Advice from Beyond the Beltway

As I mentioned in my last entry in December, we have a busy year ahead of us at the Department. As we begin to tackle our priorities for 2008, I want to share with you an important, but sometimes overlooked part of what makes this department effective – the advice and recommendations we receive from several internal and external advisory groups.

We know we don’t have all the answers in Washington – nor do we pretend to. That is why we rely on the advice and counsel of a host of advisory groups to broaden our understanding of critical homeland security issues and to help us make more informed policy decisions that benefit from a range of perspectives and professional experience.

On Tuesday I spoke to the National Infrastructure Advisory Council, which provides recommendations not only to the President and our Department, but to other federal partners, including the Departments of Health and Human Services, Transportation, and Energy. These members are all experts from the private sector, academia, and state and local government. They include CEOs, fire and police chiefs, medical professionals, governors, and a university president, all of whom bring a unique set of skills and expertise to the table.

The council’s main focus is infrastructure security – how to better protect our nation’s physical structures and cyber systems from deliberate attack or disruption, and how to build greater resiliency into these critical systems. They have provided recommendations and issued reports in areas such as chemical, biological, and radiological threats, insider threats against critical infrastructure, protecting the economy and social stability during a pandemic health threat, and hardening the Internet against cyber attacks.

Today I met with members of another important group, the Homeland Security Advisory Council. Similar to the National Infrastructure Advisory Council, HSAC members are private sector presidents and CEOs, mayors, governors, and first responders. As a matter of fact, Judge William Webster, the Chairman, is a former CIA and FBI director. The HSAC has focused on a number of important areas, including the future of terrorism, as well as how to enhance the culture and effectiveness of the Department’s workforce as we meet the challenge of protecting our nation.

These and other advisory committees – whose members are experts on everything from privacy practices to transportation and global trade – provide an invaluable service to our department. Their experience is unmatched and they have given us incredible insight as we chart the best path forward for the department and the American people.

Thanks for reading, and I look forward to your continued feedback in 2008.

Michael Chertoff