Thread: What's Awaiting Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano at DHS?

What's awaiting Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano
Confirmation should be easy, but Homeland Security job won't be

by John Yaukey - Jan. 7, 2009 12:00 AM
Republic Washington Bureau

WASHINGTON - Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano, tapped by President-elect Barack Obama to lead the Department of Homeland Security, is expected to move quickly and smoothly through the Senate confirmation process beginning next week.

But if she is confirmed, the two-term governor and former federal prosecutor faces politically charged issues, from how to handle controversial raids conducted by Immigration and Customs Enforcement to new intelligence that concludes terrorists probably will acquire weapons of mass destruction.

Napolitano met for almost an hour Tuesday with Sen. Joe Lieberman, I-Conn., chairman of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, which will handle her confirmation hearing. Lieberman later pronounced Napolitano a "superb" nominee and stressed the importance of moving quickly to confirm her.

Napolitano's confirmation hearing before the committee is scheduled for Jan. 15. Lieberman said he hopes for a full Senate confirmation vote well before the end of the month.

If confirmed, Napolitano would be the nation's third Homeland Security secretary.

"The secretary of Homeland Security, in current reality, is as critically important to our national security as the secretary of Defense and the secretary of State, and in some ways, more urgent," Lieberman said Tuesday.

If the past is any indicator, Napolitano could face an early test. President Bush was in office less than eight months before the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Shortly after President Clinton took office in 1993, terrorists bombed the World Trade Center.

The huge 22-agency Homeland Security Department was hastily created in the wake of the 2001 attacks to better coordinate the national response to threats and disasters.

Like most Cabinet nominees, Napolitano has kept a low profile. On Tuesday, she avoided reporters on Capitol Hill. But she'll have to talk next week, when she'll tell lawmakers how she would deal with some of the thorniest issues facing the nation, including:

• Immigration. Napolitano has won praise from lawmakers for what they see as her tough but human approach to immigration. But Napolitano has taken positions as a governor that she might have to rethink as a national policymaker.

She criticized the decision to pull back the National Guard from the U.S.-Mexican border before some fence work was done. She also opposed the government's Real ID mandate for biometric identification cards, saying it would unfairly shift costs onto border states like Arizona.

The controversial raids by ICE agents, which critics call too aggressive, are sure to come up during her confirmation hearing. Obama apparently doesn't like the way ICE is enforcing policy.

In a speech to the National Council of La Raza, a Hispanic advocacy group, he talked about communities being "terrorized by ICE immigration raids."

Lieberman said Napolitano "will be looking very closely at what ICE has done."

• Weapons of mass destruction. A bipartisan commission created by Congress recently issued a chilling report predicting that an attack using such a weapon is "more likely than not" in the next five years unless the international community acts.

The report concluded, "America's margin of safety is shrinking."

• Civil liberties. The Homeland Security secretary must do everything possible to thwart terrorist threats while making sure domestic-intelligence gathering doesn't become too intrusive.

Obama's decision to choose Leon Panetta to head the CIA signaled that Obama wants to take a softer approach to intelligence gathering than Bush, who drew fire for what critics called a trampling of civil liberties. Panetta was Clinton's chief of staff and has criticized the Bush administration's use of torture in interrogating terror suspects.

• Cumbersome bureaucracy. The creation of the Homeland Security Department constituted one of the biggest government reorganizations in American history, and its record has been mixed.

The Coast Guard, part of the department, won hero status for its daring helicopter rescues during Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans.

But the Federal Emergency Management Agency, also part of Homeland Security, became the poster child for incompetence for its slow response to Katrina.

Reach the reporter at jyaukey@gns.gannett.com.

http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepubli ... o0107.html

Lieberman says enactment of DHS authorization bill a priority
By Chris Strohm
CongressDaily January 6, 2009
Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee

Chairman Joseph Lieberman, I-Conn., Tuesday outlined his panel's priorities for the year, including the first authorization bill for the Homeland Security Department. Lieberman indicated he would like his committee to mark up the authorization bill before congressional appropriators approve the department's annual spending bill.

That would put the time frame during the summer, as the Homeland Security spending bill is usually one of the first to pass Congress.
"I want us to begin to do a Department of Homeland Security authorization bill in much the way that the Armed Services Committee does an annual Department of Defense authorization bill as a way for this committee ... to reach some conclusions about both the resource needs of the department before the appropriators appropriate and also about policy changes that may make sense for the department," Lieberman said after a private meeting with Arizona Democratic Gov. Janet Napolitano, who is President-elect Obama's choice to lead the Homeland Security Department.

The department was created nearly six years ago but has never had an authorization bill, mainly because the Senate has never completed work on one.

Lieberman said he informed Napolitano of his committee's priorities during his meeting. "I think she's a superb nominee for a critically important department and, in the normal course of things, I look forward to supporting the nomination barring any unexpected events," Lieberman said.

Napolitano appears to be smoothly heading toward confirmation; no senators have publicly said they oppose her nomination. Lieberman said he would like to see the Senate vote on her nomination by Jan. 21 but noted the timing is up to Senate Democratic leaders. Lieberman said other priorities for his committee include strengthening efforts to prevent a terrorist attack in the country using weapons of mass destruction, improving rail and public transit security, reauthorizing chemical security legislation and addressing cybersecurity vulnerabilities.

"The fact is that, because of the new technological realities of our world, the U.S. government [and] U.S. industry are under constant and pervasive cyberattack," he said. "I want our committee to focus on how we're organizing that defense and what the role of the Department of Homeland Security should be in that." Lieberman said he also firmly believes the Federal Emergency Management Agency should be kept within the department.

He said Napolitano has not reached a decision on the matter and needs to consult with Obama. "I feel that no parts of DHS should be jettisoned," Lieberman said.

He added that Napolitano will "take a very fresh look at border security and immigration enforcement generally," including controversial work site raids carried out by Immigration and Customs Enforcement. "I think it's fair to say that ... she's a law enforcer," Lieberman said, noting Napolitano's background as a U.S. attorney. "I think that while one can ask questions about the way in which the raids are being carried out, if the law says that employers should not employ illegal immigrants, I think you can expect this secretary -- Secretary[-designate] Napolitano -- to do whatever she can to see that that law is enforced."

http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/0109/010609cdpm2.htm

Workplace Raids are counter productive because it gives Illegals opportunity to declare themselves poor victims just trying to work. We need to instead let them come to us by detaining Illegals at Places they go to receive health care and benefits and vehicle registration offices and schools. That way they have no excuse to play the victim, they will have to be portrayed as criminals trying to fraud us out of money and services.

Lieberman added that Napolitano will "take a very fresh look at border security and immigration enforcement generally," including controversial work site raids carried out by Immigration and Customs Enforcement. "I think it's fair to say that ... she's a law enforcer," Lieberman said, noting Napolitano's background as a U.S. attorney. "I think that while one can ask questions about the way in which the raids are being carried out, if the law says that employers should not employ illegal immigrants, I think you can expect this secretary -- Secretary[-designate] Napolitano -- to do whatever she can to see that that law is enforced."


Gotta love the double talk. They claim they are champions of the rule of law yet all of them including Lieberman (Homeland Security Committee Chairman), the self professed champion of the war on terror who in fact is a staunch open borders advocate will stop all raids and enforcement measures including e-verify which will result in a massive increase in identity theft, other crimes and more jobs for illegal aliens. This is yet another step in the open borders and cheap labor agenda by bringing in more illegal aliens who will be the only benefactors from the taxpayer subsidized ponzi scheme called a stimulus package.
I have been watching the Ringling Brothers Barnum and Baily Circus called a congress on Foxnews grandstanding over Obama's vacant Senate seat while this country's economy burns. This was, according to the Democraps supposed to be a transparent government responsible, accountable and accessible to the American people. All we have seen is continuous scandal and Pelosi eliminating changes instituted by Gingrich (His Contract With America) who tried to make government more accountable and accessible to the people. She has made it impossible for the GOP to debate proposed legislation and reinstituted closed door meetings along with other changes making it easier to ram her far left agenda down everyone's throats. There have been more charges and counter charges of racism in the past few weeks then I have seen in my entire life from a party that supposedly champions tolerance and diversity. Obama promises to scour the budget for wasteful spending but will ignore the 400 billion dollars annually spent on illegal immigration for health care, welfare, food stamps, birthright citizenship and other benefits. How many ways can we say we are screwed???????



I will be watching movies on January 20th as I refuse to be a witness to the final surrender of this country to the Mexican Government, the Sinola, Gulf and Felix Drug Cartels, Al Qaeda and other terrorist groups resulting in the final destruction of what remains of this once great republic......What a god awful present for my mother whose birthday also happens to fall on that fateful day which will be a date that will live in infamy when the US is deliberately destroyed by Congressional forces from both parties allied with terrorists and illegal aliens.