikers island in an alleged attack on a hotel maid. over the past year, at least 16 members of congress have launched their own iphone applications. most display news, st. youtube videos, and allow one-click access to social media sites. harry reid's app even allows users to donate to the nevada democrats campaign fund. those are some of the latest headlines on c-span radio. >> you are watching c-span. every morning, it is "washington journal," connected with policymakers and journalists. weekdays watched live coverage of the u.s.

mark is at the department of homeland security and responsible for coordinating the department's international programs for policy to achieve the international strategic objectives. he's served as director for european and multilat roll affairs in the department of homeland security office of international affairs from june 2007 to august 2008. prior to joining dhs in june 2007, mr. koumans served in the foreign service. welcome to you both, and we'll recognize you mr. ambassador benjamin. if your statement is long, we'll accept it for the record, but we'll give you as much time as we think is reasonable. >> thank you very much, chairman burrton and distinguished members of the committee. i submitted testimony for the record that talks about the cooperation, and i thank you for the opportunity to appear before you today, and it's a great pleasure to testify during the week when the united states achieved a historic success against al-qaeda. bin laden's death is a victory for the united states and all human beings who seek to live in peace, security, and dignity. sir, you mentioned my service o

>> well, it is up to the individual rails, and what the homeland security department has done is to put out a statement, and tsa with a bulletin to give them the basics. many of the rail systems had ramped up security, and they did it last weekend when they learned that the death of osama bin laden's death broke because they know that the rail systems are vulnerable and big and wide opens so many of them had increased the precautions, brooke, even before this po on the -- this potential plot was made public. >> and what else is eking out as part of al qaeda's wish list? >> well, no other potential plots they have uncover and have not come up with anything along those lines, but i have been told by a u.s. official however that they have found videotapes at those compound, and those are aggressively analyze and we hope to bring you more information on that later. >> okay. jeanne meserve, thank you for the update there. we are not leaving the story, because we are getting so many details today from pakistan, and including the information on the cia super secret safehouse just outside of bi

security related expenses that are not reimbursed by department of homeland security. separate from that, there's a greater need as well. >> mr. hartwig. >> sir, without the ability to continue the partnerships we have developed to these funding sources located from federal sources i fear that we would cease to exist and cease to provide the local security we currently have. the restriction is placed upon state and local funding resources in the state of california. they are extremely diminished. i would agree with mr. rodriguez that if we would refer to an operational contribution, which would further impact the services we supply at bart. the value of these partnerships and the value of the funds to complete the security projects, they did not exist, we would work with what we have and they would try to achieve more with less. we would not achieve the success levels we currently experience. >> thank you. the important point that you made is, given some of the challenges we are facing right now, i think it is inconceivable that we ought to as members of congress and t

with your department. -- homeland security will be shared immediately with your department. >> it is being shared. quite good. a lot to highlight what i believe i heard you say. although you have not raised the national threat advisory system alert -- you are right. it is important to put out that 1 cents these changes put into the system last week have us always at a state of alert. the judgment you make in changing that would -- would be to raise that to an elevated state of alert and then to end and in that state of alert. >> we have a counter-terrorism advisory board comprised of all the members of the intelligence community to are constantly reviewing intelligence coming in as it relates to the homeland. they analyze it for whether a threat is either elevated or is so specific and credible that it actually reveals an eminent threat. at that point, an advisory would be issued. we would tell people as many facts as we can. it tells them what they can do to protect themselves or their families. it tells them what they can do to help us with regard to the threat. for example, we may

security, has the portfolio for counterterrorism at the department of homeland security, not the director for intelligence and analysis. >> thank you. my final question for each of you is, is there any recommendation that you would like to make to us as we look to reifies necessary to the 2004 intelligence reform act? mr. gannon? >> i would just say that i think we are in a period of transition in the leadership in the intelligence community and the should be a great time to take a step back and i think of gates is leaving. there's nobody who has more knowledge and more desire to make dings work and i think jim clapper is a guy who works very hard to work with others. i can imagine having a battered dni for the times we are in. so to bring some of the folks who are leaving to talk with them about how we could have the human dialogue about people who know and have worked like mike is an example, bring them together to ask let's commit ourselves to making this work. let's admit we have a need to do it, and let's concede we have a terrific guy and jim clapper and a capable set of leaders acr

also the homeland security department. you can follow the house live here on crmp span when members gavel back in. >> david ax was embedded with the u.s. army in april. he was in logar province on patrols of local villages and on a in addition to clear roads of i.e.d.'s. he talked with u.s. military commanders about security and training the afghan army and police. the u.s. is scheduled to begin withdrawing troops from afghanistan in july. >> what we're trying to do here is we have the area of operations through provinces, logar and very critical areas around kabul. to try to get expand the security bubble that i'm sure you have heard general petraeus talking about out from kabul to make sure that security governments and development are increased and improved here in these three provinces. so that we can slowly transition the security governance and development of operations back to the capable hands of the after gans. logar province is a hugely critical area just south of kabul. clearly great increases in all lines of op

we get one view from the state department and from homeland security. this is the american government's positions. but you folks are experts in think tanks that work on this all the time, and i'd like to have your candid observations in this area. >> to start, i'm quite worried that arab spring is going to turn into an arab winter, and i mean that in the worst possible way besides the points you're making. i've had a number of conversations with european friends in government and the european union about what their plans are in the revolutions. we know that we basically had all these failed policies for the last ten years, so then you ask them, what are you going to do, and they have no answer. so there is a passivity. they're still trying to figure out, what kind of policies are we going to implement? so that's not a good sign. on the american end, i would say that -- i think, to be frank, the administration has something of a hands-off approach to what's going on out of the fear that they'll look like they're being american colonialists, so to speak.

it is managed by the department of homeland security. the old system is in over 30 cities across the country which we deem to be highest risk. the focus was to cover as much as the population in the daytime as we could cover given the resources available. much of the funding now is aimed at getting the economist devices out there. they will save a day. you do not have a time to get antibiotics out to people or begin a vaccination or alert the health-care community when there has been a release of an agent. the sooner you know, the more lives are saved. this autonomous program is aimed at reducing the time lag, which may be as much as 24 hours to 48 hours, down to four hours to six hours. host: our guest is with us until 10:00 a.m. to talk about these issues. if you wish to do so, you can on these phone lines. if you want to send us an e- mail, journal@cspan.org. on twitter, cspanwj. as far as the office of homeland security, who are the main partners when it comes to the bio-defense policy? guest: the department has to be able to region

. >> security has been set up around the capital could the department of homeland security says it has no plans to issue an alert. keeping with islamic tradition, osama bin laden's body was buried at sea, but they have a photographic evidence and they are awaiting dna test results. >> hundreds gathered at ground zero ran for a bittersweet and spontaneous rally. the crowd quickly formed following the announcement of the bin laden's death by president barack obama. people were waving flags and the singing the national anthem. at one point, there was an impromptu moment of silence. almost 3000 people were killed by the terrorist attacks on september 11, 2001, brought another small crowd of four outside the home of president bush to bush. the crowd waved or flax -- waved flags and held it signs thanking president bush co. on sunday, president obama called president bush to deliver the news. the maryland political delegation is reacting to the news. 11 news spoke to congressman dutch ruppersberger at home about the death. . >> the coverage last night into this morning, the word ricocheting