Summary

Combating Terrorism: Federal Response Teams Provide Varied Capabilities; Opportunities Remain to Improve Coordination

GAO-01-14  November 30, 2000

Full Report (PDF, 77 pages)   

Eight federal agencies now have teams that can respond to a terrorist attack involving chemical, biological, radiological, or nuclear weapons. Each team varies in size, structure, geographical scope, and task. The teams do not duplicate one another. They have unique capabilities and functions, and many have experience dealing with different types of agents and weapons. The type of terrorist incident would determine which team would be most appropriate to respond. GAO found that federal agencies lack a coherent framework to develop and evaluate budget requirements for their response teams because there is no national strategy with clearly defined outcomes. To improve interagency cooperation, federal agencies have participated in several group activities. For example, the Weapons of Mass Destruction Interagency Steering Group, led by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, is identifying federal response teams that could respond to different terrorist scenarios. Federal, state, and local agencies have also participated in major field exercises that simulated urban terrorist acts. These efforts could go a long way toward improving the operational coordination of federal response teams.

Subject Terms

Biological warfare
Budgeting
Chemical warfare
Combating terrorism
Emergency management
Emergency preparedness
Financial management
Homeland security
Interagency relations
National defense operations
Nuclear warfare
Radiological warfare
Strategic national stockpile
Terrorism
Weapons of mass destruction
Plague (disease)
DOE Radiological Assistance Program
DOJ Five Year Interagency Counterterrorism and Technology Crime Plan
DOJ/FEMA: TOPFF 2000
FEMA Federal Response Plan
National Oil and Hazardous Substances Pollution Contingency Plan