GAO: TSA Risk Assessments Lacking
April 22, 2009 (WASHINGTON) – Today, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) issued a report requested by Rep. Bennie G. Thompson (D-MS), Chairman of the Committee on Homeland Security, entitled “Transportation Security - Comprehensive Risk Assessments and Stronger Internal Controls Needed to Help Inform TSA Resource Allocation” (GAO-09-492).
The report finds that the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has taken some actions but has not fully implemented a risk management approach to inform the allocation of resources across the transportation modes for which it is responsible, including aviation, mass transit, highways, commercial vehicles, freight rail, and pipelines. For example, TSA has collected information related to threat, vulnerability, and consequence within the transportation modes but has not conducted risk assessments that integrate these three components for each mode or the transportation sector as a whole. TSA has failed to conduct comprehensive risk assessments, notwithstanding its commitment to doing so under the National Infrastructure Protection Plan (NIPP). In order to properly allocate resources to address the highest priority risks, it is essential that TSA identify and analyze risk in a comprehensive, strategic manner.
Chairman Thompson issued the following statement with the release of the report:
“With 85 percent of TSA’s budget going towards aviation security, it is important to know whether enough is being done to defend our nation’s other vital modes of transportation. This report reaffirms my belief that more must be done to properly secure modes of transit other than aviation. Recent terrorist attacks in Mumbai, London, and Madrid demonstrate that these modes of transportation are significant targets and TSA must have a systematic, risk-informed approach to securing them.
I look forward to working with President Obama and Secretary Napolitano to foster a culture at DHS that meaningfully embraces risk management principles so that programs and money are directed to where they are needed most.”
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FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Please contact Dena Graziano or Adam Comis at (202) 225-9978
