[Senate Hearing 109-293]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
S. Hrg. 109-293
RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT TO PROTECT AMERICA'S COMMUNITIES FROM DISASTER
=======================================================================
HEARING
before the
SUBCOMMITTEE ON DISASTER PREVENTION AND PREDICTION
OF THE
COMMITTEE ON COMMERCE,
SCIENCE, AND TRANSPORTATION
UNITED STATES SENATE
ONE HUNDRED NINTH CONGRESS
FIRST SESSION
__________
JUNE 8, 2005
__________
Printed for the use of the Committee on Commerce, Science, and
Transportation
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SENATE COMMITTEE ON COMMERCE, SCIENCE, AND TRANSPORTATION
ONE HUNDRED NINTH CONGRESS
FIRST SESSION
TED STEVENS, Alaska, Chairman
JOHN McCAIN, Arizona DANIEL K. INOUYE, Hawaii, Co-
CONRAD BURNS, Montana Chairman
TRENT LOTT, Mississippi JOHN D. ROCKEFELLER IV, West
KAY BAILEY HUTCHISON, Texas Virginia
OLYMPIA J. SNOWE, Maine JOHN F. KERRY, Massachusetts
GORDON H. SMITH, Oregon BYRON L. DORGAN, North Dakota
JOHN ENSIGN, Nevada BARBARA BOXER, California
GEORGE ALLEN, Virginia BILL NELSON, Florida
JOHN E. SUNUNU, New Hampshire MARIA CANTWELL, Washington
JIM DeMint, South Carolina FRANK R. LAUTENBERG, New Jersey
DAVID VITTER, Louisiana E. BENJAMIN NELSON, Nebraska
MARK PRYOR, Arkansas
Lisa J. Sutherland, Republican Staff Director
Christine Drager Kurth, Republican Deputy Staff Director
David Russell, Republican Chief Counsel
Margaret L. Cummisky, Democratic Staff Director and Chief Counsel
Samuel E. Whitehorn, Democratic Deputy Staff Director and General Counsel
Lila Harper Helms, Democratic Policy Director
------
SUBCOMMITTEE ON DISASTER PREVENTION AND PREDICTION
JIM DeMint, South Carolina, Chairman
TED STEVENS, Alaska E. BENJAMIN NELSON, Nebraska,
GORDON H. SMITH, Oregon Ranking
DAVID VITTER, Louisiana MARIA CANTWELL, Washington
BILL NELSON, Florida
C O N T E N T S
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Page
Hearing held on June 8, 2005..................................... 1
Statement of Senator DeMint...................................... 1
Statement of Senator McCain...................................... 33
Statement of Senator E. Benjamin Nelson.......................... 25
Witnesses
Bement, Jr., Dr. Arden L., Director, National Science Foundation. 19
Prepared statement........................................... 21
Lautenbacher Jr., Vice Admiral Conrad C., U.S. Navy (Retired),
Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere;
Administrator, NOAA............................................ 10
Prepared statement........................................... 13
Semerjian, Dr. Hratch G., Acting Director, National Institute of
Standards and Technology, Technology Administration, Department
of Commerce.................................................... 3
Prepared statement........................................... 5
Appendix
Inouye, Daniel K., U.S. Senator from Hawaii, prepared statement.. 37
RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT TO PROTECT AMERICA'S COMMUNITIES FROM DISASTER
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WEDNESDAY, JUNE 8, 2005
U.S. Senate,
Subcommittee on Disaster Prevention and Prediction,
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation,
Washington, DC.
The Subcommittee met, pursuant to notice, at 2:30 p.m. in
room SR-253, Russell Senate Office Building, Hon. Jim DeMint,
Chairman of the Subcommittee, presiding.
OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. JIM DeMINT,
U.S. SENATOR FROM SOUTH CAROLINA
Senator DeMint. Let's call the hearing to order. This is
the first hearing of the Subcommittee on Disaster Prevention
and Prediction. I think we've got a Ranking Member on the way
here, but we'll go ahead and get started, as a courtesy to our
witnesses who are here.
This afternoon, we are going to be focusing the
Subcommittee's attention on the role that the agencies under
the jurisdiction of the Commerce Committee play in supporting
the national homeland security mission. As we are all aware,
September 11 profoundly changed America. Before the attacks on
New York, Washington, and Pennsylvania, counterterrorism was
largely the concern of other countries. Foreign nations were
preoccupied with defeating the threat from groups like the Red
Army Faction, the Shining Path, the Real IRA. And while the
United States monitored these groups, the true fighting largely
fell to other nations. That has all changed.
As a part of the Nation's response to September 11, the
President and the Congress created the Department of Homeland
Security. This agency combined the intelligence, law
enforcement, monitoring, first-response, and scientific
capabilities of numerous federal agencies under one roof. I am
confident that the consolidation of these agencies at the
Department of Homeland Security will enhance the Nation's
efforts to protect the homeland.
While the Department represents a significant improvement
over the multi-agency approach before 9/11, the Department is
not the only federal entity contributing to the Nation's
response to the threat posed by the international terrorist
organizations. Many non-Defense, and non-Homeland-Security
agencies play a crucial role in preventing and preparing for
the threat posed by terrorists.
This is particularly true in the scientific research
community, where significant portions of homeland security
research is performed outside the Department of Homeland
Security. Specifically, the National Institute for Standards
and Technology, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration, and the National Science Foundation are
appearing this afternoon to discuss how their work supports the
homeland security science-and-technology efforts.
All of these agencies had robust research programs in place
long before September 11. They were able to transition and
adjust their research regimes quickly so they could respond to
the new threat while still supporting their fundamental core
mission.
NIST, which grew out of the Bureau of Standards, has long
been responsible for helping establish the processes and
standards that ensure that devices operate in a manner
consistent with their purpose and design. For example, it's
critically important that a tool, such as a radiation detector
used by a firefighter, behaves as expected when deployed in the
field.
NOAA's mission has always been monitoring the ocean and
atmosphere, and warning communities when there is a threat.
NOAA's expertise in observing the weather in local communities,
as well as their work in developing atmospheric models,
provides an invaluable tool to the local first-responders in
the event of a hazardous chemical release in one of our
communities. For example, earlier this year the weather
forecast office in Columbia, South Carolina, played a crucial
role in providing weather inputs into the atmospheric models
used during a chlorine release from a train wreck in
Graniteville. While this was not a terrorist attack, the
resources and cooperation between NOAA, the Department of
Homeland Security, and the first-responders provide an example
of how the agencies can work together in response to a
disaster.
Finally, NSF support of long-term revolutionary research
will lay the foundation for the next generation of technologies
to protect the homeland. By pushing the boundaries, scientists
will often fail; but, when they make that dramatic and
revolutionary breakthrough, they will enable a field of
technology that will make the country safer and help us defeat
terrorists.
I'm looking forward to the comments of the witnesses this
afternoon. When the work of America's scientists and engineers
is combined with the courage and commitment of America's first-
responders, law enforcement personnel, and intelligence
officers, American's homeland can surely be safer.
With that, I'll ask--I guess the Ranking Member is not
here. We'll allow his comments later. I'll introduce our
panelists.
Appearing before the Subcommittee this afternoon is Dr.
Hratch G. Semerjian. Dr. Semerjian is Acting Director of the
National Institute of Standards and Technology. Joining him is
Vice Admiral Conrad Lautenbacher. Admiral Lautenbacher is Under
Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere, and NOAA
Administrator. Finally, Dr. Arden Bement--I ought to be able to
pronounce that--Director of National Science Foundation, will
be addressing the Subcommittee this morning.
With that, we'll--Senator McCain, you said you did not want
an opening statement.
Senator McCain. Right.
Senator DeMint. Thank you.
OK, with that, we'll start with Dr. Semerjian. Please
provide a short summary of your testimony. All of your
testimonies will be submitted completely for the record.
Thank you, sir.
STATEMENT OF DR. HRATCH G. SEMERJIAN, ACTING
DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF STANDARDS AND TECHNOLOGY,
TECHNOLOGY ADMINISTRATION,
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
Dr. Semerjian. Thank you, Chairman DeMint and Senator
McCain.
I'm Hratch Semerjian, Acting Director of NIST. Thank you
for this opportunity to testify as part of this distinguished
panel about NIST's homeland security efforts.
Our history of supporting homeland- and national-security
efforts began shortly after NIST--National Bureau of Standards
then, as you pointed out--was founded, in 1901, and continues
today with about 100 programs supported by approximately $60
million in direct appropriations, augmented by significant
funding support from other agencies, such as the Department of
Homeland Security and Department of Justice. Our research is
coordinated with the Department of Homeland Security through a
Memorandum of Understanding that was signed in May of 2003.
Shortly after September 11, 2001, NIST building and fire
experts joined teams of scientists and engineers in assessment
of how the Pentagon and the World Trade Center buildings were
severely damaged or collapsed in the attacks. NIST experts
presented to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers a report of
recommendations for rebuilding and retrofitting the Pentagon
that would improve the Pentagon's resistance to similar
attacks. NIST also provided assistance through the New York
Medical Examiner in identifying victims of the World Trade
Center by validating existing methods and devising new DNA
analysis techniques to allow identifications that would not
otherwise have been possible due to small and degraded samples.
Later this month, we'll conclude our comprehensive
technical investigation into how the World Trade Center Towers
collapsed by issuing our findings and recommendations for
improvements to building and fire codes, standards, and
practices.
After the October 2001 bioterrorist attacks, NIST worked
with the federal agencies and the private sector to solve the
challenging problem of ensuring that commercial radiation
facilities could effectively sterilize U.S. mail contaminated
with anthrax. When the Hart Senate Office building was
contaminated with anthrax, NIST experts in ventilation systems
and indoor air quality modeled the flow patterns in the
building and helped the EPA with planning of the
decontamination efforts.
Subsequent to the attacks of 9/11, NIST has supported the
Nation's homeland security effort in a number of different
research areas. Today, I'd like to highlight just a few of
these for the Subcommittee. I have provided more details, of
course, in my written testimony. I should note that in all of
these efforts we work very closely with our colleagues in other
federal agencies.
As part of its fulfillment of the Patriot Act, NIST
conducted the fingerpoint vendor technology evaluation in 2003.
This program was the first large-scale evaluation of 34
different fingerprint matching systems. The evaluation, which
was based on fingerprint data from a variety of Federal and
State government sources, tested performance accuracy for
various numbers and types of fingerprints, and provided
valuable recommendations and input to the DHS's US-VISIT
program.
NIST has provided the common technical thread for the
development of several standards important to DHS and the
first-responder community. Our Office of Law Enforcement
Standards is facilitating communication's interoperability
efforts through the consensus standards process by employing a
structured approach for confronting interoperability
standardization issues. In response to Congress' call for
immediate standards for communications interoperability, NIST,
along with DHS and DOJ, has developed a partnership with
Project 25 Steering Committee made up of public-safety leaders
to either significantly accelerate the current P25 standards
development or to develop interim communications standards in
the absence of P25 standards.
NIST, working with DHS, IEEE--that's the Institute for
Electronics and Electronic Engineering--and the private sector
organized the necessary expertise and drafting of four new
national standards establishing baseline performance criteria
and testing requirements for radiation detection devices. The
specifications will ensure that ever-more-widely used detectors
will reliably discern above background levels of radiation at
ports of entry or other key locations.
Additionally, NIST served as the executive agent for the
Interagency Board for Equipment Standardization and
Interoperability, which was created by the Justice and Defense
Departments to advise federal, state, and local agencies on the
selection and use of the best available equipment and
procedures for first-responders.
The IAB designated NIST to coordinate the development of a
suite of eight standards for respiratory equipment, suits,
gloves, and other gear that protect first-responders against
chemical and biological hazards. These standards were announced
in February 2004.
NIST is also conducting research on a class of microsensors
that has the potential to serve as a cost-effective early-
warning system for toxic gases, and may also be applicable to
detection of vapors from explosive materials. NIST also
contributed and participated in the process to develop a
standard test method for handheld bioassays for detection of
anthrax, and is currently managing a supporting project to
develop sampling protocols for suspicious powders.
Finally, NIST is managing, for the Department of Homeland
Security, an effort to develop a standard for handheld devices
for detection of chemical warfare agents that could be used by
first-responders. This standard is currently being validated
through ASTM.
As the Committee can see by these examples, NIST has a very
diverse portfolio of research activity supporting our Nation's
homeland security efforts. NIST is working very closely with
DHS Science and Technology Directorate to coordinate our
research efforts and to ensure effective implementation. Our
long history of research supporting homeland and national
security has been critical for the development of an effective
deployment of new technologies to protect the homeland.
Once again, thank you for inviting me to testify, and I
will be happy to answer any questions you may have.
Thank you, Senator.
[The prepared statement of Dr. Semerjian follows:]
Prepared Statement of Dr. Hratch G. Semerjian, Acting Director,
National Institute of Standards and Technology, Technology
Administration, Department of Commerce
Introduction
Chairman DeMint and Members of the Committee, I am Hratch
Semerjian, Acting Director of the National Institute of Standards and
Technology (NIST), part of the Technology Administration of the
Department of Commerce. Thank you for this opportunity to testify about
the contributions of NIST to homeland security. In accomplishing this
and all parts of its mission, NIST works in many ways with companies,
universities, and other government agencies to help protect our Nation
against terrorism.
Since World War II, our Nation's greatest resources for homeland
and national security have been a strong economy and a technological
edge based on innovation. NIST has the unique mission of providing the
measurements and standards infrastructure that the private sector,
universities, and government agencies need to develop new technologies,
products and services, conduct research, and effectively carry out
their responsibilities. NIST measurements and standards and our support
of new technologies have strengthened our economy and enabled the
development and effective deployment of new homeland security
technologies.
NIST's long and productive history of supporting homeland and
national security efforts began shortly after its founding as the
National Bureau of Standards. Partly in response to the Baltimore fire
of 1904, Bureau researchers worked on the development of a national
standard for hose couplings as well as a standard for an
interchangeable device for nonstandard couplings. Other examples
include crucial support for the development of nuclear weapons,
aircraft instruments, and other technologies that helped the U.S.
succeed in past conflicts. With its long experience as well as a
diverse array of expertise, NIST was able to quickly respond to the
terrorist attacks of 2001.
NIST currently has about 100 programs, supported by approximately
$60 million in direct appropriations augmented by significant funding
support from other agencies. This research is coordinated with the
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) through a Memorandum of
Understanding signed in 2003 between former Under Secretary for
Technology, Phillip Bond, and Under Secretary for Science and
Technology at DHS, Charles McQueary. In addition, other long standing
relationships with the Department of Justice, the State Department, the
National Security Agency, and the Office of Management and Budget also
ensure that NIST's research is sufficiently coordinated. NIST's
homeland security research spans the following areas:
Chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, explosive
threat detection and remediation
Safety of buildings and structures
Safety and effectiveness of emergency responders
Transportation system safety
Information security
Critical infrastructure protection
Biometric identification
DNA identification and diagnostics
This afternoon I would like to describe NIST's response to 9/11,
and then share just a few examples of other NIST research supporting
homeland security.
NIST Response to 9/11 and the World Trade Center Report
As I previously stated NIST responses to the terrorist attacks of
2001 were swift. Shortly after September 11, 2001, NIST building and
fire experts joined teams of scientists and engineers in assessment of
how the Pentagon as well as the World Trade Center buildings were
severely damaged or collapsed in the attacks. Two months later, NIST
experts presented to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers a report of
recommendations for rebuilding and retrofitting the Pentagon that would
improve the Pentagon's resistance to similar attacks. NIST also
provided assistance to the New York City medical examiner in
identifying victims of the World Trade Center by validating existing
methods and devising new DNA analysis techniques to allow
identifications that would not otherwise have been possible due to
small and degraded samples. In addition, NIST contributed expertise on
life-cycle cost analysis and priority setting that are key components
of the risk assessment guide issued by the Federal Emergency Management
Agency (FEMA) to mitigate potential terrorist attacks against
buildings.
After the October 2001 bioterrorist attacks, NIST worked with
federal agencies and the private sector to ensure that commercial
radiation facilities could effectively sterilize U.S. mail contaminated
with anthrax. NIST worked with the Armed Forces Radiobiology Research
Institute in Bethesda, the U.S. Postal Service, and other agencies to
solve this challenging problem.
When the Hart Senate Office Building in Washington, DC was
contaminated with anthrax, NIST experts in ventilation systems and
indoor air quality modeled the different ways air flow in the building
may have disseminated the anthrax spores. These models helped the
Environmental Protection Agency plan the decontamination of the
building. Since then, similar models have been used to evaluate
protection technologies such as air filters, air cleaners, and sensor-
driven ventilation systems, and one was incorporated into the Immune
Building Toolkit developed by the Defense Advanced Research Projects
Agency (DARPA).
The collapse of New York City's World Trade Center structures was
among the worst building disasters in recorded history. As part of its
larger effort to save lives in future terrorist attacks or natural
disasters, NIST has been carrying out a response plan with three parts:
A building and fire safety investigation of the probable
causes of the WTC tower collapse after terrorists flew jet-fuel
laden airliners into the buildings, and the associated
evacuation and emergency response procedures.
A research and development program to provide the technical
basis for improved building and fire codes, standards, and
practices.
A dissemination and technical assistance program to engage
leaders of the construction and building community in
implementing proposed changes to practices, standards and
codes.
The investigation was conducted with $16 million in funding by the
U.S. Congress from an emergency supplemental appropriation and
transferred to NIST from FEMA. It builds on the findings and
recommendations of an earlier WTC building performance study conducted
jointly by FEMA and the American Society of Civil Engineers.
The investigation's analysis, which is the most detailed
examination of a building failure ever conducted, established the
probable sequences for the collapse of each tower:
1. The aircraft impact severed perimeter columns, damaged
interior core columns, and dislodged fireproofing off
structural beams.
2. The fires, which were initiated by jet fuel but fed by
building contents such as furniture and paper, weakened the
building core.
3. The fires also weakened floors, which sagged and pulled
inward on the perimeter columns.
4. The fire weakened perimeter columns bowed inward and buckled
due to the floor pull-in forces, leading to collapse.
Along with this analysis, NIST released in April drafts of 15
reports from three projects of the investigation:
Analysis of building and fire codes and practices
Occupant behavior, egress and emergency communications
Fire service technologies and guidelines
Recommendations for improvements to building and fire codes,
standards and practices derived from these and the other five projects
in the investigation will be released for public comment later this
month, along with the draft of the final investigation report and
drafts of 27 reports from the remaining five projects.
Additional Homeland Security Research
NIST, with its diverse research portfolio is also supporting the
Nation's homeland security efforts in a number of ways that are not
directly related to the attacks of 9/11.
Cybersecurity
Cybersecurity work at NIST plays a key role in addressing the
urgent need to improve the cybersecurity posture of the Nation, and in
particular that of the Federal Government. Some examples of recent and
continuing NIST work in this field are:
NIST is developing minimum security controls for all federal
computer systems. This effort will have a huge impact on the
Nation. These minimum security controls will be mandatory for
federal agencies, although we expect they may become a de facto
standard in the private sector as well.
NIST continues to publish a wide range of cybersecurity
standards and guidelines, which are available free on NIST's
Web site. These are frequently used by the private sector,
state and local governments, and even some foreign governments.
Our contingency planning guideline alone was downloaded more
than 400,000 times during the first year it was available.
Homeland Security Presidential Directive #12, which mandates
a common identification standard for all federal employees and
contractors, requires NIST to develop a series of standards
leading to reliable and secure ``smart cards.'' NIST computer
security specialists worked closely with other federal
agencies--including the Office of Management and Budget, the
Office of Science and Technology Policy, and the Departments of
Defense, State, Justice, and Homeland Security--as well as
private industry, to develop Federal Information Processing
Standard 201, Personal Identity Verification of Federal
Employees and Contractors.
NIST is supporting the Small Business Administration in
security outreach activities to small businesses.
NIST is developing cryptographic standards for ``constrained
environments.'' An example is a ``smart card'' with limited
memory and little or no computing power.
NIST is beginning work to develop security checklists for
computer systems that control buildings and manufacturing
processes.
NIST is developing the National Vulnerability Database, a
comprehensive information technology database and search engine
that integrates all publicly available U.S. Government
vulnerability resources and provides links to industry
resources.
NIST is working to develop metrics for the effectiveness of
software assurance tools, and assessing current methods and
tools in order to identify deficiencies which can lead to
software product failures and vulnerabilities.
NIST continues to develop security guidelines/best practices
on risk assessment, media destruction and sanitization, desktop
IT security scenarios, and malware mitigation measures.
Additionally, NIST's Hollings Manufacturing Extension Partnership
is beginning its outreach activities to small and medium sized
manufacturers by providing them guidance with vulnerability
assessments, business continuity, and supply chain implications.
Biometrics
As part of its fulfillment of the Patriot Act, NIST conducted the
Fingerprint Vendor Technology Evaluation in 2003. The 18 competing
companies used 34 different fingerprint matching systems. The
evaluation, which was based on fingerprint data from a variety of U.S.
and State Government sources, tested performance accuracy for various
numbers and types of fingerprints.
The evaluation demonstrated the significance of fingerprint quality
as well as the number of fingers used. (The matching accuracy using
four fingers was better than the accuracy using only two fingers, which
in turn was better than single-finger matching.) The test also showed
that the most accurate fingerprint systems perform better than the most
accurate facial recognition systems, even when using only a single
fingerprint.
NIST's key Patriot Act recommendations included in the report to
Congress titled ``Use of Technology Standards and Interoperable
Databases with Machine-Readable, Tamper-Resistant Travel Documents''
dated February 2003:
1. For verification (``one-to-one matching'' to establish that
the person is who he/she claims to be), NIST recommends one
face image and two index fingerprints.
2. For identification (``one-to-many matching'' to find the
identity of a person in a large database), NIST recommends ten
slap fingerprint images for enrollment and checking of large
databases. Face images are not recommended.
The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2005, provided an increase of
$2.0 million to NIST's biometric program. This new funding will allow
NIST to begin testing the accuracy of multimodal systems, develop
guidelines for testing fingerprint segmentation methods, and
determining the influence of multiple images on the accuracy of facial
biometrics.
Radiation detectors
NIST, in cooperation with the American National Standards Institute
(ANSI), has an extensive program to develop and support standards for
the radiation detectors used by first responders and for other homeland
security applications. The standards will help first responders and
government agencies make better use of existing equipment and acquire
the right equipment for emergency response, and they will encourage
manufacturers to better design instruments and represent their
specifications to agency and responder buyers.
This program includes:
Leadership in the development of the four ANSI standards
that are currently released. These standards cover electronic
personal alarming detectors (called ``pagers''), personal
radiation dosimeters, portable instruments, radionuclide
identifiers (specialized devices that can identify specific
radioactive materials), and portal monitors.
Ongoing development of newer standards, such as for portal
monitors with radionuclide identification.
Leadership in the development of test and evaluation
protocols for determining whether such radiation detectors meet
the technical requirements of the new ANSI standards.
As an example of the application of the new standards, NIST
recently tested 31 commercial detectors, including hand-held survey
meters, pagers, and radionuclide identifiers. Federal, state, and local
agencies are using such instruments as part of homeland security-
related efforts to detect and identify radioactive materials. The tests
determined that portable radiation detectors generally perform well
against the new consensus standards but provided inaccurate readings
for certain types of radiation. Researchers compared the device
readings to NIST measurements for different radiations levels. The
majority of the detectors agreed with NIST-measured values but some
detectors tested had a large discrepancy in readings for the lowest-
energy X-rays, and were much larger than those stated in manufacturers'
specifications.
Other examples of NIST work related on radiation detectors include
the following:
Technical guidance for emergency responders.
Development of a test bed for evaluating hand-held
radiological detectors and truck portal monitors.
Development of NIST-traceable test sources for gamma rays
and neutrons used in calibrations of detectors.
Development of methods, testing materials, standard
reference materials, and measurement validations for
radiological clean-up and mitigation.
Public Safety Communications Interoperability
NIST's Office of Law Enforcement Standards (OLES) is the common
technical thread that is working to facilitate local, state, and
federal communications interoperability efforts through the consensus
standards process. Funded through SAFECOM, a program of DHS's Science
and Technology Directorate's Office for Interoperability and
Compatability, the Department of Justice's Community Oriented Policing
Service, and the Advanced Generation of Interoperability for Law
Enforcement (AGILE) program, OLES has been employing a structured
approach for confronting interoperability standardization issues. This
standardization strategy is centered on the development of an
architectural framework that satisfies the real-world requirements of
public safety responders. The framework defines the overall structured
approach for facilitating interoperability. Functional Standards (in
the form of Interface Specifications) then define the details of the
structure, and indicate how the architecture (and its components) will
operate. Although progress has been slow in the development of these
standards, significant progress has been achieved within the last year.
OLES helped to complete the Public Safety Statement of Requirements for
Wireless Communications and Interoperability on behalf of SAFECOM in
March 2004. This is the first comprehensive, practitioner-accepted,
record of the telecommunication needs of the public safety community
within and across local, state, federal, and tribal boundaries.
Additionally, OLES on behalf of DHS SAFECOM, produced a draft of an
architectural framework which is in essence a map that shows a network
of networks and a system of systems approach which will be employed by
public safety in the future. In response to Congress' call for
immediate standards for communications interoperability, NIST, along
with DHS and DOJ, have developed a partnership with public safety
leadership to either significantly accelerate the current P25 standards
development or develop interim communications standards in the absence
of P25 standards. Additionally, Congress requested that SAFECOM produce
a report on the plan for accelerating the development of national
voluntary consensus standards for public safety interoperable
communications. It is expected that because of the recent efforts by
NIST and its partners, key interoperability standards will be published
by the end of 2005, and products employing these standards would be
available by the end of 2006.
Operations in Collapsed Buildings
In 2001, search-and-rescue robots that had been tested on a special
NIST course penetrated areas too small and too hazardous for emergency
responders to locate remains of several victims at the World Trade
Center site. At that time, NIST already had expertise with collapsed
buildings, including setting up competitions designed to accelerate the
development and testing of urban search-and-rescue robots. Last year,
NIST organized competitions in New Orleans, San Jose, and Lisbon,
Portugal. More broadly, NIST has launched a DHS-funded multi-year
program to develop comprehensive standards and performance metrics for
urban search-and-rescue robots.
Collapsed buildings also present a significant problem in terms of
radio communications. First responders who rely on radio communications
often lose signals in shielded or complex environments such as in steel
and reinforced concrete high-rise structures, and in the basements or
elevator shafts of buildings. It also is very difficult to detect radio
signals through the dense rubble of a building that has collapsed as a
result of natural disasters or terrorist attacks. To simulate disaster
environments, NIST is using real-world ``laboratories''--buildings that
are scheduled to be imploded as part of construction and recycling
projects--such as the old Washington Convention Center and Veterans
Stadium in Philadelphia. After the implosion, NIST researchers studied
various schemes for detecting signals by searching with directional
antennas and by connecting detectors to metal debris found within the
rubble of the building. A technical report on these experiments will be
published this summer.
Forensic Analysis of Magnetic Audio Tapes
NIST recently developed a real-time magnetic imaging system that
enables crime investigators to ``see'' signs of tampering in audio
tapes, such as erasing and overdubbing. The new system, which permits
faster screening and more accurate audiotape analysis than previously
possible, was recently delivered to the Federal Bureau of Investigation
(FBI) Forensic Audio Analysis, which receives hundreds of audiotapes
annually for analysis. Representing evidence from crimes such as
terrorism, homicide and fraud, these tapes come from a wide variety of
devices, including answering machines, cassette recorders and digital
audiotape recorders. The benefits of the NIST system are its speed in
correlating sounds with magnetic marks on tape, and the fact that it
makes an image without damaging the tape.
Detection of Explosives and Toxic Chemicals
The cost and size of devices for detecting toxic airborne chemicals
largely limits them to specialized equipment designed for use by the
military or by first responders to chemical spills. In the event of an
attack involving toxic chemical agents--such as the sarin gas attack in
a Tokyo subway station--such portable detectors typically would not
arrive on the scene until after victims had been harmed.
NIST is conducting research on a class of microsensors that has the
potential to serve as a cost-effective early warning system for toxic
gases and may also be applicable to the detection of vapors from
explosive materials. The NIST devices use an array of microscopic
hotplates coated with a film that is sensitive to ambient chemicals. A
key advantage of this technology is that various types of films can be
combined with multiple types of temperature cycles. An array of
hotplates can thus produce a ``signature'' that can be matched against
a library of chemical signatures to identify both the type and
concentration of the toxic gas. Another advantage is that the
microsensors can be produced inexpensively with electronic processing
circuits built in. Preliminary testing at the Army's Edgewood Arsenal
has confirmed that 1-part-per-million sensitivity is feasible with
actual chemical warfare agents.
Standards Development Organizations
Besides the research done in our laboratories, NIST works with
private sector Standards Development Organizations (SDO's) on the
implementation of homeland security standards.
NIST assisted the DHS Science and Technology Directorate,
Standards Portfolio in developing and implementing a formal
procedure for the adoption of standards.
NIST is assisting DHS in the coordination of public and
private resources for the development of technical standards
that support homeland security. The primary focus of this
coordination is the American National Standards Institute's
Homeland Security Standards Panel, which is co-chaired by Mary
Saunders of the NIST Standards Services Division.
NIST recently leveraged its technical expertise in ion
mobility spectrometry (IMS) to establish minimum performance
requirements and an associated test method for detectors of
trace explosives based on IMS. Although some first responders
already use IMS trace detection equipment, a documentary
standard was needed to address the wide variety of possible
future uses. The standard was developed with input from six
detector manufacturers, state and local government agencies,
federal agencies such as the U.S. Coast Guard, the Bureau of
Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the
Transportation Security Administration, and security
professionals such as the U.S. Secret Service.
Conclusion
As the Committee can see by the few examples I have cited, NIST has
a very diverse portfolio of research activities supporting our Nation's
homeland security effort. After the terrorist attacks of 9/11, NIST
responded to the research challenges it faced. NIST's long history of
research supporting homeland and national security is helping to enable
the development and effective deployment of new technologies to protect
the homeland. Once again thank you for inviting me to testify about
NIST's activities and I would be happy to answer any questions you may
have.
Senator DeMint. We'll save our questions until we finish
the panel.
Admiral.
STATEMENT OF VICE ADMIRAL CONRAD C. LAUTENBACHER, JR., U.S.
NAVY (RETIRED), UNDER SECRETARY OF
COMMERCE FOR OCEANS AND ATMOSPHERE;
ADMINISTRATOR, NOAA
Admiral Lautenbacher. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, Senator
Nelson, and staff members. It's a great pleasure and privilege
to be able to testify today before you about NOAA's
contributions to the national homeland security mission.
NOAA is a science-based agency, but provides service to our
country 24-by-7. That 24-by-7 information underpins 30 percent
of our GDP, so it's extremely important to our economic
security, as well as our physical security. We work hard to
ensure that we meet those demands that the economy and society
places on us.
We have a list of capabilities, of over 50, that are vital
to the security of this Nation. With the time limits that I
have, I will mention a few, and there are others that are
listed in our--in my formal testimony, for the record.
In addition, because of the importance of this information
to the economy, we work very hard at our internal security. We
need to ensure that the information provided for the--running
the economy is available 24-by-7, and we have spent the last
several years ensuring the continuity of that data to all
segments of society.
The first topic I'd like to mention is alerts and public
warnings. The National Weather Service branch of NOAA has
something called the NOAA Weather Radio. That is the only
system in our Nation that goes directly into every home, every
school, every fire station, and all of the press. It provides
those alerts and warnings that you see across your television
that tells you you're going to have a severe thunderstorm or
there's going to be lightning or hail or a tornado or a
hurricane, flooding. That system is alarmed, and is--now covers
98 percent of our country.
We have signed, this last year, a memorandum of agreement
with the Department of Homeland Security to make that part of
the national warning system, so that, as of today, all types of
hazards that can affect our communities are inserted into NOAA
Weather Radio. So, if you have a NOAA Weather Radio, you'll be
warned of chemical spills, of any biohazards, of significant
local events. It goes into all of our weather forecast offices.
And any event, whether it's natural or manmade or of a
terrorist nature, will be available for alerting the public on
NOAA Weather Radio, All Hazards.
We also have an agreement with the Department of Education
and DHS to provide the NOAA Weather Radio to public schools in
selected areas. We're looking to make sure that eventually all
schools in the United States have these radios available for
building emergency plans.
Let me move on to forecasts and dispersion modeling. One of
the more interesting issues that we have for natural disasters,
as well as manmade disasters, is what happens when chemicals or
dangerous substances get into the atmosphere. What types of
forecasts do we need to ensure the safety and security of our
Nation? We have built numerical models of the atmosphere, which
is what we're strong into, as our charge is for weather
information. It's used for flight planning, ship routing,
energy distribution, as well as many other activities. Our air-
dispersion models help emergency planners detect and track
chemical, biological, and radiological hazards, as well.
First-responders can use laptop applications that we've
developed to be able to tell where a plume, a hazardous plume,
will be going, and track it, and use it to be able to develop
evacuations and mitigation procedures for our towns and cities
across the Nation. We are now conducting a pilot program to
integrate realtime weather models with hazardous-plume
predictions, so it can be simultaneously provided to all
forecast offices and all emergency managers across the country.
We have a special operation going in here, in Washington.
We call it DCNet. It is a system for taking data in the urban
canyons of our major city here, of Washington, and building
models that will allow us to provide the micro-level
information for accurate evacuation and homeland security in
Washington. During the 2005 Presidential inauguration, NOAA and
DHS closely monitored this information, and it was
instantaneously available for anything that might need to be
covered during the inauguration procedures.
We have conducted major atmospheric dispersion field
studies with other federal agencies in a number of cities
across the country. We also are doing the same kinds of
modeling for fluid mechanical models in the ocean and our
coasts, which are very important in harbor areas and for safety
of seafood and our water-quality issues for bathers.
Let me move on to remote sensing. We have started to
evaluate a Predator B aircraft to look at ways to obtain
continuous data for oceanic and atmospheric research, for
nautical charting, to tell what's going on, as well as
fisheries assessment and enforcement. This is dual-use
technology that's of value both to security, as well as to
environmental monitoring. We believe that the same systems that
we can use for national security are valuable, as well, for
environmental monitoring, and we are working together with DHS
and the services to further explore the value of remote sensing
devices.
The Integrated Ocean Observing System and something called
Maritime Domain Awareness. We have a program to develop an
Integrated Ocean Observing System. We believe, as we did with
the--I mentioned the Predator--use of the Predator--that this
is a system of dual usage again. It includes buoys in the
water, underwater listening devices, as well as satellite
passes, aviation monitoring of the atmosphere around our
coasts. That system can pick up a great deal of information for
what people in Maritime Domain Awareness call a ``common
operating picture'' of understanding what's going on in our
coasts.
We also have built into our capability for surveying our
harbors and our coasts. Remember, NOAA is the agency that
produces all the charts for bringing the ships--our $1 trillion
maritime industry depends on that information. NOAA performed
the baseline assessments after 9/11 to ensure that--for our--
half of the country--Navy did half, Coast Guard did part, and
we did half--to ensure there were no mines or other types of
potential hazards in the water to our ports. We are now
building a way to do that much more rapidly and safely by the
use of autonomous underwater vehicles and autonomous surface
vehicles to enhance the speed of survey and ensuring that we
understand exactly what's in our port, in our channels, in our
harbors as our ships come and go.
We have implemented something called a National Vessel
Monitoring System that goes with--it's in concert with an ocean
observing system. This was designed to keep track of fishing
vessels, the fishing fleet, the civilian fishing fleet that's
out there, but it is, in fact, a way to track all sorts of
things that are going on. The system, itself, uses satellite
communications. A global positioning system reports back to a
central command center. And it allows us to keep track of where
fishing vessels are, or are not, and what they're doing, so
that we can maintain integrity of our fishing rules and
regulations. It's also a system that allows us to tell what's
going on in any case in those waters, because our fishing fleet
goes from the coast of Maine to the Bering Sea in Alaska, and
provides realtime data for the Coast Guard to work on for
enforcement.
We've also installed radio transmitters on buoys that we
have in the near coast that directly connects the Coast Guard
to their automatic information system, so that these buoys act
as transponders, so that the Coast Guard can gain a picture,
operating picture, further out into the EEZ and maintain our
security defenses farther away from our coasts.
And one last point is response. We have a wide range of
response capabilities. And, for instance, after the hurricanes
that we had last season, we deployed something we call
Navigation Response Teams. These are quick-reaction teams that
can go out and open ports and harbors from changes that might
have occurred, or at least survey and provide the proper
information to our ships and maritime industry that uses the
coasts. We can do this quickly. We helped reopen the Gulf Coast
ports and their East Coast ports within several days after the
hurricanes passed, this last year.
With that, I wish to conclude my testimony and, again,
thank the Committee for their support of NOAA and our programs.
And I stand by to answer your questions.
Thank you.
[The prepared statement of Admiral Lautenbacher follows:]
Prepared Statement of Vice Admiral Conrad Lautenbacher, Jr., U.S. Navy
(Retired), Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere;
Administrator, NOAA
Mr. Chairman and Members of the Committee, I am Conrad
Lautenbacher, Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration (NOAA) of the Department of Commerce. Thank you for the
opportunity to appear before you today to discuss NOAA's contributions
to the national homeland security mission. I am proud to lead a team of
men and women whose daily activities advance our homeland security and
strongly believe NOAA's contribution is of tremendous benefit to the
United States.
Although NOAA is best known as a premier science and service agency
whose mission is to describe and predict changes in the Earth's
environment, NOAA's expertise and services can be applied to many other
areas, including national security. NOAA's responsibilities for the
environment, safety, and commerce of this Nation span the oceans,
coasts, and atmosphere. The capabilities that are part of NOAA's
standard daily operations often are vital during times of emergency.
NOAA has established a Homeland Security Program Office to serve as
the principle point of contact for NOAA regarding homeland security
programs across the entire Agency. This office coordinates homeland
security programs, ensures continuity of operations, and prepares for
continued delivery of services during emergencies.
NOAA Homeland Security Products and Services
After reviewing the full range of its capabilities, NOAA has
identified more than 50 capabilities that could immediately advance the
Nation's homeland security efforts. NOAA leverages these already
existing programs, technologies, and expertise in new and innovative
ways to assist the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and has
actively partnered with many other agencies (state, local and federal)
to address homeland security issues. I will review a few of our
contributions.
Alerts and Public Warnings
The National Weather Service broadcasts warnings, watches,
forecasts, and other hazard information regarding tornados, flash
floods, and other potential life-threatening situations 24 hours a day,
7 days a week, via a nationwide network of radio stations. NOAA
coordinates these warnings and advisories with the Federal Emergency
Management Agency. Working with the Federal Communications Commission's
Emergency Alert System, the NOAA Weather Radio was expanded to serve as
an ``all hazards'' radio network. In June 2004 this system's
capabilities were further expanded to allow DHS to send critical all-
hazards alerts and warnings directly through the NOAA All-Hazards
Network. The NOAA All-Hazards Network consists of over 950 radio
transmitters located throughout the United States and U.S. possessions
and territories, allowing the transmission of weather watches,
warnings, and advisories as well as non-meteorological civil emergency
messages to over 97 percent of the population. NOAA Weather Radio/All-
Hazards now provides alerts for both natural (severe storms,
hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes, and volcanic activity) and
environmental (chemical spills and bio-hazardous releases) events. The
all-hazards capability is being implemented through agreements with
local, state, and federal emergency managers and first responders. NOAA
is presently developing a capability to reduce the time it takes for an
emergency manager to input a hazard warning into NOAA Weather Radio/
All-Hazards. This will reduce the input time from 7 minutes to less
than 2 minutes. This capability will allow emergency managers direct
access to the Emergency Alert System via NOAA Weather Radio/All-
Hazards, and is expected to be fully operational in Fiscal Year 2006.
To complement this new homeland security messaging capability, we
will work with DHS and the U.S. Department of Education to provide NOAA
Weather/All-Hazard Radios to public schools in select top urban areas
and two rural states during National Preparedness Month in September
2005.
In addition to the traditional weather radio that many are familiar
with, NOAA Weather Radio/All-Hazards receivers can be integrated into
devices to turn on alarms, lights, bed shakers, and other equipment
especially useful for the hearing impaired community and those with
special needs. RCA/Thomson has developed a new line of televisions,
called AlertGuard, which integrate a NOAA Weather Radio/All-Hazards
receiver into television sets.
DHS is leading the effort to develop a government-wide plan for the
Integrated Public Alert and Warning System (IPAWS). Public warnings
save lives by informing, reducing fear, and assisting emergency
managers. There are many warning systems in place across the country,
and while each of these systems can reach the public directly, no one
system reaches everyone. NOAA information dissemination systems,
including NOAA Weather/All-Hazards Radio, as well as information posted
directly on the Internet and supplied to radio and television stations,
will be a part of a larger integrated national emergency warning
system.
In response to the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami, NOAA is committed to
expand the U.S. Tsunami Warning Program to protect U.S. lives and
property along all coasts (Pacific, Atlantic, Gulf of Mexico, and
Caribbean). In order to continue the Administration's commitment to
strengthen the Tsunami Warning Program and mitigate potential impacts
from a similar tsunami event in the U.S., NOAA will build on its
existing foundation of sensors. NOAA will accomplish this by deploying
39 additional Deep-ocean Assessment and Reporting of Tsunamis (DART)
buoy systems strategically sited in the Pacific, Atlantic, and
Caribbean basins. Data from DART buoys will aid U.S. tsunami
forecasters in providing detailed tsunami forecasts. The enhanced
program will also aid tsunami hazard mitigation actions including
inundation flood mapping, evacuation mapping, and community-based
public education, awareness, and preparedness. NOAA will operate and
maintain the expanded DART system, new sea-level monitoring stations,
and the upgraded local seismic networks from the 24/7 West Coast/Alaska
Tsunami Warning and Pacific Tsunami Warning Centers.
Forecasts and Dispersion Modeling
NOAA forecasts include the creation of numerical models of the
atmosphere used for flight planning, ship routing, and energy
distribution. These numerical forecasts are used to model the
dispersion of airborne hazardous materials such as volcanic ash,
industrial chemical releases, and radiological accidents.
NOAA's operational air dispersion models help emergency planners
detect and track chemical, biological, and radiological hazards in the
atmosphere. When an event occurs, first responders can use laptop
applications for hazardous material (hazmat) modeling of industrial
chemicals on scene and NOAA regional models accessible through the
local Weather Forecast Office.
One of NOAA's major contributions in emergency preparation and
response is the software program CAMEO (Computer-Aided Management of
Emergency Operations). Jointly designed with the Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA), CAMEO is widely used by firefighters and
serves as a primary tool in preparing for and responding to chemical
incidents. An updated version of CAMEO was released in March 2004. It
contains a chemical database of over 6,000 hazardous chemicals with
chemical-specific information on fire and explosive hazards, health
hazards, firefighting techniques, cleanup procedures, and protective
clothing. NOAA and EPA are expanding the CAMEO chemical database to
include information on weapons of mass destruction. The ALOHA (Areal
Locations of Hazardous Atmospheres) atmospheric dispersion model is a
computer program used in conjunction with the CAMEO to predict how a
hazardous gas cloud might disperse in the atmosphere after a chemical
release based on the physical characteristics of the released chemical
and atmospheric conditions. The program can display the location of
facilities storing hazardous materials as well as buildings of high
concern, such as hospitals and schools. ALOHA is being expanded to
predict the impact of fires and explosions.
NOAA's Air Resources Laboratory and Hazmat program are in the early
stages of developing a Chemical Threat Analysis Planner to improve our
ability to evaluate potential threats from hazardous material releases
using the HYSPLIT dispersion model in conjunction with the CAMEO
database. Additional future developments will fully integrate CAMEO/
ALOHA with national-level emergency information management systems
including the Interagency Modeling and Atmospheric Assessment Center
(IMAAC).
Under the National Response Plan, the IMAAC is the single source of
federal hazards prediction information during the response and recovery
phase of Incidents of National Significance for atmospheric transport
and dispersion of hazardous releases. NOAA is working with DHS to
develop procedures to organize and coordinate federal emergency
response through this Center, providing decision-makers with custom
products and a single point of contact for all-hazards dispersion
modeling predictions and assessments. NOAA and DHS are working to
integrate CAMEO/ALOHA and HYSPLIT into the suite of IMAAC.
NOAA is conducting a pilot program to integrate real-time weather
models and hazardous plume predictions to provide DHS with the ability
to identify specific areas to issue targeted homeland security alerts
and warnings using reverse 911 technologies. In this pilot program,
called Geo-Targeted Alerting System (GTAS), forecasters at the NOAA
Weather Forecast Office located in Sterling, Virginia will provide DHS
with toxic plume dispersion information. Given the dispersion forecast
of a toxic cloud, DHS officials will be able to select several
``targeted'' warning areas to provide specific public safety
information for each area using applications developed by NOAA's
Forecast Systems Laboratory.
Monitoring stations have been installed in Washington, DC, to
support one of the first dispersion forecasting systems specifically
designed for urban areas. These stations, known as DCNet, collect and
analyze standard meteorological data (as well as wind speed, direction,
and turbulence data) at frequent intervals to help define downwind
areas of potential high risk. In doing so, DCNet allows users to gain a
better understanding of how hazardous trace gases and particles are
dispersed in urban areas. During the 2005 Presidential Inauguration,
NOAA and DHS closely monitored this information, which was then
immediately available for dispersion model runs in the event of an
incident.
NOAA has provided much of the Nation's atmospheric tracer expertise
since the 1950s. The center of excellence resides within the Air
Resources Laboratory (ARL) at Idaho Falls, Idaho where the ARL Field
Research Division is located. In recent years, the ARL team has
conducted field studies in Salt Lake City and Oklahoma City, to support
the major atmospheric dispersion field studies conducted under the
sponsorship of a number of agencies, led by DOE, DHS, and DoD. In the
last two years, studies have been conducted in New York City and in
Washington, DC Building upon them, the ARL team is about to engage in a
new round of fieldwork, again focusing on New York City and Washington,
DC The DC work will be concentrating on the Pentagon and its
surroundings (sponsored by DoD), the New York project will focus on
midtown Manhattan (sponsored by DHS).
The New York City study also involves two other ARL groups, located
at Oak Ridge, Tennessee, and Research Triangle Park, North Carolina.
The Oak Ridge group is leading the design of a surface meteorological
network to help guide the development of local dispersion forecasting
(an extension of the DCNet experience in Washington DC), sponsored by
DHS. The Research Triangle Park group is conducting Comprehensive Fluid
Modeling studies and wind tunnel physical modeling investigations, both
sponsored by EPA.
Remote Sensing
NOAA continues to use Light Detection and Ranging or Lidar, a
technique similar to Radar, using lasers for mapping terrain elevation
features and high quality aerial photography to collect data in support
of homeland security surveys. Specifically, these technologies can be
used to protect critical infrastructure, aid in disaster response and
recovery efforts, verify dispersion modeling and provide support for
special security events.
Currently NOAA is evaluating a remotely operated aircraft (ROA) for
future science and operational requirements within the Agency related
to oceanic and atmospheric research, climate research, marine sanctuary
mapping and enforcement, nautical charting, and fisheries assessment
and enforcement. The platform NOAA is using is a variant of the General
Atomics Aeronautical System's Predator B, a high-altitude, long-
endurance ROA that has successfully supported Operation Iraqi Freedom.
NOAA worked with the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) to ensure the common
operating areas and requirements both agencies shared were incorporated
into the ongoing planning and operational flights. This interaction has
resulted in both agencies leveraging their expertise and resources to
carefully evaluate the potential benefits ROAs may provide for both
agencies' operational requirements.
NOAA demonstrated the support ROAs could provide through streaming
video from a ROA operating off the coast of California and provided to
the Homeland Security Operations Center (HSOC) in Washington, DC While
only an initial demonstration, NOAA fed live video imagery over a
satellite Internet connection to NOAA's Boulder, Colorado facility and
then directly to the HSOC, showing the potential these platforms can
provide for both incident and situational management.
Integrated Ocean Observing System and Maritime Domain Awareness
NOAA has assisted the U.S. Coast Guard and the U.S. Navy in
implementing the Maritime Domain Awareness (MDA) Program, to develop a
national strategy to ensure interagency coordination of homeland
security policy and requirements in marine areas. MDA includes anything
associated with the global and coastal maritime environment that could
adversely impact the security, safety, economy, or environment of the
United States. This knowledge is used both operationally in the
planning and execution of homeland security missions, and by
researchers supporting the development of new homeland security
capabilities.
To meet a wide range of societal needs, our country has embarked on
a program to develop an Integrated Ocean Observing System (IOOS). IOOS
is the integration of existing and planned observing systems to meet
common research and operational agency needs in the following areas:
Detecting and forecasting oceanic components of climate
variability
Facilitating safe and efficient marine operations
Ensuring national and homeland security
Managing resources for sustainable use
Preserving and restoring healthy marine ecosystems
Mitigating natural hazards
Ensuring public health
The backbone network of coastal observations can be of dual use in
supporting both civil and homeland security objectives. IOOS will
enhance national and homeland security in our coastal waters and ports
through improving Maritime Domain Awareness and through improved
observations and predictions of the ocean environments in which
homeland security operations take place.
On September 24, 2004, Admiral James Loy, Deputy Secretary of the
Department of Homeland Security, and Paul McHale, Assistant Secretary
of Defense for Homeland Defense, convened the first meeting of the MDA
Senior Steering Group. Admiral Loy's opening comments addressed the
urgent nature of the job at hand, the need to draw on the resources of
supporting agencies, and the move beyond study to deployable
capabilities. He made reference to the roll out of the U.S. Commission
on Ocean Policy Report and noted the reference to an IOOS. He remarked,
``If that's not Maritime Domain Awareness, I don't know what is.''
Admiral Loy recognizes interagency capabilities can be leveraged for a
proactive, forward deployed maritime defense.
As a part of this overall program, USCG and NOAA are developing
marine two-way communications systems on NOAA data buoys to relay
Automated Identification Signals (AIS) through satellite links to the
USCG for vessel tracking. AIS is a shipboard system that broadcasts
vessel data such as name, course, speed, and call sign to other AIS
vessels and stations for collision avoidance at sea. AIS previously was
only carried by VHF signal and therefore had a limited range. The
installation of satellite relays on NOAA data buoys will expand the
USCG capability to monitor and track vessels approaching U.S.
territorial waters well beyond the line of site limit for VHF.
NOAA officers, ships, and Navigation Response Teams surveyed the
shipping channels of over 30 strategic commercial ports in 2002 to
collect high-resolution imagery requested by the U.S. Navy. These
surveys provide the baseline data of pre-existing objects so mine
countermeasure assets can be utilized more effectively to determine if
a mine has been placed on the sea floor. Using hydrographic survey
techniques, NOAA is working with the Navy and USCG to improve our mine
detection capabilities in ports. NOAA and the Defense Counter Terrorism
Technology Support Office are developing an Underwater Domain Awareness
capability for ports, harbors and inland waterways. This partnership
will support USCG with rapid response capabilities to better detect and
classify underwater threats and enhance their ability to ensure safe
and secure waterways critical for the transit of military and
commercial vessels. In the next phase of this partnership, we will be
focusing on Autonomous Underwater Vehicles and Autonomous Surface
Vehicles to improve the speed and flexibility of response and protect
survey personnel by providing greater stand-off during higher risk
surveys. Remotely Operated Vehicles will be used for underwater surveys
to localize and identify detected anomalous objects.
NOAA has implemented a national Vessel Monitoring System (VMS)
program that provides infrastructure, economies of scale and
coordination across National Marine Fisheries Service (NOAA Fisheries)
regions and offices. The expanded use of VMS provides one of the
strongest potential solutions to supplement traditional enforcement
activities. This system provides near-real time fishing vessel
monitoring, control and surveillance throughout the U.S. Exclusive
Economic Zone (EEZ), Pacific Ocean, and Atlantic Ocean. It also
provides critical, life saving, information to the Coast Guard in
support of their response in Search and Rescue (SAR) missions. VMS uses
the Global Positioning System (GPS), satellite communications, and a
secure network to monitor fishing vessel compliance. However, this
evolving capability could be used for marine enforcement and homeland
security requirements since it can identify and track vessels, as well
as provide information for a maritime domain common operating picture.
An expanded VMS could encompass the entire nation and relay near real-
time data to the USCG for enforcement and homeland security purposes.
VMS, if fully developed, could provide extensive observational coverage
of our Nation's EEZ.
Response
NOAA has a wide range of capabilities in its day-to-day operations
that can be used to prepare for catastrophic events. For example,
surveying and charting are NOAA activities mandated by Congress. After
Hurricanes Frances, Ivan, and Jeanne in 2004, NOAA deployed Navigation
Response Teams (NRT) for emergency surveying to quickly reopen Gulf
Coast ports, demonstrating the economic, safety, and MDA benefits of
rapidly resurveying ports and harbors. The NRTs conduct hazardous
obstruction surveys along our coasts to update NOAA nautical charts.
They also serve as research platforms testing equipment and developing
new ways to effectively and efficiently survey navigable waterways.
NOAA's hydrographic survey vessels are occasionally called upon by
the USCG to acquire detailed side scan and multi-beam survey images for
search and recovery, as was the case following TWA 800 and the EgyptAir
crashes. In 2004, NOAA assisted a USCG investigation by locating and
obtaining high-resolution imagery of the Bow Mariner, an ethanol tanker
that exploded and sank off the Virginia Capes. This capability is
another weapon in the defense against maritime threats, as it allows
ports to be re-opened quickly and helps the USCG to design temporary
lanes and detours based on depth data. We rapidly disseminate chart
updates and critical chart corrections to the mariner, and we can
create and distribute temporary charts, overlays and data sets as
needed by primary responders like the Coast Guard.
NOAA's Hazmat Scientific Support Coordinators (SSC) work in USCG
offices, planning for emergencies and developing port-specific incident
response plans. These plans highlight specific problems, such as those
faced by chemical facilities in port areas. NOAA also develops computer
programs used for both incident-specific planning and routine training.
This preparedness training is vital because, when an event occurs,
first responders need to have a range of tools they are familiar with
and can apply. NOAA SSCs are then able to go on-site during emergencies
to bring all of NOAA's support resources to the table.
When discussing NOAA's response capabilities, it would be remiss of
me not to mention the NOAA Corps, one of the Nation's seven Uniformed
Services. These officers primarily have science and engineering
backgrounds, stand ready to support the Coast Guard, Department of
Defense (DoD), and any other federal agency that requires assistance in
protecting the Nation's security. At the request of the DoD, NOAA has
provided a summary of its capabilities, ships and aircraft that could
be used in a national emergency. NOAA's Office of Marine and Aviation
Operations (OMAO) operates a diverse fleet of research and hydrographic
coastal and ocean-going vessels ranging in length from 90 to 274 feet,
as well as helicopters and airplanes. OMAO abilities to assist port
security efforts include assisting the USCG boarding or inspection
parties, supporting port/harbor security, providing sophisticated
airborne chemical detection support, conducting hydrographic surveying/
sea floor mapping and Geographic Information System (GIS) development,
conducting state-of-the-art sonar operations, and providing additional
hurricane reconnaissance if U.S. Air Force assets are reassigned.
Space Based Assets
The National Environmental Satellite, Data and Information Service
provides real and near-real time satellite imagery through
geostationary and polar-orbiting environmental satellites. NOAA
acquires and manages the Nation's operational environmental satellites
and provides data and information services. Information and
observations from NOAA's orbital assets are used in weather
forecasting, aviation and marine operations, agricultural applications,
on-scene weather support for incidents, sea surface temperature
measurements for the fishing industry, and volcanic ash detection and
tracking. However, they can also be used for security purposes.
NOAA satellite imagery detected the smoke plume emanating from New
York City following the events of September 11, 2001. Using the NOAA
Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES), we were able
to detect the development and dispersion of that smoke plume.
Monitoring the extent and the direction of the plume helped to define
areas of potential health risk from hazardous particulates in the
plume. NOAA provided emergency satellite frequencies for the health
community to relay measurements from air quality sensors at the World
Trade Center site.
NOAA licenses and enforces compliance with federal regulations for
operating a commercial or private earth observing satellite.
Enforcement of the regulations applying to shutter control or
restriction of data distribution is essential to ensure national
security. NOAA enforces stated limitations of the Kyl-Bingaman Act
prohibiting U.S. commercial satellite companies from collecting and
releasing imagery of specified areas.
NOAA's orbital assets also support international search and rescue
efforts. The satellites carry transponders for search and rescue beacon
signals from downed air and marine craft, and from personal locator
beacons. NOAA's search and rescue function is part of an international
program for detection of distress signals from aircraft, vessels, and
personal locator beacons. This global program relies on, and supports,
other nations in the collection and processing of search and rescue
signals.
Orbital imagery and data are also used for detecting and monitoring
of wild fires. Tracking smoke plumes is an important part of the
response to a fire event as it may create health problems and
visibility issues. Wind and other weather data from the satellites,
when paired with the smoke plume detection help us understand the
extent of the fire, and support other agencies with firefighting
responsibilities. Most frequently, when NOAA satellites detect a plume
it is the result of a volcanic eruption. The United States has a number
of active volcanoes, notably Mt. Spurr in Alaska, and Mt. St. Helens in
Washington, which are in heavy aviation corridors. Eruptive events
create very real threats to the aviation industry.
Coordinating Homeland Security Programs
As I have outlined today, NOAA continues to form collaborative
partnerships with state, local and federal entities charged with
addressing homeland security issues. Through the Homeland Security
Program Office, we provide support directly to DHS. NOAA staffs a desk
at the Homeland Security Operations Center (HSOC) to provide
operational communications, information and resource coordination
supporting management of domestic Incidents of National Significance
and National Special Security Events. The Homeland Security Program
Office plays a vital coordination role as the NOAA point of entry into
Homeland Security operations and is responsible for keeping NOAA
executive management appropriately informed and engaged.
The Interagency Incident Management Group (IIMG) is a DHS led
structure facilitating a comprehensive, integrated and coordinated
approach to domestic incident management. The IIMG is collocated and
supported by the HSOC staff. IIMG members provide decision-making
support to the Secretary of Homeland Security and other national
authorities during periods of elevated alert and national-level
domestic incidents. Specifically, NOAA provides subject-matter experts
supporting chemical, radiological, and nuclear weapons of mass
destruction events and natural disasters.
Citizen Corps was launched by DHS ``as a community based initiative
to engage all citizens in homeland security and community safety and
family preparedness through public education and outreach, training
opportunities, and volunteer programs.'' In July 2003 a Statement of
Affiliation between DHS and NOAA was signed by Undersecretary Michael
Brown and me in order to establish a collaborative partnership raising
public awareness about weather and environmental hazards as well as
promoting actions for public safety.
NOAA Fisheries' Office for Law Enforcement is dedicated primarily
to the enforcement of laws that protect and regulate our Nation's
living marine resources and their natural habitat. NOAA Fisheries'
special agents and enforcement officers enforce many federal statutes,
as well as numerous treaties related to the conservation and protection
of marine resources through the prosecution of both civil and criminal
violations. Notwithstanding OLE's joint enforcement partnerships with
27 coastal state agencies, the U.S. Coast Guard continues to be OLE's
strongest ally in enforcing marine resource laws and fishery
management. The cooperative support from the Coast Guard enables OLE
agents and officers to actively respond to suspected violations that
might otherwise be unattainable.
With increased emphasis on Homeland Security and inter-agency
collaboration, OLE's expertise has also been applied to various task
forces and maritime security initiatives nationwide including MDA,
border operations and checkpoints, and dock patrols.
Conclusion
In NOAA's unique role as an information provider, we will continue
to work closely with our partners to support the Nation with a wide
range of services and products from hazardous material spill response
capabilities to atmospheric and waterborne dispersion forecasting and
support for communities and emergency responders. NOAA also is ready to
provide NOAA's ships, aircraft, global observing systems, and
professional law enforcement officers to serve the Nation when the need
arises. Thank you for inviting me here today to talk about NOAA's
homeland security programs.
Senator DeMint. Thank you.
Dr. Bement?
STATEMENT OF DR. ARDEN L. BEMENT, JR., DIRECTOR, NATIONAL
SCIENCE FOUNDATION
Dr. Bement. Good afternoon, Mr. Chairman, Ranking Member
Nelson, and Subcommittee staff.
Thank you for the opportunity to present testimony on the
National Science Foundation's role in advancing science-and-
engineering's capability to enhance the Nation's homeland
security.
My written testimony details a number of NSF programs that
are central to creating knowledge that will have applications
in homeland security. It also notes how NSF's research programs
relate to threats and countermeasures identified in an April
report released by the Office of Science and Technology Policy,
entitled ``Science and Technology: A Foundation for Homeland
Security.'' I'll touch on a few topics from my written
testimony, and will start with disaster response.
For more than three decades, NSF has supported quick-
response disaster studies that dispatched scientists and
engineers to the aftermath of crises ranging from natural
phenomena to manmade. Researchers were in the field within days
after both the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, and the
recent South Asian tsunami, to gather critical data before it
was lost to nature and reconstruction. This ephemeral
information, including assessments of physical damage to built
and natural environments and social responses, is critical to
help emergency teams and local leaders better direct future
rescue efforts, and is vital to understanding and preparing for
future disasters.
Second, on detection of CBRNE materials, especially fissile
materials, a critical capability needed to defend against
nuclear proliferation and to prevent a nuclear or radiological
weapon from entering the country is the ability to detect the
presence of illicit fissile materials. To detect such
contraband, new sentinel systems and detectors enabled by
critical advances in the material sciences must be fielded at
home and abroad. It is widely believed that nanotechnology will
lead to the advances required to enable these systems.
As a lead agency of the National Nanotechnology Initiative,
NSF restructured the program last year, in part to accelerate
the realization of new nanostructured materials, and,
therefore, hastened developments to detect chemical,
biological, radiological, nuclear, and explosive materials.
Next, to data mining. One subject of intense interest in
the academic research community comes under the rubric of data
mining. When large amounts of data are available, whether
information from scientific equipment, health records, or e-
mail traffic, it is important to be able to extract meaning
from that information. Data-mining applications and computers,
generally, have a difficult time understanding what the
language and the message actually means. NSF-funded researchers
are developing techniques to provide standardized ``who did
what to whom, when, and where'' versions of messages written in
English, Chinese, and Arabic. The underlying techniques have
applicability in many areas beyond homeland security, such as
financial and healthcare fraud detection.
Next, cybersecurity. In the area of cybersecurity, NSF will
be establishing a new collaborative cybersecurity science and
technology center this year at the University of California at
Berkeley. This new cybersecurity center will investigate key
issues of computer trustworthiness in an era of increasing
attacks, at all levels, on computer systems and information-
based technologies.
NSF-supported basic research in important areas as varied
nanotechnology, linguistics, deception detection, genomics,
microbiology, engineered systems, and sensor development is
critical to develop the knowledge base that will protect us
against existing and future threats.
But perhaps the most important investment NSF makes in the
area of homeland security is the education of the Nation's
future science and engineering workforce. Unfortunately, we now
see warnings that America's advantage in scientific and
engineering capital is eroding. The obvious alternative to
importing S&E manpower to fill the gaps is to grow more of our
own. We desperately need to broaden participation in science
and engineering by both increasing the fraction of the general
population of students in these fields, and by increasing
participation by under-represented groups.
I am pleased to note that more than 20,000 minority
students receive science and engineering bachelors degree each
year from the institutions in the NSF alliances for minority
participation. Merely doubling the fraction of these who
continue on to the Ph.D. would be a major contribution to
America's domestic S&E manpower.
Mr. Chairman, the National Science Foundation is committed
to the advancement of studies that have direct impact on our
Nation's homeland security. Our dedicated program staff
understands the significance that science and engineering have
on security. We work to ensure that capabilities at the
frontiers of science and engineering today will keep pace with
the advances and threats of tomorrow.
NSF works in collaboration with the Department of Homeland
Security, the intelligence community, the Department of
Defense, the Department of Energy, federal labs, and the
private sector to ensure that this wealth of knowledge is
effectively transferred into capabilities critical for
advancement in many areas, including homeland security.
In an increasingly demanding and unpredictable security
environment, NSF will continue to help shape a more prosperous
and secure future for ourselves, our children, and future
generations.
Mr. Chairman and Ranking Member Nelson, thank you, again,
for this opportunity to testify on a topic of great importance,
and I would be pleased to answer any questions you may have.
Thank you.
[The prepared statement of Dr. Bement follows:]
Prepared Statement of Dr. Arden L. Bement, Jr., Director, National
Science Foundation
Good afternoon. Mr. Chairman, Ranking Member Nelson, and Members of
the Subcommittee, thank you very much for the opportunity to present
testimony on the National Science Foundation's role in advancing
science and engineering's capability to enhance our Nation's homeland
security.
As you know, when Congress established the National Science
Foundation (NSF) in 1950, it gave the agency a broad mission: ``to
promote the progress of science; to advance the national health,
prosperity, and welfare; and to secure the national defense . . .'' As
such, much of NSF's activity directly supports our Nation's ability to
secure the homeland. NSF plays a critical role in underwriting
fundamental research, education and infrastructure at colleges,
universities and other institutions throughout the country. This effort
produces future generations of world-class scientists and engineers who
develop ideas and research tools that address the challenges we face
today and those we will face in the future.
Research supported by NSF accounts for approximately 13 percent of
federal support for basic research and approximately 40 percent of non-
life-science basic research at U.S. academic institutions while
representing less than 4 percent of the federal funding for R&D. This
work, at the frontiers of knowledge, represents much of our Nation's
most advanced capability in materials science research, sensors and the
architecture of sensor networks, genomics, cyber-security, data mining,
and understanding of human and social dynamics, among others. Much of
this work has direct impact upon our Nation's present and future-
generation homeland security systems and capability.
The April 2005 report from the Office of Science and Technology
Policy (OSTP), Science and Technology: A Foundation for Homeland
Security, identifies the following areas where our Nation's research
communities will play vital roles: (1) Science and Technology For
Defense Against Catastrophic Threats and (2) Science and Technology to
Counter Terrorism. NSF has supported basic research in these two areas
from the Foundation's origins and much of today's capabilities can
trace their lineage back to NSF-sponsored fundamental work. Moreover,
in response to emerging threats, NSF has increased support for several
activities outlined as critical in the OSTP report. What I outline
below are some of the activities sponsored by NSF that directly address
the topics the OSTP report identifies as critical to advance our
Nation's science and technology base for supporting homeland security.
The National Science Foundation Research Portfolio:
CBRNE
As a first example, the OSTP report identifies Radiological and
Nuclear Countermeasures as a key component to countering the threat of
weapons proliferation, and the 2002 National Strategy for Homeland
Security states: ``Our highest scientific priority must be preventing
terrorist use of nuclear weapons.'' A critical component capability to
defend against nuclear proliferation and inhibit border penetration by
a nuclear or radiological weapon is the ability to detect the presence
of illicit fissile material. To detect such contraband, new sentinel
systems and detectors enabled by critical advances in material sciences
must be fielded at home and abroad. It is widely believed among the
scientific community that nanotechnology will lead the way to the
advanced capability in material sciences required to enable these
systems. As the lead agency of the National Nanotechnology Initiative
(NNI), NSF directed the 2004 restructuring of the NNI in part to
accelerate the realization of new nano-structured materials and
therefore hasten developments to enhance our ability to detect
Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear and Explosive (CBRNE)
materials.
The OSTP report also identifies early detection of Biological and
Chemical Threat Agents as a critical capability required to enhance our
Nation's homeland security. The early detection of Biological and
Chemical Threats, like the ability to detect fissile material, requires
advanced knowledge of material science and sensor engineering. NSF
supports both of these activities within and beyond the NNI.
For instance, NSF funds the Materials Research Science and
Engineering Centers program. These centers are located at leading
academic institutions in seventeen states across the country and
represent a significant portion of our Nation's most advanced work in
the area of material science. NSF also co-funds a program titled:
Interaction in Chemistry, Materials Research, Molecular Biosciences,
Bioengineering, and Chemical Engineering with the National Institute of
Standards and Technology (NIST). This program was developed to
facilitate the interaction between NSF-sponsored academic researchers
and NIST's Chemical Science and Technology Laboratory and Materials
Science and Engineering Laboratory. These laboratories house NIST's
activity on chemistry, materials research, molecular biology,
bioengineering, and chemical engineering, all relevant to advancing our
capability for detecting chemical and biological threats.
Sensors and Sensor Networks
In the area of advanced sensors, NSF's Sensors and Sensor Networks
program seeks to advance fundamental knowledge in the engineering of
materials, concepts and designs for new sensors, networked sensor
systems in a distributed environment and the interpretation and use of
sensor data in decision-making processes. Like most of the activity
sponsored by NSF, the capabilities enabled represent state-of-the art
research at the frontiers of knowledge and comprise a significant
proportion of our Nation's most advanced work on sensor and sensor
systems. This work includes research that investigates networks for
health monitoring and damage assessment of the civil infrastructure,
both physical and cyber. Flexible and scalable software architectures
and frameworks are being developed to integrate real-time heterogeneous
sensor data, database and archiving systems, computer vision, data
analysis and interpretation, numerical simulation of complex structural
systems, visualization, probabilistic risk analysis, and rational
statistical decision making procedures.
To highlight some of this advanced activity, NSF sponsored a media
briefing last September titled ``Sensors: Buildings, Battlefields, and
Beyond'' which described what many of our Nation's top technology
leaders believe is the next generation of the information technology
revolution, namely the ability to augment our advanced computational
resources with a wide array of geographically-distributed sensor data.
Clearly, this focus on sensor and sensor networks will have impact in
the area of homeland security.
The OSTP report also identifies Medical Countermeasures to Weapons
of Mass Destruction (WMD) as a critical capability where our Science
and Technology community can contribute. While most of our Nation's
work in this area is supported by the Department of Health and Human
Services, NSF has and will continue to play a significant role. NSF, in
collaboration with the Department of Agriculture, has funded a program
on microbial genome sequencing that provides key information enabling
identification and understanding of the life functions and ecology of
microbes, some of which have the potential to be used in biological-
based WMD. The genome sequence of these microbes, once known, can be
utilized to develop countermeasures such as antimicrobial chemicals and
vaccines. This jointly funded program also relates directly to
protecting our agricultural systems from both man-made and naturally
occurring threats, also identified in the OSTP report as a critical
initiative.
Agriculture
Protecting agriculture and our food supply represents a unique area
where a synthesis of NSF activity contributes to our Nation's homeland
security. As stated above, NSF co-sponsors research into microbial gene
sequencing and sponsors sensor and sensor networks, both of which are
directly related to securing our agricultural supply chain. NSF also
supports the Biochemical Engineering and Biotechnology program which
funds technology development for the purpose of monitoring and
controlling bioprocesses and food processing with a special focus on
the safety of the Nation's food supply.
Another area of activity that NSF supports is the Environmental
Engineering and Technology program. This program focuses on research
with the goal of reducing adverse effects of solid, liquid, and gaseous
discharges into land, fresh and ocean waters, and air as a result of
human activity. This program also supports research on innovative
biological, chemical, and physical processes used alone or as
components of engineered systems to restore the usefulness of polluted
land, water, and air resources. The understanding of these engineered
systems will lead to advanced national capabilities in the area of
remediation, an area directly related to homeland security.
The OSTP report identifies Biometric Identification as a critical
need and has created the National Science and Technology Council's
Subcommittee on Biometrics. NSF is represented on this subcommittee and
also sponsors advanced research at the Center for Identification
Technology Research as well as numerous grants to the small business
community that advance state-of-the art biometric capability in a
commercial setting.
First Responders
To enhance first responder capability, NSF has sponsored work in
advanced ad-hoc networking to enable the rapid deployment of
communications networks. Along with the Department of Defense, NSF has
sponsored the Center for Robot Assisted Search and Rescue. To advance
the first-responders capacity to deal with chemical and biological
threats, NSF has sponsored work that led to the development of an
advanced material nano-engineered to quickly absorb and destroy a wide
array of toxic chemicals. The commercial development of this material
also is being sponsored by an NSF Small Business Innovation Research
(SBIR) grant. This is one example where original fundamental NSF-
supported academic research and the subsequent support from the NSF
SBIR program has directly led to a potentially significant advance in
the area of homeland security. The small business concern is currently
working with the Environmental Protection Agency to develop capability
for water remediation.
Information Technology
Another critical area that pertains to homeland security where NSF
is actively supporting our Nation's capabilities is in the area of
Information Technology. Specifically NSF, in collaboration with the
Department of Homeland Security, supports the Cyber Defense Technology
Experimental Research network, a collaborative network developed as a
testbed for cyber war gaming. NSF also supports the Center for Internet
Epidemiology and Defenses, which is dedicated to wiping out worms and
viruses that infect thousands of computers and cause billions of
dollars in damage. These two centers represent just a small fraction of
the Information Technology Research NSF supports that is directly
relevant to homeland security.
Computers, especially those that are networked, reside at the heart
of systems on which people now rely, both in critical national
infrastructures and in their homes, cars, and offices. Today, many of
these systems are far too vulnerable to cyber attacks that can inhibit
their function, corrupt important data, or expose private information.
To respond to these challenges, NSF established a new program in FY
2004 called Cyber Trust to complement ongoing cybersecurity research
and education investments made in the core Computer and Information
Science and Engineering programs. The Cyber Trust program promotes a
vision of a society in which networked computer systems are more
predictable, more accountable, and less vulnerable to attack and abuse.
It also foresees systems that are developed, configured, operated and
evaluated by a well-trained and diverse workforce and used by a public
educated in their secure and ethical operation. As such, the program
covers a wide range of research areas. In FY 2006, focused investments
in this area will be both in foundation establishment and security-
measure development. The former is important since we will only be able
to develop predictably trustworthy computer systems if we can model and
analyze cyber-trust-related phenomena. Given security threats faced
today, we also need to accelerate developing technologies that can
immediately address these threats.
I would note that we chose the title ``Cyber Trust'' because our
understanding is that the public not only wants their information
systems to be secure, but that they want to trust them in all kinds of
situations. As a simple example, they need to be able to trust that
data will be kept private.
In the area of cybersecurity, NSF announced in mid-April our
intention to establish two new Science and Technology Centers (STCs) in
Fiscal Year 2005--one a major collaborative cybersecurity project led
by the University of California, Berkeley. This new cybersecurity
center will investigate key issues of computer trustworthiness in an
era of increasing attacks at all levels on computer systems and
information-based technologies. The Team for Research in Ubiquitous
Secure Technology (TRUST) will address a parallel and accelerating
trend of the past decade--the integration of computing and
communication across critical infrastructures in areas such as finance,
energy distribution, telecommunications and transportation. The center
will merge these efforts with investigations of social science
questions involving economics, public policy and societal challenges,
human-computer interfaces and privacy, among other issues.
NSF also supports a significant amount of work in the area of data
mining and the Intelligence Community has provided supplemental funds
to further NSF-sponsored research within this area. For example, novel
data mining-based anomaly detection techniques developed under NSF
support have been incorporated in the Minnesota Intrusion Detection
System (MINDS) that help cybersecurity analysts detect intrusions and
other undesirable activity in real life networks. MINDS is being used
at the Army Research Laboratory Center for Intrusion Monitoring and
Protection and at the University of Minnesota to successfully detect
novel intrusions, policy violations, and insider abuse that cannot be
identified by widely used signature-based tools. MINDS allows
cybersecurity experts to quickly analyze massive amounts of network
traffic, as they only need to evaluate the most anomalous connections
identified by the system. Further summarization of these anomalous
connections using association pattern analysis helps in understanding
the nature of cyber attacks, as well as in creating new signatures for
use in intrusion detection systems. The underlying techniques have
applicability in many areas beyond cybersecurity, such as financial and
health care fraud detection.
In addition, NSF has and continues to sponsor research in the
following areas related to cyber-security:
a) security of next generation operating systems,
b) forensic and law enforcement foundations,
c) human computer interfaces for security functions,
d) theoretical foundations and mechanisms for privacy, security
and trust,
e) improved ability to certify system security properties,
f) more effective system monitoring, anomaly detection attack
recognition and defense, and
g) integrating hardware and software for security.
The Federal Cyber Service Scholarship for Service (SFS) is a
program co-sponsored by NSF and DHS that seeks to increase the number
of qualified students entering the fields of information assurance and
computer security. The SFS program provides scholarship money for a
maximum of 2 years to outstanding cybersecurity undergraduate and
graduate students in exchange for an equal amount of time spent in
Federal Government service after graduation. The SFS has supported
students who have gone on to either internships or post-graduation
employment within, among others, the following agencies: CIA, DoD
(Defense Computer Forensics Lab, NSA), DoE, DHS, DOJ (FBI, CIO), NSF
and NASA.
Social, Behavioral, & Economic Sciences
The OSTP report, as well as the recently released report by the
National Science and Technology Council, Combating Terrorism: Research
Priorities in the Social, Behavioral, and Economic Sciences, identifies
research on cultural and sociological factors that may give rise to an
environment conducive to terrorism as well as research into individual
behavioral indicators that may correlate with intent to harm as
important areas of study for the science and technology community. In
this connection, NSF grants have enabled the sophisticated
incorporation of geographic and other spatial data into analyses of
human behavior, they have advanced our understanding of how networks
link people and organizations, and have supported surveys on religious
and democratic values in Islamic and third world countries.
In order to better understand the complex dynamics within and among
human and social systems and their environments, NSF has recently
initiated a 5 year, agency-wide research program in human and social
dynamics. Emerging research and tools will provide a window into the
human mind that will revolutionize the study of human development and
cognition, as well as information processing and decision-making by
groups and individuals. Areas critical to homeland security include
agents of change, ranging from extremist ideologies to modern
technology; the dynamics of human behavior, which includes such topics
as effective human-machine interfacing, and decision-making and risk,
which has special relevance to preventing, communicating about and
recovering from the destructive consequences of extreme events.
The Intelligence Community and NSF are also sponsoring research on
the detection of deception that includes investigation and development
of behavioral biometrics (measurable behavior traits acquired over
time), content analysis in foreign documents and speech, alternatives
to the polygraph, and improvements in intelligence analysis by
increasing our understanding of thought processes, learning, and
decision-making in individuals and teams. Recently, NSF initiated a 5
year research program in human and social dynamics. Emerging research
and tools will provide a window into the human mind that will
revolutionize the study of human development and cognition, as well as
information processing and decision-making by groups and individuals.
Areas critical to homeland security include agents of change, ranging
from extremist ideologies to modern technology; the dynamics of human
behavior; and decision-making and risk, which has special relevance to
extreme events.
Fielding Advanced Capabilities
In addition to the programs outlined above which directly support
the OSTP-identified areas of vital Science and Technology for securing
our homeland, NSF is supporting research at the frontiers for fielding
advanced capability for future-generation needs. Some of this work is
supported by the Foundation's SBIR/STTR program that, in accordance
with the FY05 Interagency Research and Development Priorities announced
by the Directors of OSTP and the Office of Management and Budget,
created a cross-disciplinary program to address specific opportunities
for developing Security Technologies. The SBIR/STTR Security
Technologies subtopics were developed in collaboration with the DoD,
DHS and the Intelligence Community. With this program, NSF only
supports leading edge Security Technologies enabled by the convergence
of two of the following three technologies: nanotechnology,
biotechnology and information technology. The capabilities envisioned
by the convergence of these technologies are considered to be among the
most profound in human history and NSF believes that the advancements
supported by this effort will lead to capabilities in the years and
decades to come.
Conclusion
Mr. Chairman, as you can see from the numerous examples above, the
National Science Foundation is committed to the advancement of studies
that have a direct impact on our Nation's homeland security. Our
dedicated program staff understands the significance that science and
engineering have on security and works to ensure that capabilities at
the frontiers of science and engineering today will keep pace with the
advances and threats of tomorrow. By supporting work that advances the
Nation's health, prosperity and welfare, NSF is instrumental in
influencing the future of scientific endeavor. NSF works in
collaboration with DHS, the Intelligence Community, DoD, DOE, our
federal labs and the private sector to ensure that this wealth of
knowledge is effectively transferred into capabilities critical for
advancement in many areas, including homeland security. The National
Science Foundation will continue to participate in a multidisciplinary
approach to the challenges faced by the engineering and scientific
community in a way that will impact our country for generations to
come.
Mr. Chairman, thank you again for this opportunity to testify on a
topic of great importance. I hope that I have conveyed the serious
approach that NSF has taken to address these issues. I would be pleased
to answer any questions you might have.
Senator DeMint. Thank you.
I'd like to invite Senator Nelson, our Ranking Member, to
make a statement and to start the questions.
STATEMENT OF HON. E. BENJAMIN NELSON,
U.S. SENATOR FROM NEBRASKA
Senator Ben Nelson. Well, thank you very much, Mr.
Chairman. I appreciate very much your scheduling this hearing,
and I look forward to working with you this year on these
critical issues of safety and welfare, and, in many cases,
health, as well. And I appreciate the appearance of our
witnesses today.
The first hearing is not necessarily focused on natural
disasters, but, whatever we talk about relates to either
manmade disasters or natural disasters, because we're talking
about preparedness, warnings; and a lot of the technology that
is there can serve many different purposes. And I commend all
of you for working, as best you can, to share and double-
function your technologies to do as much as you can possibly do
to make us all safer, in only--in a way that only, I think, you
can do that.
Obviously, the ability to extend a warning about a
bioterror attack to the public, and also warn them of a
tornado--I have visited the National Weather Service, just
outside of the city of Omaha, in Valley, Nebraska, just within
the last couple of months to take a very close look at what
capabilities they have. It strikes me, also, that, while you
wouldn't consider an Amber Alert necessarily a weather-related
item, because it's not, but the utilization of that kind of
technology in similar situations can certainly benefit those
who would have that great need, and would keep us all safer and
more comfortable. So--and then if we develop lighter, stronger,
and more blast-proof materials, I think they could also have
another use, and that's perhaps to make our cars safer. You
know, so protecting the security of computer networks not only
foils cyberterrorists, it also stymies identity thieves that
are there at work today.
So, I'm concerned when I hear you say, Dr. Bement, that
sometimes science and technology interests are falling off. I
know that very often R&D funds are the first that are sliced,
in tight economic times, when, in fact, they should be the last
funds that are affected.
So, I commend your agencies for using whatever limited
resources you have to do as much as you possibly can for safety
and security. I must say that I'm concerned about the decline
in the number of science and engineering graduates. I must
confess that perhaps I was one of those. I was president of my
high-school science club, but I took a different route, as you
can see. So, I don't know that I deprived our science and
technology field of a great mind in that field, but, certainly,
we do have to do what we can to build back for more scientific
careers. We recognize that, and you can expect a commitment on
my part, and, I'm sure the Committee's part, to try to help in
any way that we can to rationally effect greater movement
toward these science, engineering and technology careers.
Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman.
Senator DeMint. Thank you, Senator Nelson.
A question from Senator Stevens that I'd like to pass
along, Admiral, to you. In the past 2 years, Congress has
appropriated a total of 20 million to develop a national alert
system, including the distribution of NOAA Weather Radios to
schools. How many radios have been distributed to schools so
far? And do you have sufficient funding in the budget to
complete the task?
Admiral Lautenbacher. The radios have not been distributed
yet. We're very close to doing that. The money was distributed
to the Department of Homeland Security, so we've developed a
memorandum of understanding, and have had to determine where we
would distribute them. Right now, the plans are following, to
start with two rural states, who happen to be Alaska and
Mississippi, for Senator Stevens' edification, and then to the
top 10 to 15 urban areas, high-security urban areas, as on
our--as agreed to by the Department of Homeland Security on
their list, starting with New York, Chicago and Washington. So,
the plan is, within the next 6 months, to start working our way
down the major cities, and then the rural states. And there is
not sufficient funding yet to do the entire Nation, but this is
a pretty good dent in that task, and we appreciate the fine
support we've had in getting help for this project.
Senator DeMint. It would be helpful if you kept the
Committee informed as to how that progress went and----
Admiral Lautenbacher. Yes, sir.
Senator DeMint.--Senator Stevens is interested.
Admiral Lautenbacher. I am interested. We will keep you up
to date, sir.
Senator DeMint. Let me ask you--I guess this could go to
all three of our panelists--is there someone, or a group, at
the Department of Homeland Security that has called you in? As
I hear about the different expertise that you have here today,
each expressing the different areas where there might be a
threat in the country, I ask how you could bring your
expertise, your equipment, your research to bear on that. Is
there someone at Homeland Security that's called you in to
collaborate on how to protect the country?
Dr. Bement. Well, I can start.
First of all, we have a seat on the Interagency Working
Group in the National Science and Technology Council that deals
with homeland security, and a lot of these questions get
addressed in that working group. In addition to that, we are
connected with the university program in the Department, and we
have a number of joint activities with that function. And, as a
matter of fact, just yesterday, as a result of reading my
written testimony, a program director at Homeland Security
asked to come and talk with us about a possible MOU in his area
of expertise. So, this continues to bubble up. We thought we
had all the connections made, but we're still finding more as
we go along.
Admiral Lautenbacher. Yes, I've found similar--we are in
the beginning of ensuring effective intergovernmental
coordination--agency coordination, in my opinion. We have set
up--and we have had contact. We've worked with--the Deputy
Secretary has come to talk to us, and we've talked to them. We
have set up a NOAA office, or a NOAA desk, in the Homeland
Security Operations Center, so NOAA is part of providing the
kinds of environmental information that the President and the
entire country needs for responding to any mishaps or terrorism
that might occur. So, we're part of that.
We have made contact and discussed mutual research and
development with the Research and Development Directorate in
that area. And we have worked for many, many years with the
Coast Guard. Coast Guard, because of our issues with
enforcement in the EEZ and fishing rules and regulations, have
been--and our navigation responsibilities--have worked hand-in-
glove with the Coast Guard forever. So, that arrangement
continues to go very strong.
We have formed, together with a number of other agencies,
under the Office of Federal Coordinator of Meteorology, who
works in the Department of Commerce, to bring all the agencies
together--an exhaustive inventory and development of plume and
dispersion models that we are helping--what's now called the
IMAC come up with the preferred models to use in various
situations. So, we are connected with that part of emergency
responses, as well. So--and we work, of course, with FEMA,
because of the hurricane issues and responses to flooding and
the types of things where you need to have local, quick, rapid
response. FEMA is hand-in-glove with--have been hand-in-glove
with our folks for many years.
Dr. Semerjian. As I mentioned before, we do have an MOU
signed with the Department of Homeland Security. As part of
that agreement, we actually have several NIST staff members
that are detailed to DHS to both help us coordinate our mutual
work and help with the implementation of their mission. We also
have seats at various NSDC committees on homeland--on national
security, their committees on medical countermeasures,
biodiagnostics, biological and chemical preparedness, regional
security, infrastructure committees. These are all basically
framework that help us coordinate our efforts, and NIST has
participation in all of these committees and subcommittees to
make sure that our efforts are coordinated.
Senator DeMint. Let me ask a couple of, I guess, specific
application-type questions.
I know we're concerned about the Nation's water supply;
what a terrorist could do to poison, or to somehow contaminate,
our water supply. I know we have buoys and monitors that we use
in the ocean. Have we looked at how to apply that technology to
contaminants in water reservoirs across the country?
Yes, sir?
Dr. Bement. At the Foundation, we are supporting research
in water remediation, as well as air and ground remediation,
from various types of attacks, whether they're fissile
materials or chemical or biomaterials.
Senator DeMint. Are you talking about detection or
remediation?
Dr. Bement. I am talking about remediation, which I thought
was the core of your question. Restoring potable water----
Senator DeMint. No, my question was an alert that the water
had been contaminated----
Dr. Bement. Oh. Sorry.
Senator DeMint.--through--I mean----
Dr. Bement. Well, in that area, that would go more to our
sensor arrays or----
Senator DeMint. Right.
Dr. Bement.--developing advanced sensors for that kind of
detection and warning.
Senator DeMint. Doctor?
Dr. Semerjian. We're working with both CDC and FDA--and
there is actually a federal-wide consortium, something called
Integrated Consortium of Laboratory Networks and, actually, we
have a formal MOU among basically all of the agencies that are
involved in this--with the vision of U.S. Homeland Security
infrastructure, with a coordinated and operational system of
laboratory networks that provide timely, high-quality, and
interpretable results for early detection and effective
consequence management of acts of terrorism and other events
requiring an integrated laboratory response. This is to make
sure that we can immediately sample potential attacks at home,
and make an immediate decision whether there has been an
attack, and how, what the level of contamination is and what
kind of mitigation strategies may have to be taken. So, this is
to establish a nationwide network that involves, basically,
many agencies' laboratory capabilities so that we can have
access and immediate remediation activities to address the
issues.
Senator DeMint. Have we--in your meetings with Homeland
Security--I'm just trying to determine how far we've gone. We
know our water and food supply is threatened. And it sounds
like there could be monitoring devices, detection devices, that
might help us determine, at various points along the food chain
or water reservoirs--that we could actually detect contaminants
before they affected people. And I'm just wondering if we've
taken our collaboration with Homeland Security far enough to
actually challenge one of your agencies to develop a device
that could do that.
Dr. Semerjian. There are--I mean, the issues are different,
of course, whether we're dealing with food contamination, food
poisoning, contamination, or water-contamination issues.
Indeed, DHS is looking at specific technologies to do this. The
idea with this consortium was, once an attack, let's say, is
detected, can we quantify that and--so that we can evaluate
whether it's a major problem or a minor contamination issue, et
cetera. But I don't think, at this point, there is a nationwide
network of detectors, let's say, located in different places.
But I think--my understanding is, DHS is considering such a
plan.
Senator DeMint. OK.
Dr. Semerjian. But I'll be happy to provide you additional
information on that.
Senator DeMint. It would just seem that if--I mean, I can
think of ventilation systems in buildings, food supplies,
public schools, or grocery stores. If these things were somehow
where we had folks, kind of, working to determine if current
technologies could help us, with sensors and monitors, could we
determine if we had a problem?
Dr. Bement. Well, we--at the Foundation, we've been working
with other agencies through our SBIR and STTR programs, which
support small businesses, high-technology businesses, in
developing new security technologies. And a lot of the work
that is being done in this area is emerging from these small
high-tech companies. And that's the way in which our Foundation
would be making a contribution in this area. And a lot of that
work does deal with sensors and detection and warning systems.
Admiral Lautenbacher. May I add a couple of things?
As I mentioned, this DCNet idea, which are local detectors,
those detectors--and there's 11 or 12 of them in this--right in
this city, one protecting this area--they can measure chemical
incursions in the atmosphere. And they're working on
biological, and there are some radiological sensors that could
be added. So, that system has great promise for metropolitan
areas in determining instant intrusion by some foreign
substances into our air system. That system, if it were--we
were looking at putting them in New York, as well. So, the
technology exists for us to do that for our air monitoring. We
also would like to add chemical detectors to our--some of our
buoys along the coast, because that would allow us--in our
harbors--because that would allow us to get a leg up on--and
they have not been added yet, that I know of, not in any great
numbers--but the technology exists to do that. We could work
together to provide that kind of protection for water supply.
Senator DeMint. Senator Nelson?
Senator Ben Nelson. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Admiral you mentioned that you're working on getting the
radios to Alaska and to Mississippi. What are your plans, and
what are you looking for, in terms of funding, to get that
program extended to other states--Nebraska, for example?
[Laughter.]
Admiral Lautenbacher. Yes, sir. We understand that, after
this pilot program starts--and that's about a 500K program, is
what I have right now--that those radios should be starting to
arrive, as I mentioned, in September. In a few months, we'll
have that in place. And DHS is prepared to add another 1\1/2\
million to that, with--you know, continuing the distribution.
So, to that, we would add more states, more rural states and
more cities, and keep on going. Obviously, I don't have a
figure on top of my head, that it would take to do the entire
country. I'd be happy to provide that.
Senator Ben Nelson. Well, it might be helpful for us.
Obviously, as we look at budgeting--not this year, but in the
future--if we're short on the budget, you're not going to get
the radios to the locations.
Admiral Lautenbacher. Yes, sir.
Senator Ben Nelson. And I--it was right after the tsunami
that we had some hearings in which we found out that some of
the sensor buoys that were locating earthquakes and identifying
earthquakes, give us some advanced warning for tsunami
activity, weren't functioning. Do you know whether that
situation has been corrected?
Admiral Lautenbacher. I believe the situation that you're
referring to has been corrected. And let me specify, these were
the new technology-six buoys. They're called DART buoys. They
are, in my view, from my military days, they are Op/Eval buoys.
They are first generation. Three of them were down, and they
are all up now. They have all been repaired and put back
online. The next set that we will put in the water will be
second-generation technology. We believe they'll be much more
reliable.
I do want to point out that the ones that were not
operational--there was a--there were three buoys in place that
were monitoring the dangerous areas, the most dangerous parts
of the Ring of Fire around the United States.
Senator Ben Nelson. Well, as it turned out, we didn't have
to test them more closely to our--closer to our shores or to
the West Coast or anything of that sort, but I think Senator
Stevens was more than slightly disturbed by that fact, as was--
--
Admiral Lautenbacher. Yes, sir.
Senator Ben Nelson.--Senator Inouye. So, I'm sure they'll
both be relieved, as you are, too.
Admiral Lautenbacher. I am very relieved that they're
operational. And our intention is to put spares along the
Alaskan islands.
Senator Ben Nelson. I think a belt-and-suspenders approach
would be excellent.
[Laughter.]
Admiral Lautenbacher. Yes, sir.
Senator Ben Nelson. Dr. Semerjian, the World Trade Center
report is coming out, I think--or is going to be reviewed by
NIST to conclude what is your building and fire safety
investigation of the collapse of the World Trade Center. And I
wonder if you could tell us a little bit about where you are in
that effort as it might relate to the way people design,
construct, maintain, and use buildings, so that it would help
increase the safety and security, but particularly structural
integrity and safety for the future.
Dr. Semerjian. Yes, thank you, Senator Nelson.
We are scheduled to release our report on June 23, at a
press conference in New York City, where the specific
recommendations will come out, but we are already working with
the organizations that will really implement the
recommendations that come out of this study. These are the
standards/codes organizations, organizations such as American
Society for Civil Engineers, a number of other organizations.
So--and that will be the first release of the report. That will
be the beginning of a public comment period before the
recommendations are finalized. But we actually already have a
conference scheduled for September, where the findings of the
report, and the recommendations, will be discussed, and the
implementations with regard to standards and codes will be
discussed--shared. I mean, this is clearly something that
will--there will be, obviously, a lot of lessons learned, a lot
of recommendations and implications for standards and codes.
And we will be working with the community out there to make
sure that the results are interpreted properly and that
appropriate action is taken as a followup.
Senator Ben Nelson. And is it your expectation, certainly
without preempting the release later this month, that there
will be a great deal of followership with recommendations
that--from your discussions with interested groups, such as
engineers, that there will be a lot of interest in complying?
Dr. Semerjian. Yes. There has been--I mean, our process has
been quite open. We have an advisory committee for our National
Construction Safety Team Act. Our discussions are open, so, the
community has been listening, following the discussions. They
haven't seen the final recommendations, but, certainly, they
have been privy to all the discussions. So, there has been
quite a bit of information sharing, and our staff have been
briefing various communities about our findings. And, all
along, we have released our findings--not the recommendations,
but the findings have been released, so the community is aware
of what our findings are and what would be coming, in terms of
recommendations. So, the community has been following the
process, and I think they have been quite receptive to a lot of
recommendations.
Senator Ben Nelson. The report, will that make
recommendations that are, not only related to new construction,
but retrofitting current buildings so that those that are in
existence right now can be made safer with adjustments and some
design work?
Dr. Semerjian. Yes, there are some recommendations that
will impact existing buildings, also.
Senator Ben Nelson. Thank you.
One final thing. Is it Bement?
Dr. Bement. Bement.
Senator Ben Nelson. Bement. You know, we talked a little
bit about research and development cutting back--being cut back
with short funds, but I was a little concerned when I saw that
the budget request for education and human resources in the
budget included $104 million cut from FY05 to FY06, and that
the request for math and science partnerships, which is off 24
percent from 2005, and less than half of 2004. Now, you may
have an explanation for that. And so, rather than my criticize
you for that, perhaps I could just ask you to explain.
Dr. Bement. Well, the math and science partnership program
was also cut last year, as well. This is the second year. We
have retained funds in that program to continue all ongoing
efforts, so the mortgages are protected. The thing that has
been disabled, essentially, is the startup of any new awards.
So, we're protecting the existing programs.
There has also been a concurrent scale-up of activity
within the Department of Education, and they are also quite
active in math and science partnership. And there has been, all
along, a very close working relationship between the National
Science Foundation and the Department of Education. In fact,
that partnership is getting stronger with the new Secretary.
So, we continue to work together to assure that the
available resources are used as effectively as possible to
support the overall program in math and science partnerships.
Senator Ben Nelson. But would the actual reduction in your
budget be picked up by an increase in their budget, or are we--
--
Dr. Bement. I think it's pretty close to being equal.
Senator Ben Nelson. So, you're not really looking at an
overall cut for this kind of education that's so critical to
the future.
Dr. Bement. I believe that's correct.
Senator Ben Nelson. Well, thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Senator DeMint. Thank you, Senator Nelson.
Let me go back to the National Weather Radio issue for a
second, Admiral. It's clear that it's going to be years before
we get these radios in all schools, and probably never, in any
great penetration, into homes. Are we looking at other ways to
get these messages out? For instance, I know it's very easy to
program, on your computer, something that'll pop up. It would
seem like it would be fairly easy to send out an alert via e-
mail, the Web, or--are we just looking at other ways to deliver
this message, rather than actually have a radio onsite?
Admiral Lautenbacher. Yes, we have. We, first of all, put
out the warnings on a number of media, so they're not just
going----
Senator DeMint. Right.
Admiral Lautenbacher.--to the radios. They're going to all
of our radio and television stations, they're going to all of
the emergency managers. So, the normal or, say, other means
that we have for distributing this information are taken into
account, so our--we have three or four redundant systems for
transmitting this information, both nationally and
internationally, for that matter.
Some of the interesting things that are going on: if you
happen to buy a Harley-Davidson now, you can get Weather Radio
right in your cycle. So, manufacturers are bringing these
things in as a permanent feature, or at least an alternative
feature, that you can buy, either in car radios--we've been
looking at OnStar, those kinds of things. RCA-Thomson has
worked on a television model that'll be part of a standard
package.
So, to the extent that we can make it, as you say, part of
other things--computers, televisions, radios--we are very big
into working on that project.
Senator DeMint. Senator Nelson, any other questions?
Senator Ben Nelson. No. No, thank you.
Senator DeMint. Any other comments for the Committee that
you'd like us to make part of the record, any of the folks
here?
Yes, sir? Doctor?
Dr. Bement. I'd like to go back to food security, just for
a moment. There are sensor arrays that are being developed
under grants of the National Science Foundation that will track
biological attacks of agriculture. Furthermore, through our
program in microbial genomics, we're studying microbes, the
genome sequencing of microbes in order to understand how to
develop countermeasures, for such toxic agents as wheat rust,
soybean rust, rice blast, and even anthrax. So, this is a very
important component of our ongoing program, not only to detect
these types of attacks, but also to develop countermeasures
against them.
Senator DeMint. One more quick question for the National
Science Foundation. I think you made some comments, as related
to data mining, the ability to extract messages from large
banks of information. Any other comments in that area? I know
that's something that we hear a lot about from the intel
community, looking for possible dangers or things that might
tip us off. Are there things going on there that would
encourage us?
Dr. Bement. Well, we have a number of joint efforts with
the intelligence community and also with the Department of
Homeland Security, where they contribute funding into our
ongoing efforts that will do pattern recognition, will
understand anomalous incidences that occur in data patterns, to
detect intrusive behavior that would jeopardize security, and
also would do what we would call Internet epidemiology to deal
with worms and viruses. And those capabilities become more
robust with time, as we learn more about them and as we also
try and develop more robust systems. So, those are some
additional activities that are going on.
Senator DeMint. Well, Senator McCain is back, and I think
you had some questions for the panelists.
STATEMENT OF HON. JOHN McCAIN,
U.S. SENATOR FROM ARIZONA
Senator McCain. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. And
thank you for allowing me to ask a couple of questions.
Admiral Lautenbacher, you're the guy that said we had to
sleep for 20 or 30 years before we'd know anything about
climate change. According to the General Accountability Office,
Admiral, a report of April 14, 2005--have you seen it,
concerning climate-change assessment? The Administration did
not meet the reporting deadline?
Admiral Lautenbacher. I've seen a few articles. I don't
remember the one about the reporting deadline. I've seen a few
recent articles on our--on the Administration's reports.
Senator McCain. So, you don't really pay much attention to
general Government Accountability Office reports that have
direct--that you're the lead organization--with responsibility
for it? I suggest you do, Admiral. So, since you haven't taken
the time to read a Government Accountability Report that
directly affects you, let me give you a couple of quotes.
The Global Change Research Act of 1990 required the
Administration to, among other things, prepare a national
global-change research plan, a summary of the achievements and
expenditures in the area of federal climate-change research.
The scientific assessment is to be prepared at least every 4
years. And it goes on as to what report.
I'm sure you--I'd better read it to you, because I don't--
--
Admiral Lautenbacher. I have read that one, sir. I didn't
know which you were referring to.
Senator McCain. Oh, OK.
Admiral Lautenbacher. I have read that report. I understand
what it says.
Senator McCain. All right. Basically, they say you're not
complying with the law.
Admiral Lautenbacher. Yes, sir.
Senator McCain. Are you complying with the law?
Admiral Lautenbacher. I believe that we are complying with
the law, yes, sir. We have answered----
Senator McCain. So----
Admiral Lautenbacher.--some of the----
Senator McCain. Well, you're complying with the law. Did
you submit a scientific assessment on November 2004, 4 years
after the previous assessment, as required by the Act?
Admiral Lautenbacher. We have been working on the pieces of
it, and we believe----
Senator McCain. Did you submit it, a scientific assessment,
on November 2004, 4 years after the previous assessment, as
required by the Act?
Admiral Lautenbacher. No----
Senator McCain. Yes----
Admiral Lautenbacher.--sir----
Senator McCain.--or no?
Admiral Lautenbacher.--we did not.
Senator McCain. You did not. But you're in compliance with
the law. You know, you are really one of the more astonishing
witnesses that I have--in the 19 years I've been a Member of
this Committee, Admiral, because, clearly, you're in violation
of the law when you didn't submit, on November, a scientific
assessment, 4 years after the previous assessment, as required
by the Act. I'd be glad to send you the language of the Act.
Nor have you shown any inclination to do so. Reports are now
expected to be completed up to a year later than planned,
September 2006. The remaining 12 reports are currently expected
to be completed by September 2007. Do you have any response to
that, Admiral? Probably not.
Admiral Lautenbacher. Yes, sir. We have--we have discussed
it with your staff, we have discussed it with many Members.
We're trying to look at the best way to do this. It took 10
years to submit the first report. The limit was set at 4 years.
This is a difficult requirement to meet on time, and I think
we'll come in closer to it than the first report came in.
Senator McCain. Did you ever notify this Committee that you
would not be able to meet the requirements of the Act?
Admiral Lautenbacher. I think we have. I'll go back and
look at it. We certainly----
Senator McCain. I don't think you have----
Admiral Lautenbacher.--had discussions with staff----
Senator McCain.--Admiral, and if----
Admiral Lautenbacher.--members.
Senator McCain.--If I was notifying the Committee of
oversight, I might remember whether I did or not.
Admiral Lautenbacher. We did talk with staff members about
our ability to----
Senator McCain. Did you----
Admiral Lautenbacher.--do that, sir.
Senator McCain.--notify this Committee that you were not
going to be in compliance with the Act?
Admiral Lautenbacher. I will go back and look at the
memorandums that we----
Senator McCain. We have no----
Admiral Lautenbacher.--submitted for the record.
Senator McCain.--record of it, Admiral.
Well, Mr. Chairman, I don't mean to drag this out, but the
General--Government Accountability Office says that Congress
and other users will not know when or where eight areas will be
addressed, according to the law. So, we have an agency of
government here, responsibility for the oversight of an issue
that many people, including Prime Minister Blair, think is the
single-most--who is now visiting our President--single-most
important issue affecting the world, climate change, and this
witness in this agency doesn't care enough to even notify the
Committee of oversight that they are unable to meet the
statutory requirements of law.
So, I have no choice, Admiral, but to try to act
legislatively to try and see that you do obey the law. You
know, that's, kind of, a fundamental around here. And so--and I
don't know exactly what those courses of action will be, but,
believe me, we will explore every one.
And I, again, want to express my deep disappointment at
your complete lack of concern about future generations of
Americans who are affected by climate change, which
overwhelming scientific evidence is now--let me just--because
I'm sure you probably didn't read it--``The National Academy of
Sciences, along with the national academies of ten other
nations, issued a joint statement on the global response to
climate change. The scientific understanding of climate change
is now sufficiently clear to justify nations taking prompt
action. It's vital that all nations identify cost-effective
steps that they can take now to contribute to substantial and
long-term reduction in net global greenhouse-gas emissions.''
And all we're asking from you is a report, and we can't
even get that.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Senator DeMint. Thank you, Senator McCain, and I want to
thank all the panelists. Great information today, and we'll be
following up. And some of the things that were mentioned that
you were going to keep us in the loop on, I greatly appreciate.
Thank you.
[Whereupon, at 3:35 p.m., the hearing was adjourned.]
A P P E N D I X
Prepared Statement of Daniel K. Inouye, U.S. Senator from Hawaii
Mr. Chairman, thank you for holding this hearing today to examine
the science occurring throughout our federal agencies that can help
improve our homeland security.
I firmly believe that research and development at the various
agencies within our jurisdiction such as the Coast Guard, the
Transportation Security Agency, the Department of Transportation, the
National Aeronautics and Space Administration, and of course the three
agencies that we will discuss today, have much to contribute in keeping
the Nation safe.
Today's hearing will examine the hard science and operational
assets of three of our science agencies, the National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the National Institute of Standards
and Technology (NIST), and the National Science Foundation (NSF) that
are improving homeland security.
I would like to thank these agencies for their work. NOAA is
leveraging its assets from NOAA weather radio to modeling to
environmental monitoring to help our ability to prevent and respond to
terrorism.
NIST has become a resource for first responders, builders, and the
Department of Homeland Security when it comes to improving technology.
The NSF is funding the basic research that may not come to fruition
for ten to fifteen years but which could fundamentally change our
understanding of the human dynamics of terrorism, the ability of
computer networks to protect themselves, or the ability for sensors to
detect multiple threats.
Unfortunately, these agencies that contribute so much are asked to
do so with little recognition and tight fiscal resources. I hope that
today's ``good news'' hearing can help us build the case for NOAA,
NIST, and NSF and support these agencies' broad and important work