2014 Quadrennial Homeland Security Review

The 2014 Quadrennial
Homeland Security Review

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LETTER FROM THE SECRETARY
June 18, 2014
Pursuant to Section 707 of the Homeland Security Act of 2002
(P.L. 107-296), as amended by the Implementing
Recommendations
of the 9/11 Commission Act of 2007 (P.L.
110-53), I am pleased to present the following report, The
2014 Quadrennial Homeland Security Review. This report
provides a strong analytic and strategic foundation for one of
my highest priorities, which is ensuring that the Department
invests and operates in a cohesive, unified fashion and makes
decisions that strengthen Departmental unity of effort.
Pursuant to congressional requirements, this report is being
provided to the following Member of Congress:
The Honorable Michael McCaul
Chairman, House Committee on Homeland Security
The Honorable Bennie G. Thompson
Ranking Member, House Committee on Homeland Security
The Honorable Thomas R. Carper
Chairman, Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee
The Honorable Tom Coburn
Ranking Member, Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee
The first Quadrennial Homeland Security Review report was issued by DHS on February 1,
2010. DHS began work on this second review two years ago and included consultations
with subject matter experts across the Federal Government, as well as state, local, tribal,
and territorial governments, the private sector, and academic and other institutions.
Since taking office as Secretary of DHS on December 23,2013, I have reviewed this report,
and I concur with its recommendations. Reflecting deep analysis of the evolving strategic
environment and outlining the specific strategic shifts necessary to keep our Nation secure,
this report reflects the more focused, collaborative Departmental strategy, planning, and
analytic capability that is necessary for achieving Departmental unity.
Sincerely,

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

U.S. Coast Guard

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
In this report, we conclude that we will continue to adhere to the five basic homeland
security missions set forth in the first Quadrennial Homeland Security Review report in
2010, but that these missions must be refined to reflect the evolving landscape of
homeland security threats and hazards. The Deepwater Horizon oil spill in 2010, Hurricane
Sandy in 2012, and the Boston Marathon bombing in 2013 illustrate these evolving threats
and hazards. We must constantly learn from them and adapt. The terrorist threat is
increasingly decentralized and may be harder to detect. Cyber threats are growing and
pose ever-greater concern to our critical infrastructure systems as they become
increasingly interdependent. Natural hazards are becoming more costly to address, with
increasingly variable consequences due in part to drivers such as climate change and
interdependent and aging infrastructure.
Meanwhile, this Nation’s homeland security architecture has matured over the past four
years, and we are determined that this progress continue. For example, our law
enforcement and intelligence communities are becoming increasingly adept at identifying

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
and disrupting terrorist plotting in this country. Programs such as TSA Pre✓™ and Global
Entry demonstrate the effectiveness and efficiency of risk-based security that can be
achieved within budget constraints. It is also worth noting that, in late 2013, DHS received
its first unqualified or “clean” audit opinion; this occurred just 10 years after the
Department’s formation, which was the largest realignment and consolidation of Federal
Government agencies and functions since the creation of the Department of Defense in
1947.
Here are our five basic homeland security missions, revised to address threats and hazards
over the next four years:
Prevent Terrorism and Enhance Security. Preventing terrorist attacks on the Nation is and
should remain the cornerstone of homeland security. Since the last quadrennial review in
2010, the terrorist threat to the Nation has evolved, but it remains real and may even be
harder to detect. The Boston Marathon bombing illustrates the evolution of the threat.
Through the U.S. Government’s counterterrorism efforts, we have degraded the ability of
al-Qa’ida’s senior leadership in Afghanistan and Pakistan to centrally plan and execute
sophisticated external attacks. But since 2009, we have seen the rise of al-Qa’ida
affiliates, such as al-Qa’ida in the Arabian Peninsula, which has made repeated attempts to
export terrorism to our Nation. Additionally, we face the threat of domestic-based “lone
offenders” and those who are inspired by extremist ideologies to radicalize to violence and
commit acts of terrorism against Americans and the Nation. These threats come in
multiple forms and, because of the nature of independent actors, may be hardest to
detect. We must remain vigilant in detecting and countering these threats. Given the
nature of this threat, engaging the public and private sectors through campaigns, such as
“If You See Something, Say Something™” and the Nationwide Suspicious Activity Reporting
Initiative, and through partnering across federal, state, local, tribal, and territorial law
enforcement will, over the next four years, become even more important.
Secure and Manage Our Borders. We must continue to improve upon border security, to
exclude terrorist threats, drug traffickers, and other threats to national security, economic
security, and public safety. We will rely on enhanced technology to screen incoming cargo
at ports of entry and will work with foreign partners to monitor the international travel of
individuals of suspicion who seek to enter this country. We will continue to emphasize
risk-based strategies that are smart, cost-effective, and conducted in a manner that is
acceptable to the American people. We must remain agile in responding to new trends in
illegal migration, from Central America or elsewhere. Meanwhile, we recognize the
importance of continuing efforts to promote and expedite lawful travel and trade that will

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2014 QUADRENNIAL HOMELAND SECURITY REVIEW

continue to strengthen our economy.
Enforce and Administer Our Immigration Laws. We will continually work to better enforce
our immigration laws and administer our immigration system. We support common-sense
immigration reform legislation that enhances border security, prevents and discourages
employers from hiring undocumented workers, streamlines our immigration processing
system, and provides an earned pathway to citizenship for the estimated 11.5 million
undocumented immigrants in this country. It is indeed a matter of homeland security and
common sense that we encourage those physically present in this country to come out of
the shadows and to be held accountable. Offering the opportunity to these 11.5 million
people—most of whom have been here 10 years or more and, in many cases, came here as
children—is also consistent with American values and our Nation’s heritage. We will take a
smart, effective, and efficient risk-based approach to border security and interior
enforcement and continually evaluate the best use of resources to prioritize the removal of
those who represent threats to public safety and national security.
Safeguard and Secure Cyberspace. We must, over the next four years, continue efforts to
address the growing cyber threat, illustrated by the real, pervasive, and ongoing series of
attacks on our public and private infrastructure. This infrastructure provides essential
services such as energy, telecommunications, water, transportation, and financial services
and is increasingly subject to sophisticated cyber intrusions which pose new risks. As the
Federal Government’s coordinator of efforts to counter cyber threats and other hazards to
critical infrastructure, DHS must work with both public and private sector partners to share
information, help make sure new infrastructure is designed and built to be more secure
and resilient, and continue advocating internationally for openness and security of the
Internet and harmony across
international laws to combat
cybercrime. Further, DHS must
secure the Federal Government’s
information technology systems by
approaching federal systems and
networks as an integrated whole
and by researching, developing,
and rapidly deploying cybersecurity
solutions and services at the pace
that cyber threats evolve. And
finally, we must continue to
develop cyber law enforcement,
U.S. Department of Homeland Security

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
incident response, and reporting capabilities by increasing the number and impact of
cybercrime investigations, sharing information about tactics and methods of cyber
criminals gleaned through investigations, and ensuring that incidents reported to any
federal department or agency are shared across the U.S. Government. In addition, the
Federal Government must continue to develop good working relationships with the private
sector, lower barriers to partnership, develop cybersecurity best practices, promote
advanced technology that can exchange information at machine speed, and build the cyber
workforce of tomorrow for DHS and the Nation.
Strengthen National Preparedness and Resilience. Acting on the lessons of Hurricane
Katrina, we have improved disaster planning with federal, state, local, tribal, and territorial
governments, as well as nongovernmental organizations and the private sector; prepositioned a greater number of resources; and strengthened the Nation’s ability to respond
to disasters in a quick and robust fashion. Seven years after Katrina, the return on these
investments showed in the strong, coordinated response to Hurricane Sandy. We must
continue this progress.
This review recognizes the environment in which we must pursue the homeland security
missions over the next four years. To support priority security requirements in a
sustainable way, a corollary responsibility for DHS is to become more efficient and effective
across a large and decentralized structure. As a Department, we must eliminate
duplicative processes, develop common platforms, and purchase single solutions, while
pursuing important commitments, such as the recapitalization of the aging Coast Guard
fleet. DHS must and will also address the low morale that exists within many of its
Components.
Finally, we recognize that we operate at a time when the public’s confidence in the
government’s ability to function and work for them is low. DHS is unique among federal
agencies for the large, daily engagement it has with the public at airports, seaports, and
land ports of entry. Thus, the public’s attitude toward the entire Federal Government can
be shaped by interactions with DHS. Over the next four years, DHS will find opportunities to
promote confidence in its ability to fulfill its mission.
There is no more important function that a government can provide for its people than
safety and security. Through the leadership of our President, and in full partnership with
other federal departments and agencies; state, local, tribal, and territorial governments;
nongovernmental and private sector organizations; our foreign allies; and the American
public, we will continue to work hard in pursuit of the homeland security missions; nothing
less than the safety and security of the American people depend on this.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Letter from the Secretary……………………….……………….…………………………….3
Executive Summary………………………………………………………………….………..5
1.

Legal Requirement for the Review and Report…………………….……….………….11

2.

The Purpose of the Second Quadrennial Homeland Security Review..….…….…….…13

3.

The Strategic Environment.……………………….…………….………….…….……17

4.

Guiding Principles.…………………………….…………………….…….……….….30

5.

Strategic Priorities.……………………………….………….…….…….….…………33


Securing Against the Evolving Terrorism Threat..…………………….…….……….33



Safeguard and Secure Cyberspace…………………….…………….…….………….39



A Homeland Security Strategy for Countering Biological Threats and Hazards…..….46



A Risk Segmentation Approach to Securing and Managing Flows of People and Goods
..………………………………………….……………………….….….…….53



Strengthening the Execution of Our Missions Through Public-Private Partnerships
…………………………………………………….….……….….……..…….58

6.

Areas of Ongoing Priority and Emphasis………………………………….….….….…62


Nuclear Terrorism Using an Improvised Nuclear Device……..…..…..........…….…..62



Immigration………………………………………………………………..….…….65



National Preparedness and the Whole Community Approach…..…….…...…..…….71

7.

Mission Framework In Depth…………………………………………….…..….…….75

8.

Conclusion………………………………………………………….….……..……….81

Appendix A: HOMELAND SECURITY ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES………..…..…..…….83
Appendix B: PROCESS AND STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT ACTIVITIES……….....…….…94

2014 QUADRENNIAL HOMELAND SECURITY REVIEW

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LEGAL REQUIREMENT FOR THE REVIEW AND REPORT
1. LEGAL REQUIREMENT FOR THE REVIEW AND REPORT
Section 707 of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (P.L. 107-296), as amended by the Implementing
Recommendations of the 9/11 Commission Act of 2007 (P.L. 110-53), includes the following requirement:
6 U.S.C. 347. QUADRENNIAL HOMELAND SECURITY REVIEW
(a) Requirement
(1) Quadrennial reviews required
In fiscal year 2009, and every 4 years thereafter, the Secretary shall conduct a review of
the homeland security of the Nation (in this section referred to as a “quadrennial
homeland security review”).
(2) Scope of reviews
Each quadrennial homeland security review shall be a comprehensive examination of the
homeland security strategy of the Nation, including recommendations regarding the longterm strategy and priorities of the Nation for homeland security and guidance on the
programs, assets, capabilities, budget, policies, and authorities of the Department.
(3) Consultation
The Secretary shall conduct each quadrennial homeland security review under this
subsection in consultation with-(A) the heads of other Federal agencies, including the Attorney General, the Secretary
of State, the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, the
Secretary of the Treasury, the Secretary of Agriculture, and the Director of National
Intelligence;
(B) key officials of the Department; and
(C) other relevant governmental and nongovernmental entities, including state, local,
and tribal government officials, members of Congress, private sector representatives,
academics, and other policy experts.
(4) Relationship with future years homeland security program
The Secretary shall ensure that each review conducted under this section is coordinated
with the Future Years Homeland Security Program required under section 454 of this title.
(b) Contents of review
In each quadrennial homeland security review, the Secretary shall-(1) delineate and update, as appropriate, the national homeland security strategy,
consistent with appropriate national and Department strategies, strategic plans, and
Homeland Security Presidential Directives, including the National Strategy for Homeland
Security, the National Response Plan, and the Department Security Strategic Plan;
(2) outline and prioritize the full range of the critical homeland security mission areas of
the Nation;
(3) describe the interagency cooperation, preparedness of Federal response assets,
infrastructure, budget plan, and other elements of the homeland security program and
policies of the Nation associated with the national homeland security strategy, required to
execute successfully the full range of missions called for in the national homeland security
strategy described in paragraph (1) and the homeland security mission areas outlined
under paragraph (2);
(4) identify the budget plan required to provide sufficient resources to successfully execute
the full range of missions called for in the national homeland security strategy described in

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LEGAL REQUIREMENT FOR THE REVIEW AND REPORT
paragraph (1) and the homeland security mission areas outlined under paragraph (2);
(5) include an assessment of the organizational alignment of the Department with the
national homeland security strategy referred to in paragraph (1) and the homeland security
mission areas outlined under paragraph (2); and
(6) review and assess the effectiveness of the mechanisms of the Department for
executing the process of turning the requirements developed in the quadrennial homeland
security review into an acquisition strategy and expenditure plan within the Department.
(c) Reporting
(1) In general
Not later than December 31 of the year in which a quadrennial homeland security review is
conducted, the Secretary shall submit to Congress a report regarding that quadrennial
homeland security review.
(2) Contents of report
Each report submitted under paragraph (1) shall include-(A) the results of the quadrennial homeland security review;
(B) a description of the threats to the assumed or defined national homeland security
interests of the Nation that were examined for the purposes of that review;
(C) the national homeland security strategy, including a prioritized list of the critical
homeland security missions of the Nation;
(D) a description of the interagency cooperation, preparedness of Federal response
assets, infrastructure, budget plan, and other elements of the homeland security
program and policies of the Nation associated with the national homeland security
strategy, required to execute successfully the full range of missions called for in the
applicable national homeland security strategy referred to in subsection (b)(1) of this
section and the homeland security mission areas outlined under subsection (b)(2) of
this section;
(E) an assessment of the organizational alignment of the Department with the
applicable national homeland security strategy referred to in subsection (b)(1) of this
section and the homeland security mission areas outlined under subsection (b)(2) of
this section, including the Department's organizational structure, management
systems, budget and accounting systems, human resources systems, procurement
systems, and physical and technical infrastructure;
(F) a discussion of the status of cooperation among Federal agencies in the effort to
promote national homeland security;
(G) a discussion of the status of cooperation between the Federal Government and
state, local, and tribal governments in preventing terrorist attacks and preparing for
emergency response to threats to national homeland security;
(H) an explanation of any underlying assumptions used in conducting the review; and
(I) any other matter the Secretary considers appropriate.
(3) Public availability
The Secretary shall, consistent with the protection of national security and other sensitive
matters, make each report submitted under paragraph (1) publicly available on the
Internet website of the Department.
(d) Authorization of appropriations
There are authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be necessary to carry out this
section.

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THE PURPOSE OF THE SECOND QHSR

U.S. Coast Guard

2. THE PURPOSE OF THE SECOND QUADRENNIAL HOMELAND
SECURITY REVIEW
More than 12 years after the attacks of September 11, 2001, the United States is poised
to begin a new era in homeland security. Long-term changes in the security environment
and critical advances in homeland security capabilities require us to rethink the work DHS
does with our partners—the work of building a safe, secure, and resilient Nation.
This new era is defined by both positive and negative factors: the termination of offensive
military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, two of the longest conflicts in U.S. history; the
rise of fiscal challenges at home and in partner states; global economic growth, tempered
by increased volatility; growth in domestic energy supplies, contrasted with instability in
major energy-producing regions; resource constraints in a more densely populated,
urbanized world; and rapid technological change that impacts how we live, work,
communicate, travel, and access knowledge.

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THE PURPOSE OF THE SECOND QHSR
This Quadrennial Homeland Security Review is consistent with, and supports the enduring
national interests of the United States, as articulated in our national security strategy:


The security of the United States, its citizens, and U.S. allies and partners;



A strong, innovative, and growing U.S. economy in an open international economic
system that promotes opportunity and prosperity;



Respect for universal values at home and around the world; and



An international order advanced by U.S. leadership that promotes peace, security,
and opportunity through stronger cooperation to meet global challenges.

These national interests are inextricably linked and cannot be pursued in isolation.

THE FIVE HOMELAND SECURITY MISSIONS
The first quadrennial review established the five enduring missions of homeland security.
This review reaffirms the five-mission structure and updates the missions (detailed in the
Mission Framework In Depth section). The updated missions are:


Prevent Terrorism and Enhance Security;



Secure and Manage Our Borders;



Enforce and Administer Our Immigration Laws;



Safeguard and Secure Cyberspace; and



Strengthen National Preparedness and Resilience.

Accomplishing these missions
requires unity of effort—both
across every area of DHS activity
and among the numerous
homeland security partners and
stakeholders. The five missions
advance each of the four enduring
national interests articulated in
the National Security Strategy.
Successful accomplishment of

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HOMELAND SECURITY VISION
A homeland that is safe, secure, and
resilient against terrorism and other
hazards, where American interests,
aspirations, and way of life can thrive.

2014 QUADRENNIAL HOMELAND SECURITY REVIEW

Transportation Security Administration

these missions results in a secure homeland, fosters a thriving economy, and protects
privacy, civil rights, and civil liberties. We pursue enduring national interests and conduct
our missions in service to a single homeland security vision: a homeland that is safe,
secure, and resilient against terrorism and other hazards, where American interests,
aspirations, and way of life can thrive.
As the threats and hazards we face change, the way we and our partners and stakeholders
carry out our missions must change as well. The second Quadrennial Homeland Security
Review comprehensively examined the homeland security strategic environment and
identified strategic shifts and areas of ongoing priority and renewed emphasis for the
Nation’s long-term homeland security strategy.
To set homeland security priorities, DHS leads national efforts to assess, analyze, and
compare risk—which is a function of the likelihood and potential impacts of different
homeland security threats and hazards. However, we recognize that the likelihood and
consequence of specific threats and hazards may be influenced over time by
interdependent economic, political, social, environmental, and technological factors, as
well as trends and future uncertainties. We use systems analysis to create a more dynamic
view of how these forces influence threats and hazards and how risk may change over
time. This forward-looking understanding of risk allows us to prioritize our actions within
the five missions and maximize the use of our limited resources.

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THE PURPOSE OF THE SECOND QHSR
Based on a deep examination of the strategic environment, we identified six drivers of
change and six challenges that pose the most strategically significant risk over the next five
years (described in the Strategic Environment section). From those drivers and challenges,
we identified the following strategic priorities that impact all five homeland security
missions:


An updated posture to address the increasingly decentralized terrorist threat;



A strengthened path forward for cybersecurity that acknowledges the increasing
interdependencies among critical systems and networks;



A homeland security strategy to manage the urgent and growing risk of biological
threats and hazards;



A risk segmentation approach to securing and managing flows of people and goods
into and out of the United States; and



A new framework for improving the efficiency and effectiveness of our mission
execution through public-private partnerships.

Beyond these strategic priorities, this second quadrennial review also highlights ongoing
areas of priority and renewed areas of emphasis based on risk and other considerations—
countering nuclear threats, strengthening our immigration system, and enhancing national
resilience. Finally, building upon the first Quadrennial Homeland Security Review, this
review provides an updated view of the Nation’s homeland security mission goals and
objectives.

Federal Law Enforcement Training Center

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THE STRATEGIC ENVIRONMENT

U.S. Coast Guard

3. THE STRATEGIC ENVIRONMENT
DRIVERS OF CHANGE
This Nation’s homeland security architecture has matured over the past four years, as
illustrated by the development of a One DHS approach to a range of homeland security
challenges, and we are determined that this progress continue. For example, programs
such as TSA Pre✓™ and Global Entry demonstrate the effectiveness and efficiency of
risk-based security and cross-Departmental integration that can be achieved within budget
constraints. In addition, law enforcement is becoming increasingly adept at identifying and
disrupting terrorist plotting in this country. It is also worth noting that, in late 2013, DHS
received its first unqualified or “clean” audit opinion; this occurred just 10 years after the
Department’s formation, which was the largest realignment and consolidation of federal
government agencies and functions since the creation of the Department of Defense in
1947.
Our charge in the quadrennial review, however, is to identify and describe the threats to the

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THE STRATEGIC ENVIRONMENT
Nation’s homeland security interests. The first step in understanding threats and hazards
is identifying key areas of change. These areas of change are detailed below.

THE EVOLVING TERRORISM THREAT
The nature of the terrorist threat to the United States has evolved since the September 11,
2001 attacks—and indeed, since the first Quadrennial Homeland Security Review in 2010.
Counterterrorism pressure in the Afghanistan–Pakistan region has degraded the ability of
al-Qa’ida’s senior leadership to launch sophisticated external attacks, although the
leadership that remains continues to aspire to attack the United States. At the same time,
other groups affiliated and ideologically aligned with al-Qa’ida have emerged with the intent
and, in some cases, the capability to carry out attacks against the United States and
American citizens overseas.
Al-Qa’ida in the Arabian Peninsula is currently the al-Qa’ida affiliate of the greatest concern
because of its demonstrated and continuing interest in advancing plots to attack the
United States, particularly
against the aviation
industry.

“The evolution of the terrorist threat demands a
well-informed, highly agile, and well-networked
group of partners and stakeholders...”

Also of concern are
militants who support
al-Qa’ida’s international
agenda and have
established bases of operation in conflict zones in the Middle East, West Africa, and North
Africa, particularly in Syria and neighboring states. These safe havens could allow them to
plan and launch external operations and train recruits who have Western passports and
who can return home with combat skills and a violent anti-Western agenda.

Al-Qa’ida, its affiliates, and adherents also use propaganda to inspire U.S.- and Westernbased supporters who have not traveled to conflict zones to conduct terrorist attacks. Lone
offenders—prime targets of English-language messaging by al-Qa’ida affiliates—tend to
favor plots involving the use of easily acquired weapons or explosives. Lone offenders and
small groups acting on their own initiative and without direction of a terrorist group are
among the most persistent and difficult threats to counter. In recent years, there have
been several acts of violence against military targets by lone offenders as well as
attempted attacks on civilian populations by individuals motivated by al-Qa’ida. In addition,
other groups and individuals inspired by a range of religious, political, or other ideological
beliefs have promoted and used violence against the United States. While not as

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2014 QUADRENNIAL HOMELAND SECURITY REVIEW

significant as the threat posed by al-Qa’ida, its adherents, and its affiliates, these other
groups and individuals remain a persistent threat.
Improvised explosive devices continue to represent a significant threat because they are
easy to build and popular among violent extremists. Further, violent extremists have shown
an enduring interest in improving improvised explosive device materials and methods to
evade security measures. Violent extremists also seek to conduct small arms attacks.
While violent extremists’ mistakes have sometimes contributed to intelligence and law
enforcement successes, plots using improvised explosive devices or small arms present
unique challenges as a result of being tactically simple and adaptable in both timing and
location of execution, complicating discovery and disruption by authorities.
Chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear threats are enduring areas of concern; the
consequences of these attacks are potentially high even though the likelihood of their
occurrence is relatively low. Small scale chemical attacks are expected to remain more
likely, because of accessibility to precursor materials and toxic industrial chemicals and the
relative lack of specialized skills and knowledge required to conduct such attacks.
However, nuclear terrorism and bioterrorism pose the most strategically significant risk, the
former because of its potential consequences, and the latter because of potential
increases in both likelihood and consequence. While the difficulty of stealing a nuclear
weapon or fabricating one from stolen or diverted weapons materials reduces the
likelihood of this type of attack, the extremely high consequences of an improvised nuclear
device attack make it an ongoing top homeland security risk. Biological terrorism becomes
more likely as the capability, knowledge, and resources required to carry out an attack
become more widely accessible. While biotechnology has great potential for good, its
continued expansion around the world challenges our ability to prevent and detect
potential bioterrorist incidents.

INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATIONS TECHNOLOGY
The globally interconnected digital information and communications infrastructure, known
as cyberspace, has changed dramatically in recent years. Cyberspace has become an
integral part of daily life in America and around the world. An estimated two billion people
have at least 12 billion computers and devices, including global positioning systems,
mobile phones, satellites, data routers, desktop computers, and industrial control
computers that run power plants, water systems, and more. A vast array of interdependent
information technology networks, systems, services, and resources enable communication,
facilitate travel, power our homes, run our economy, and provide essential government

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THE STRATEGIC ENVIRONMENT
services. These systems provide enormous benefits to our society and economy, but they
also create new risks and vulnerabilities.
Malicious actors continue to become more sophisticated in exploiting these vulnerabilities,
increasing the risks to critical infrastructure. These actors seek to steal financial
information, intellectual property, trade secrets, and other sensitive information from
businesses small and large. They also seek to capture personal and financial information
from our citizens. While many corporations make cybersecurity a core aspect of their
enterprise risk management, many small businesses and public sector entities face
financial and personnel constraints in doing the same.

Figure 1: Global Internet use is high and growing.
At the same time, information and communications technology are enabling goods and
services to flow through the global supply chain more rapidly than ever before. Moreover,
flows of data and information are, in some cases, replacing physical flows of goods. One
example of this dynamic is the emerging trend of three-dimensional printing. Of concern,
the ongoing development and adoption of electronic payment systems and their increasing
use for illicit trafficking and smuggling create substantial new challenges for investigation
and interdiction.

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2014 QUADRENNIAL HOMELAND SECURITY REVIEW

We must not forget that cyberspace provides opportunities for homeland security. With
appropriate protections for individual privacy and civil rights and civil liberties, technology
can enhance situational awareness, improve investigative capabilities, and support
operational integration.

NATURAL DISASTERS, PANDEMICS, AND CLIMATE CHANGE
Natural disasters, pandemics, and the trends associated with climate change continue to
present a major area of homeland security risk.
Of the naturally occurring events, a devastating pandemic remains the highest homeland
security risk. Both the likelihood and consequences of this low probability, high-impact
event are expected to increase, driven in large part by increasing opportunities for novel
infectious diseases to emerge and spread quickly around the world. Changes in land use
and agriculture, including rising urbanization in countries where disease is endemic or
potentially endemic, promote the emergence
of potential pandemic-causing diseases.
Increasing global trade and travel have the
potential to fuel the spread of infectious
diseases around the world, challenging the
capacity of public health systems at home and
abroad to handle pandemics. Rising antiviral
and antibacterial resistance have the
potential to severely limit the effectiveness of
available medical countermeasures, but other
disease prevention and treatment techniques
are now emerging.
Weather events present a significant and
growing challenge, with several multi-billion
dollar disasters in recent years. Hurricane
Sandy, the largest diameter Atlantic storm on
record, is estimated to have killed 117 people
in the United States and caused widespread
flooding. More than 8.5 million people were left without power, and the storm caused tens
of billions of dollars in damage. Other disasters, particularly earthquakes, droughts, and
floods, also pose significant risks to the Nation. The risk of these disasters is increased by
the vulnerability of aging infrastructure, increasing population density in high-risk areas,

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THE STRATEGIC ENVIRONMENT

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

and—in the case of droughts, floods, and hurricanes—by trends associated with climate
change. Pandemic disease, hurricanes, and other natural disasters not only have the
potential to cause severe consequences, including fatalities and economic loss, but also
may overwhelm the capacities of critical infrastructure, causing widespread disruption of
essential services across the country.
Climate change and associated trends may also indirectly act as “threat multipliers.” They
aggravate stressors abroad that can enable terrorist activity and violence, such as poverty,
environmental degradation, and social tensions. More severe droughts and tropical
storms, especially in Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean, could also increase
population movements, both legal and illegal, across the U.S. border. Melting sea ice in the
Arctic may lead to new opportunities for shipping, tourism, and legal resource exploration,
as well as new routes for smuggling and trafficking, increased risk of environmental
disasters, and illicit resource exploitation. Higher temperatures may change patterns of
human, animal, and plant diseases, putting the workforce, the general public, and plant
and animal health at higher risk of illness. The United States may need to prepare for more
frequent, short-term, disaster-driven migration. Higher temperatures and more intense
storms may also damage or disrupt telecommunications and power systems, creating
challenges for telecommunications infrastructure, emergency communications, and the
availability of cyber systems. Finally, the cost of preparing for, responding to, and
recovering from such events is anticipated to grow as weather-related events continue to
become more severe and damaging.

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INTERDEPENDENT AND AGING CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE SYSTEMS AND
NETWORKS
The Nation’s critical infrastructure provides the essential services that underpin the
American way of life. The concept of critical infrastructure as discrete, physical assets has
become outdated as everything becomes linked to cyberspace. This “cyber-physical
convergence” has changed the risks to critical infrastructure in sectors ranging from energy
and transportation to agriculture and healthcare. Moreover, this interconnected
cyber-physical infrastructure
consists of multiple systems
that rely on one another to
greater degrees for their
operations and, at times,
operate independent of
human direction. One
example of this type of
interconnected system is the
global supply chain, where
information and
communications technologies
are providing real-time
‒ Presidential Policy Directive 21, “Critical
location services, traffic
updates, emergency
Infrastructure Security and Resilience” (2013)
notifications, and more.

Critical infrastructure are those systems and
assets, whether physical or virtual, so vital to
the United States that the incapacity or
destruction of such systems and assets would
have a debilitating impact on security, national
economic security, national public health or
safety, or any combination of those matters.

Critical infrastructure owners and operators also continue to experience increasingly
sophisticated cyber intrusions, which provide malicious actors the ability to disrupt the
delivery of essential services, cause physical damage to critical infrastructure assets, and
potentially produce severe cascading effects.
The aging or deteriorating condition of significant aspects of critical infrastructure systems
weakens our resilience and can affect our Nation’s security and prosperity. Infrastructure
investment has not kept pace with U.S. population growth or growth in demand. One-third
of major roads are in poor or mediocre condition, and approximately one-quarter of the
Nation’s bridges are either structurally deficient or functionally obsolete. Though growth in
demand for electricity has slowed, funding gaps for electric infrastructure could top $100
billion by the end of the decade. Overall, blackouts and other electrical disturbances have
increased by more than 140 percent since 2007. Although weather-related events have

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THE STRATEGIC ENVIRONMENT
been the main cause of major electrical outages in the United States, many outages have
been attributed to system operations failures, and reliability issues are emerging due to the
complex issues of retiring older infrastructure. Without investment in recapitalization and
new technologies, and in light of the potential for increased weather events, the aging
electric grid will likely continue to experience disruptions in service. Our country needs an
estimated $682 billion in wastewater and drinking water infrastructure improvements over
the next 20 years, as well. Hurricane Sandy caused an estimated combined 11 billion
gallons of sewer overflows in eight northeast states and the District of Columbia.
Due in large part to financial constraints, the Nation’s public health capacity has eroded in
recent years, as inadequate funding for infrastructure—from laboratories to community
health centers—has been aggravated by increased demand on an already strained system.
As a result, public health infrastructure systems are under significant strain on a day-to-day
basis, leading to decreased capacity to address large-scale public health emergencies that
may emerge.
These challenges present significant obstacles to performing our missions, particularly
during times of disaster. However, there are unique opportunities to build our critical
infrastructure systems to be more reliable, efficient, and resilient than they were before.
For example, as we rebuild aging and failing infrastructure, we can design in cost-effective
security and resilience features. By leveraging new tools, such as information and
communications technology, building stronger partnerships, and adopting key lessons
learned, we are able to update and adapt critical infrastructure systems to better meet
future challenges.

FLOWS OF PEOPLE AND GOODS: INCREASING VOLUME AND SPEED
Flows of people and goods around the world have expanded dramatically in recent years.
The value of U.S. exports and imports increased substantially between 2005 and 2012;
exports increased by 72 percent, and imports increased by 36 percent. Both are expected
to grow an average of six percent annually through 2030. Lawful travel to the United
States increased 36 percent from 2005 to 2012 and is estimated to increase by more than
25 percent from 2012 to 2018. Air travel has also seen substantial growth internationally,
increasing by 47 percent in the same seven-year period.
These trends will be amplified by other factors, including the forthcoming expansion of the
Panama Canal, which is likely to substantially increase the volume of trade going through
U.S. ports on the East Coast and in the Gulf of Mexico. In addition, the global systems that
move goods from one location to another have grown increasingly efficient through

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2014 QUADRENNIAL HOMELAND SECURITY REVIEW

Figure 2: Lawful travel to the United States increased 36 percent from 2005 to 2012 and
is estimated to increase by more than 26 percent from 2012 to 2018.

innovations such as intermodal shipping. This has increased trade over our borders. Rail
intermodal traffic— transporting shipping containers and truck trailers on railroad flat cars—
increased nearly fourfold between 1980 and 2012.
However, the trade and travel system is also susceptible to threats and hazards. When air
and maritime travel into and within the United States was halted in the immediate
aftermath of the attacks of September 11, 2001, the resulting disruptions had tremendous
negative impacts on our economy. Short-term supply chain disruptions due to port strikes
and natural disasters have also impacted flows of cargo. Cascading events, such as the
2011 earthquake and tsunami in Japan that led to the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster
and the temporary idling of auto plants in the United States, demonstrate the potential for
significant disruption to the lawful trade and travel system.
The increased movement of people and goods across our borders provides many
opportunities but also provides more places for illegal goods, unauthorized migrants, and

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THE STRATEGIC ENVIRONMENT
threats to hide. Illicit materials, threats, and hazards may cross at or between our ports of
entry deliberately or inadvertently. Illegal shipments, such as intellectual property
infringing goods, adversely impact our nation’s economy. Unauthorized migration is
influenced by many factors, including weak rule of law and violence in sending countries.
Violent extremists and criminals can hide within this larger flow of migrants who intend no
harm. More travelers moving more efficiently through the lawful trade and travel system
also may increase the potential for rapid escalation of biological events across regions,
countries, and continents.
Transnational criminal organizations rely on revenues generated through the sale of illegal
drugs and counterfeit goods, human trafficking and smuggling, and other criminal
activities. These organizations continue to expand in size, scope, and influence and are
capitalizing on technological innovation, including new platforms to sell illicit goods,
innovative ways of moving money, tools for coordinating operations, and a variety of other
criminal and cyber activities. Transnational criminal organizations are gaining strength by
taking advantage of the same innovations in management and supply chain structures that
are propelling multinational corporations.
As transnational criminal organizations grow stronger and challenge or corrupt
governments in many regions, they are moving more freely, expanding their networks, and
acquiring and distributing military-grade equipment. Violent extremist networks can also
conduct these profitable criminal activities on their own, exploiting the same vulnerabilities
in finance, trade and travel, and immigration.
Generally, higher volumes of people and goods will stress current screening and detection
capabilities and capacities.

BUDGET DRIVERS
The out year funding assumptions applied for this quadrennial review are based on the
economic and policy assumptions underpinning the President’s 2015 Budget submission
to Congress. Since the last Quadrennial Homeland Security Review, economic conditions
have had wide-ranging impacts across homeland security partners and stakeholders,
affecting both daily operations and current investments to meet longer-term needs and
challenges. For example, more than two-thirds of the nation’s 30 largest metro regions
have not seen municipal government revenue return to pre-recession levels. While public
safety spending is often the last part of the budget to be cut, by 2011, 20 of the 30 largest
metro regions had reduced spending on public safety, impacting daily operations and the
ability to respond to emergencies.

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2014 QUADRENNIAL HOMELAND SECURITY REVIEW

Going forward, the budgets of many homeland security partners are assumed to maintain
parity with inflation or modestly decline in real terms. We also assume that state budgets
will be constrained by reductions in federal grants, which are projected to remain below
their 2007 historic high (as a percentage of gross domestic product). International
partners will likely face similar constraints. Economic pressures on families, nonprofits,
and the private sector may also adversely affect local investment in the security and
resilience of our communities.

Federal Emergency Management Agency

Partnerships with state, local, tribal, and territorial governments; international partners;
nongovernmental organizations; and the private sector are essential to meet mutual safety
and security needs and extend services in a time of flat or declining budgets. State, local,
tribal, and territorial governments are maintaining services through measures such as
sharing resources across jurisdictional lines and privatizing infrastructure. Public-private
partnerships are a key focus of this report because the security challenges facing our
Nation are too large and complex for either government or the private sector to address
alone. Working together to invest in infrastructure projects and to expedite travel and trade
benefits both private and public sectors.

2014 QUADRENNIAL HOMELAND SECURITY REVIEW

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THE STRATEGIC ENVIRONMENT
PREVAILING CHALLENGES THAT POSE THE MOST STRATEGICALLY SIGNIFICANT
RISK
The threats, hazards, trends, and other dynamics reflected in the drivers of change suggest
several prevailing strategic challenges that will drive risk over the next five years:


The terrorist threat is evolving and, while changing in shape, remains significant as
attack planning and operations become more decentralized. The United States and
its interests, particularly in the transportation sector, remain persistent targets.



Growing cyber threats are significantly increasing risk to critical infrastructure and to
the greater U.S. economy.



Biological concerns as a whole, including bioterrorism, pandemics, foreign animal
diseases, and other agricultural concerns, endure as a top homeland security risk
because of both potential likelihood and impacts.



Nuclear terrorism through the introduction and use of an improvised nuclear device,
while unlikely, remains an enduring risk because of its potential consequences.



Transnational criminal organizations are increasing in strength and capability,
driving risk in counterfeit goods, human trafficking, illicit drugs, and other illegal
flows of people and goods.



Natural hazards are becoming more costly to address, with increasingly variable
consequences due in part to drivers such as climate change and interdependent
and aging infrastructure.

Beyond these specific strategic challenges, factors such as technology and migration
present both opportunities and challenges for the homeland security community.
Technological advances in communications, big data, manufacturing, and biological
sciences provide new and lower cost capabilities that may benefit both the United States
and our adversaries. Similarly, while lawful immigration greatly benefits the United States,
attempted unauthorized migration poses consistent challenges for the management of our
legal immigration system, borders, and ports of entry.

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POTENTIAL “BLACK SWANS”
There are potential changes in the world around us that, while highly unlikely,
would dramatically impact homeland security were they to occur. Such changes
may come from previously unknown aspects of the strategic environment or may
be the result of known aspects behaving in an unforeseen and unpredictable
manner and have been referred to by economists and sociologists as “black swans.”
While not an exhaustive list, there are four potential “black swans” that could
materially change our assessment of overall homeland security risk and priorities
over the next five years:


Rapid adoption of technology-driven changes to manufacturing processes, such
as three-dimensional printing, fundamentally altering the importance of
transnational flows of information in relation to the transnational flows of
goods;



A country unexpectedly becoming a failed state, leading to consequences such
as loss of control over sensitive technologies (e.g., chemical, biological,
radiological, and nuclear materials) or loss of general border integrity;



A substantial increase in sophistication of hostile non-state actors, such as a
violent extremist group gaining the ability to launch a campaign of wellcoordinated and highly organized attacks, conducted by interconnected but
autonomous groups or individuals within the United States; and



Abrupt impacts of climate change, such as drastic alterations in U.S. weather
patterns and growing seasons or rapid opening of the Arctic.

These changes are not planned for or expected in the next five years, yet if they
were to happen, they would fundamentally alter the homeland security strategic
environment described here.

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GUIDING PRINCIPLES
4. GUIDING PRINCIPLES
The following principles form the basis for the specific priorities and areas of emphasis the
Department, together with our partners and stakeholders, will adopt in addressing the
strategic challenges discussed in the Strategic Environment section.

THE CORNERSTONE OF HOMELAND SECURITY IS PREVENTING TERRORISM,
BUT HOMELAND SECURITY MUST BE MULTI-THREAT AND ALL-HAZARD
Events of the past 12 years demonstrate that we must consider the full range of threats
and hazards facing the Nation when setting homeland security strategy and priorities. The
Department is a multi-mission, multi-function agency, covering long-standing functions
such as civil defense, emergency response, customs, border control, law enforcement, and
immigration. As one agency, we are able to improve efficiency by identifying the common
characteristics among the wide variety of threats and hazards we face and by identifying
common ways to address them.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection

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HOMELAND SECURITY
SUPPORTS ECONOMIC
SECURITY
As noted previously, lawful
trade and travel are
expanding rapidly, with great
benefit to U.S. prosperity and
economic security. DHS and
our partners are on the front
lines overseas and at our air,
land, and sea ports of entry,
expediting these flows of
people and goods and
ensuring their security. As
U.S. Customs and Border Protection
such, and as recognized in
successive national security strategies, homeland security is inseparable from economic
security.

HOMELAND SECURITY REQUIRES A NETWORKED COMMUNITY
The Department works with other units of government, forms public-private partnerships,
and enlists the help of the American people because the homeland security missions
cannot be met by one entity alone. Our ability to effectively network ourselves through
robust partnerships and operational integration—within DHS, across homeland security
partners and stakeholders, and with our international partners—increasingly means the
difference between mission success and failure. This is all the more important given the
range of adversaries the Nation confronts, many of whom are increasingly networked
themselves. The homeland security community can be more flexible, adaptable, and
efficient in addressing diverse challenges if it acts as an integrated, mutually supporting
network. Our shared efforts will promote security and risk reduction approaches that are
responsive to the needs of our partners.

HOMELAND SECURITY RELIES UPON THE USE OF MARKET-DRIVEN
SOLUTIONS AND INNOVATION
We must partner with industry in research and development efforts to reduce known
vulnerabilities that have proven difficult or expensive to address—particularly in cyberspace

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31

GUIDING PRINCIPLES
and critical infrastructure—and to mitigate consequences of disruption or intrusion. The
Department will continue to adopt market-based solutions and coordinate closely with
industry to identify new areas of application for security products and services and will help
ensure the public and private sectors have awareness and access to the latest
technologies and protections.

HOMELAND SECURITY UPHOLDS PRIVACY, CIVIL RIGHTS, AND CIVIL LIBERTIES
Privacy, civil rights, and civil liberties issues are interwoven into our approach to homeland
security across all missions and can arise in any homeland security activity, sometimes in
unforeseen ways. In addressing new risks or adopting new and integrated approaches, we
must identify early on any risk of infringement of these core values and rights and address
that risk accordingly. When issues are identified and resolved earlier, it helps ensure that
all eligible persons and communities can participate in homeland security programs and
benefit from our operations.

HOMELAND SECURITY IS NATIONAL RISK MANAGEMENT
Absolute security against the threats and hazards we face is neither fiscally nor
operationally possible. Instead, homeland security is about managing risk. As described
previously, the second quadrennial review makes recommendations for strategic shifts and
renewed areas of emphasis for our national homeland security strategy and priorities.
National risk management emphasizes focusing on those actions and interventions that
reduce the greatest amount of strategic risk to the Nation.

U.S. Coast Guard

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STRATEGIC PRIORITIES

U.S. Secret Service

5. STRATEGIC PRIORITIES
DHS will adopt the following strategic shifts or renewed emphases over the next four years
to best address the changing strategic environment. These priorities emerge out of a
number of cross-cutting Quadrennial Homeland Security Review studies, which lead to
shifts and renewed areas of emphasis across the homeland security missions. The tables
at the beginning of each subsection below show which missions are impacted by these
shifts and renewed areas of emphasis.

SECURING AGAINST THE EVOLVING TERRORISM THREAT
OVERVIEW
As described in the first quadrennial review, homeland security is a concerted national
effort that involves actions by a widely distributed and diverse group of federal, state, local,
tribal, territorial, non-governmental, and private sector partners as well as individuals,
families, and communities. The evolution of the terrorist threat demands a well-informed,
highly agile, and well-networked group of partners and stakeholders to anticipate, detect,

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33

STRATEGIC PRIORITIES
target, and disrupt threats that challenge national security, economic prosperity, and public
safety. To improve overall unity of effort, we will work with our partners to identify,
investigate, and interdict legitimate threats as early as possible; expand risk-based
security; focus on countering violent extremism and helping to prevent complex mass
casualty attacks; reduce vulnerabilities by denying resources and targets; and uncover
patterns and faint signals through enhanced data integration and analysis.
Table 1: The following table shows how priority areas of emphasis for securing against the
evolving terrorism threat map to the homeland security missions.
Securing Against the Evolving Terrorism Threat
Priority Area of Emphasis

Prevent
Terrorism and
Enhance
Security

Strengthen
Secure and
Enforce and Safeguard and
National
Manage Our Administer Our
Secure
Preparedness
Borders
Immigration Laws Cyberspace
and Resilience

Identify, Investigate, and Interdict
Threats as Early as Possible





Shrink the Haystack: Expand
Risk-Based Security





Focus on Countering Violent Extremism
and Helping to Prevent Complex Mass
Casualty Attacks



Reduce Vulnerabilities: Deny
Resources, Deny Targets



Uncover Patterns and Faint Signals:
Enhance Data Integration and Analysis













STRATEGIC APPROACH
IDENTIFY, INVESTIGATE, AND INTERDICT THREATS AS EARLY AS POSSIBLE
Given the current and emerging potential threats, a primary concern is that violent
extremists can move undetected across porous borders within conflict zones—such as
today’s conflicts in Syria, Somalia, and Yemen—where they can train in terrorist tactics,
skills, and weapons. At the same time, several countries are on the edge of state failure
and are unable to secure their own borders, prevent the illicit movement of people and
goods, and collect customs revenues to support governance.
To address these pathway vulnerabilities and enhance the safe and secure movement of
people and goods, DHS, in coordination with the Departments of State, Defense, Justice,
and other partners, will prioritize support to foreign partners to increase their border

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management, customs integrity, and law enforcement capabilities and capacities. In
addition, we will continue to expand pre-departure screening and enhance transportation
security operations among willing partners to mitigate risks from overseas. To keep
dangerous people and goods off aircraft bound for the United States, it is critical that we
use information received in advance to screen abroad based on risk, rather than waiting for
arrival in the United States.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection/Anthony Bucci

SHRINK THE HAYSTACK: EXPAND RISK-BASED SECURITY
The decentralized nature of today’s threat demands that we continue to move away from
one-size-fits-all security approaches and toward risk-informed, intelligence-driven
approaches. For this reason, DHS will expand efforts to identify low-risk travelers and
cargo to focus security resources on those we know less about or those identified as higher
risk. Trusted traveler and shipper programs such as Global Entry, TSA Pre✓™, and the
Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism advance these objectives and show that
effective security and the expedited flow of goods and people can be achieved together.
We will continue to identify lower-risk travelers by a number of means, including using
background checks and recognizing foreign partner trusted traveler and shipper programs.
More broadly, risk-informed decision making is becoming the norm among homeland
security partners and stakeholders. For example, unmanned aerial surveillance systems

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STRATEGIC PRIORITIES
used in securing and managing our borders are deployed based on risk, allowing strategic
aerial surveillance of wide areas and better detection and interdiction of illicit flows. Risk
and intelligence information also drive the deployments of our security teams who secure
mass transit and trains, waterways, and other modes of transportation. In addition, we are
continuously improving our approach to addressing insider threats, including how we vet,
credential, and educate individuals with access to critical or sensitive homeland security
facilities. Finally, state, local, tribal, and territorial governments identify risks and decide
how to address their greatest risks through the completion of the Threat and Hazard
Identification and Risk Assessment process.
FOCUS ON COUNTERING VIOLENT EXTREMISM AND HELPING TO PREVENT COMPLEX MASS CASUALTY
ATTACKS
Our approach to countering violent extremism in the United States—guided by the White
House Strategy, Empowering Local Partners to Prevent Violent Extremism in the United
States (2011)—applies to all forms of violent extremism regardless of ideology and does
not focus on protected First Amendment activities. The Boston Marathon bombing, the
arrests of individuals attempting to travel to conflict zones in support of violent extremist
groups, and the shooting at a Sikh temple in Wisconsin in 2012 illustrate the persistent
threat in the United States from groups and individuals inspired by a range of religious,
political, or other ideological beliefs.
Our efforts to countering violent extremism emphasize the strength of local communities
and the premise that well-informed and well-equipped families, communities, and local
institutions represent the best defense against violent extremism. We prioritize disrupting
and deterring recruitment or individual radicalization to violence by supporting communitybased problem solving and local law enforcement programs. Such programs include
information-driven, community-oriented policing efforts that for decades have proven
effective in preventing other types of violent crime. In addition, our communities and youth
must be made aware of the increasing dangers of online radicalization to violence. DHS
will continue to work with our partners to share information with frontline law enforcement
partners, communities, families, and the private sector about how violent extremists are
using the Internet and how to protect themselves and their communities.
Further, substantial research and analysis are helping to identify and illustrate the tactics,
behaviors, and indicators potentially associated with violent extremism as well as factors
that may influence violent extremism. Based on this analysis, DHS jointly develops with
federal, state, local, tribal, and territorial partners training for frontline law enforcement
officers on behaviors that may be indicative of violent extremist activity.

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Similar research into non-ideologically motivated violence, such as the devastating
shootings in Newtown, Connecticut and Aurora, Colorado, provides further insight into
pre-incident behavioral indicators associated with mass violence. These insights enhance
our efforts to equip partners with the most effective tools to identify and mitigate a range of
violent attacks, including briefings to community stakeholders on pre-incident behavioral
indicators associated with mass casualty shootings and on community-based
multidisciplinary intervention techniques.

Transportation Security Administration

REDUCE VULNERABILITIES: DENY RESOURCES, DENY TARGETS
Violent extremists will seek to attack symbolic venues, transportation pathways, mass
gatherings, and critical infrastructure. To enhance our ability to protect these “soft”
targets, we must adopt approaches that are intelligence-led, analytically driven, and
pursued in close cooperation between federal, state, local, tribal, territorial, and private
sector partners as well as with the public. The DHS “Security Strategy for Mass Transit and
Passenger Rail” illustrates how we have employed this approach to improve the security
and resilience of critical surface transportation infrastructure.
Further, to counter the threat posed by improvised explosive devices and small arms
attacks, we will work with our partners to expand and promote activities such as suspicious
activity reporting and private sector security measures. Internationally, we will continue to
support multilateral efforts, such as the World Customs Organization’s Program Global

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37

STRATEGIC PRIORITIES
Shield, which shares information on the global movement of precursor chemicals used to
manufacture improvised explosive devices and raise security standards. We regulate
high-risk chemical facilities to reduce their vulnerabilities. We will also continue
researching next-generation technology solutions to stay ahead of advances in wireless
technology, given the use of wireless technology in improvised explosive device detonation
and control mechanisms.
Across all of these efforts, DHS, working with our government and private sector partners,
will be proactive in discouraging terrorist plots. We will place an increased emphasis on
deterrence, including enhancing efforts to publicly communicate tailored descriptions of
homeland security capabilities to influence the perceptions, risk calculations, and
behaviors of adversaries.
UNCOVER PATTERNS AND FAINT SIGNALS: ENHANCE DATA INTEGRATION AND ANALYSIS
DHS and our partners must continually enhance situational awareness. To that end, DHS
is committed to integrating its data sources, including by consolidating or federating
screening and vetting operations. Perhaps most importantly, we must continually improve
our ability to make sense of vast amounts of intelligence and other information—the socalled “big data” challenge—while rigorously protecting the privacy and civil liberties of
Americans. For homeland security, the adoption of big data management solutions will aid
investigators and analysts in identifying relationships that were previously difficult to
discern. This type of pattern and network analysis allows DHS and our partners to identify
harmful activity as early as possible and to take steps to intervene or otherwise stop
harmful events from occurring.
One critical data source is Suspicious Activity Reporting from state, local, tribal, territorial,
and private sector partners as part of the Nationwide Suspicious Activity Reporting
Initiative. Another source is the “If You See Something, Say SomethingTM” campaign, which
encourages citizens to report suspicious activity to the proper law enforcement authorities.
These efforts ensure the protection of privacy, civil rights, and civil liberties, while also
ensuring information is quickly reviewed by the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI’s)
Joint Terrorism Task Forces for possible investigation and shared with other fusion centers
and FBI Field Intelligence Groups for additional analysis. Through the National Network of
Fusion Centers and other mechanisms, DHS will prioritize the development and timely
distribution of locally or regionally oriented joint products. These joint products, produced
collaboratively by federal, state, local, tribal, and territorial partners, support operations
and provide detailed insight on emerging community or region-specific threats.

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Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

SAFEGUARD AND SECURE CYBERSPACE
OVERVIEW
Cyberspace and its underlying infrastructure are vulnerable to a wide range of risk
stemming from both physical and cyber threats and hazards. Sophisticated cyber actors
and nation-states exploit vulnerabilities to steal information and money and are developing
capabilities to disrupt, destroy, or threaten the delivery of essential services. A range of
traditional crimes is now being perpetrated through cyberspace. This includes the
production and distribution of child pornography and child exploitation conspiracies,
banking and financial fraud, intellectual property violations, and other crimes, all of which
have substantial human and economic consequences.
Cyberspace is particularly difficult to secure due to a number of factors: the ability of
malicious actors to operate from anywhere in the world, the linkages between cyberspace
and physical systems, and the difficulty of reducing vulnerabilities and consequences in
complex cyber networks.

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STRATEGIC PRIORITIES
Of growing concern is the cyber threat to critical infrastructure. This infrastructure provides
essential services such as energy, telecommunications, water, transportation, and financial
services and is increasingly subject to sophisticated cyber intrusions that pose new risks.
As information technology becomes increasingly integrated with physical infrastructure
operations, there is increased risk for wide scale or high-consequence events that could
cause harm or disrupt services upon which our economy and the daily lives of millions of
Americans depend.
In light of the risk and potential consequences of cyber events, strengthening the security
and resilience of cyberspace has become an important homeland security mission. The
Department works to achieve this mission by collaborating with government and private
sector partners to strengthen cybersecurity protections, investigate those that engage in
cybercrime, and take full advantage of innovations in machine intelligence and
communications that work at the speed of cyberspace. The Department will promote
security and risk reduction approaches that are driven by the needs of our stakeholders,
are cost effective, and do not negatively impact operational performance. When incidents
do occur, DHS will continue to provide assistance to potentially impacted entities, analyze
the potential impact across critical infrastructure, investigate those responsible in
conjunction with other law enforcement partners, and coordinate the national response to
significant cyber incidents.
The Department works in close coordination with other agencies with complementary cyber
missions, as well as private sector and other nonfederal owners and operators of critical
infrastructure, to ensure greater unity of effort and a whole-of-nation response to cyber
incidents. DHS coordinates the national protection against, mitigation of, and recovery
from cyber incidents; works to prevent and protect against risks to critical infrastructure;
disseminates domestic cyber threat and vulnerability analysis across critical infrastructure
sectors; secures federal civilian systems; investigates, attributes, and disrupts cybercrimes
under its jurisdiction; and coordinates federal government responses to significant
incidents, whether cyber or physical, affecting critical infrastructure. The Department of
Justice (DOJ) prosecutes cybercrimes; investigates, attributes, and disrupts cybercrimes
under its jurisdiction; leads domestic national security operations regarding cyber threats,
including disrupting foreign intelligence, terrorist, or other national security threats; and
conducts domestic collection, analysis, and dissemination of cyber threat information. The
Department of Defense (DOD) defends the nation from attack, secures national security
and military systems, and gathers foreign cyber threat information. Working together, we
work to foster a secure and resilient cyberspace that protects privacy and other civil
liberties by design; supports innovation and economic growth; helps maintain national

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security and public health and safety; and supports legitimate commerce.
Table 2: The following table shows how priority areas of emphasis for safeguarding and
securing cyberspace map to the homeland security missions.
Safeguard and Secure Cyberspace
Priority Area of Emphasis

Prevent
Terrorism and
Enhance
Security

Strengthen the Security and Resilience
of Critical Infrastructure



Secure the Federal Civilian Government
Information Technology Enterprise



Advance Law Enforcement, Incident
Response, and Reporting Capabilities



Strengthen
Secure and
Enforce and Safeguard and
National
Manage Our Administer Our
Secure
Preparedness
Borders
Immigration Laws Cyberspace
and Resilience





Strengthen the Ecosystem














STRATEGIC APPROACH
STRENGTHEN THE SECURITY AND RESILIENCE OF CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE
The Department employs a risk-informed approach to safeguarding critical infrastructure in
cyberspace. We do this in the context of the overall risk to critical infrastructure under an
all-hazards approach. In reducing cyber and physical risks, we will emphasize protections
for privacy and civil liberties, transparent and accessible security processes, and domestic
and international partnerships that further collective action. The Department will continue
to coordinate with sector specific agencies, other federal agencies, and private sector
partners to share information on and analysis of cyber threats and vulnerabilities and to
understand more fully the interdependency of infrastructure systems nationwide. This
collective approach to prevent, protect against, mitigate, respond to, investigate, and
recover from cyber incidents prioritizes understanding and meeting the needs of our
partners. This approach is also consistent with the growing recognition among corporate
leaders that cyber and physical security are interdependent and must be core aspects of
their risk management strategies.
The Department will evolve towards dynamic real-time situational awareness capabilities,
like “weather maps” for cyberspace. These situational awareness capabilities will support
cyber infrastructure that—much like the human immune system—will be smart enough to

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STRATEGIC PRIORITIES

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

detect, adapt to, and defend against new threats with sufficient resilience to continue
operating while under attack. Further, this situational awareness will support a common
operating picture for cybersecurity that will provide cyber event information, and serve as a
resource for all of government and industry. Providing information to machines at machine
speed to block threats in milliseconds instead of the hours or days required today will
enable better cyber incident response and mitigation.
We must draw on the Nation’s full range of expertise and resources—from all levels of
government, the private sector, members of the public, and international partners—to
secure critical infrastructure from cyber threats. Executive Order 13636, Improving Critical
Infrastructure Cybersecurity (2013), and Presidential Policy Directive 21, “Critical
Infrastructure Security and Resilience” (2013), establish a risk-informed approach and a
framework for critical infrastructure security and resilience collaboration. They also include
the Framework for Improving Critical Infrastructure Cybersecurity, which provides an
industry-driven risk management approach to strengthen cybersecurity across all critical
infrastructure sectors. We will continue to work with our partners to foster development of
secure cyber products and services and to encourage the adoption of leading cybersecurity
best practices, including the Cybersecurity Framework and the National Infrastructure
Protection Plan. The cyber ecosystem will also be strengthened as aging and failing
infrastructure is replaced by infrastructure with more secure and resilient design built in.
SECURE THE FEDERAL CIVILIAN GOVERNMENT INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY ENTERPRISE
The Federal Government must seek to serve as a model to other organizations in our work
to secure our networks with the latest tools, information, and protections. The Department

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will continue to work with each federal civilian department and agency to promote the
adoption of common policies and best practices that are risk-based and able to effectively
respond to the pace of ever changing threats. As systems are protected, alerts can be
issued at machine speed when events are detected to help protect networks across the
government information technology enterprise and the private sector. This enterprise
approach will help transform the way federal civilian agencies manage cyber networks
through strategically sourced tools and services that enhance the speed and costeffectiveness of federal cybersecurity procurements and allow consistent application of
best practices.
The Department works with other federal agencies and the private sector to identify
emerging requirements and to support research and development projects that keep pace
with ever changing threats and vulnerabilities. The Department will target techniques and
capabilities that can be deployed over the next decade with the potential to redefine the
state of cybersecurity against current and future threats by working to make the
innovations from research and development widely available across the public and private
sectors.
ADVANCE LAW ENFORCEMENT, INCIDENT RESPONSE, AND REPORTING CAPABILITIES
Complementary cybersecurity and law enforcement capabilities are critical to safeguarding
and securing cyberspace. Law enforcement performs an essential role in achieving our
Nation’s cybersecurity objectives by investigating a wide range of cybercrimes, from theft

National Protection and Programs Directorate

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STRATEGIC PRIORITIES
and fraud to child exploitation, and apprehending and prosecuting those responsible.
Cybersecurity and infrastructure protection experts provide assistance to owners and
operators of critical systems by responding to incidents and restoring services, and
analyzing potentially broader cyber or physical impacts to critical infrastructure.
Law enforcement entities; network security experts; the Intelligence Community; state,
local, tribal, and territorial partners; critical infrastructure owners and operators; and others
in the private sector, through coordination and planning, will increase the quantity and
impact of cybercrime investigations and network security efforts. Together we will continue
to identify and respond to malicious actors and continue to grow our national cyber incident
response and information sharing capacity. We will also continue sharing lessons learned
from these efforts to help prevent the same incidents from happening elsewhere, while
protecting victims’ privacy and ongoing investigations.
Criminal investigators and network security experts with deep understanding of the
technologies malicious actors are using and the specific vulnerabilities they are targeting
work to effectively respond to and investigate cyber incidents. DHS will work with other
federal agencies to conduct high-impact criminal investigations to disrupt and defeat cyber
criminals, prioritize the recruitment and training of technical experts, develop standardized

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement

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2014 QUADRENNIAL HOMELAND SECURITY REVIEW

methods, and broadly share cyber response best practices and tools. The Secretary of
Homeland Security will coordinate federal government responses to significant cyber or
physical incidents affecting critical infrastructure consistent with statutory authorities.
DHS will continue to work with all partners, government and private sector, to ensure that
information provided to any federal agency is appropriately shared. This strengthens the
use of established private sector and academia relationships with government partners
and leverages these relationships when they are needed most.
STRENGTHEN THE ECOSYSTEM
Cybersecurity is a shared responsibility in which each of us has a role. Ensuring a healthy
cyber ecosystem will require collaborative communities, innovative and agile security
solutions, standardized and consistent processes to share information and best practices,
sound policies and plans, and development of a skilled workforce to ensure those policies
and plans are implemented as intended.
DHS will work with our public and private sector partners to help develop innovative
security technologies and services that strengthen analytic, response, and remediation
capabilities; prevent incidents before they occur; and minimize the consequences of those
incidents that occur. To do this, we will develop a strong team of cybersecurity
professionals to design, build, and operate robust technology to reduce exploitable
weaknesses.
The cyber ecosystem also needs self-mitigating and self-healing systems to address threats
at machine speed. Consistent standards are needed for sharing information across
organizations and developing interoperable technologies that enable detection of and
resilience against threats and hazards. DHS will work with our public and private sector
partners and across the science and policy communities to identify promising technologies,
policies, and standards that enable trust-based, privacy-centric, automated sharing of
cybersecurity information to limit the spread of incidents and minimize consequences.
DHS will continue to advance existing public education programs and promote
cybersecurity strategies and awareness campaigns that engage the American people in
keeping themselves—and the Nation—secure online. Internationally, DHS will work with the
Department of State and other partners to build global networks to share vital
cybersecurity information and help enable international response to cyber incidents. DHS,
with our partners, will also work to harmonize international laws to effectively combat
transnational cybercrime.

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STRATEGIC PRIORITIES

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services/Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

A HOMELAND SECURITY STRATEGY FOR COUNTERING BIOLOGICAL THREATS
AND HAZARDS
OVERVIEW
Biological threats and hazards—ranging from bioterrorism to naturally occurring
pandemics—are a top homeland security risk. They have the potential to significantly
impact the health and well-being of the Nation’s people, animals, and plants. These
threats and hazards may also be highly disruptive to our efforts to pursue the homeland
security missions. They may overwhelm our state, local, tribal, and territorial partners and
may threaten our ability to maintain essential functions and carry out day-to-day
operations.
We generally expect the risk of biological threats and hazards to increase over time, given
trends such as increasing trade and travel and the growing accessibility of biotechnology.
In the long term, unexpected or dramatic shifts in key areas, including biotechnology, global
biosurveillance capability and response capacity, and disease prevention and treatment,
may cause the risk to change. As such, these key areas present important opportunities

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for managing biological risk into the future, risk that must be addressed in a sustainable
way.
The Department performed an in-depth examination of the risk associated with biological
threats and hazards in the homeland security mission space. From this analysis, we
identified four biological threats and hazards—referred to here as “priority biological threats
and hazards”—that pose particularly high risk to the Nation and that an effective homeland
security strategy for managing biological risk must address:


Pathogens posing particular bioterrorism concerns (e.g., anthrax, plague, and
smallpox), including enhanced and advanced pathogens;



Emerging infectious diseases that are highly disruptive (e.g., viruses that could
cause human pandemic);



Animal diseases and plant pathogens or pests that are highly disruptive (e.g., footand-mouth disease); and



Bioterrorist contamination of the food supply chain and water systems.

Incidents involving these priority biological threats and hazards are often difficult to prevent
and can cause severe consequences, including mass illnesses, fatalities, and widespread
Table 3: The following table shows how priority areas of emphasis for the homeland
security strategy for countering biological threats and hazards map to the homeland
security missions.
A Homeland Security Strategy for Countering Biological Threats and Hazards
Priority Area of Emphasis

Prevent
Terrorism and
Enhance
Security

Strengthen
Secure and
Enforce and Safeguard and
National
Manage Our Administer Our
Secure
Preparedness
Borders
Immigration Laws Cyberspace
and Resilience

Prevent Biological Incidents from
Occurring, When Possible





Improve Risk-Informed Decision Making





Identify Biological Incidents Early







Improve Confidence to Act









Respond and Recover from Biological
Incidents
Maintain Vital Services and Functions
During and After Biological Incidents






2014 QUADRENNIAL HOMELAND SECURITY REVIEW









47

STRATEGIC PRIORITIES
disruption of our society and economy. These types of threats and hazards may evade
early detection; may spread quickly across regions, countries, and continents; and may
persist for long periods of time. An incident involving a priority biological threat or hazard is
referred to here as a “priority biological incident.”
A HOMELAND SECURITY STRATEGY FOR MANAGING BIOLOGICAL RISK
Numerous departments and agencies at the federal, state, local, tribal, and territorial
levels, as well as the private sector, contribute to the national effort to address these
biological threats and hazards. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is
the principal federal agency for protecting the Nation’s health and providing essential
human services. HHS leads the Nation in preparing for, responding to, and recovering from
the adverse health effects of public health incidents and develops the National Health
Security Strategy. The Departments of Agriculture, Defense, Justice, the Environmental
Protection Agency, and various centers within the Office of the Director of National
Intelligence also perform central roles. The FBI leads investigations when an act of
bioterrorism is suspected, and is the lead law enforcement agency for investigating
violations of the biological warfare and terrorism statute. This strategy focuses on those
activities and responsibilities assigned to DHS through statute or presidential directive,
including information sharing and analysis; threat and risk awareness; biosurveillance
integration and detection; technical forensic analysis to support attribution; preparedness
coordination; incident management, response, and continuity planning; critical
infrastructure security and resilience coordination; and border management. While these
varied responsibilities have not changed significantly, this strategy integrates and
harmonizes these activities in a manner that best addresses priority biological threats and
hazards.
We cannot prevent all biological incidents from occurring, nor can we simply rely on our
ability to respond and recover to adequately minimize the risk of catastrophic biological
incidents. Therefore, our strategy is to prevent the occurrence of priority biological
incidents, where possible, but, when unable to prevent, to stop priority biological incidents
from overwhelming the capacity of our state, local, tribal, and territorial partners to manage
and respond. To do this, we will work to prevent the release of priority biological threat
agents, either by an adversary or by accident. We will also prevent, where possible, priority
biological threats and hazards from crossing the border into the United States.
Understanding that we cannot prevent all biological incidents from occurring, DHS, in close
collaboration with HHS, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and DOJ, will enhance
situational awareness and biosurveillance capabilities to recognize faint signals of
impending or evolving priority biological incidents, so we can respond to stop escalation

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and thus limit potential consequences.
We will continue to help our state, local, tribal, and territorial partners develop the
capabilities necessary to manage and respond to priority biological incidents with some
federal support, at levels of capacity sufficient to address a “mid-range” incident (see
Figure 3). Biological incidents with a “mid-range” level of risk are those that stress state,
local, tribal, and territorial capacity without overwhelming it, typically also involving federal
assistance. Assuming that state, local, tribal, and territorial partners can directly manage
these “mid-range” incidents with some federal assistance, DHS and our federal partners
will continue to invest in and develop capabilities as appropriate to support and reinforce
these state, local, tribal, and territorial capabilities. Understanding and addressing the
state, local, tribal, and territorial regional variability to manage and respond to a priority
biological incident will allow us to optimize capability development in accordance with

Figure 3: Priority biological incidents with a “mid-range” level of risk, accounting for both
likelihood and unmitigated consequences, fall above those incidents that are effectively
managed by state, local, tribal, and territorial partners as a part of day-to-day operations
but below catastrophic high-risk incidents, including high-likelihood, medium-consequence
incidents, and low-to-high-likelihood, high-consequence incidents. The levels of likelihood
and consequences that characterize a “mid-range” incident vary by priority biological
threat and hazard.

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STRATEGIC PRIORITIES
Presidential Policy Directive 8, “National Preparedness” (2011). This strategy is balanced
and comprehensive across the different priority biological threats and hazards and across
the possible actions the Department can take to reduce likelihood, mitigate vulnerabilities,
and reduce consequences.
The Department will focus its resourcing efforts on capabilities necessary to prevent or stop
the escalation of priority biological incidents that have the potential to reach or exceed
“mid-range” risk, and on
supporting response
capabilities and capacities
for “mid-range” priority
biological incidents. What
constitutes “mid-range” may
vary based on the unique
characteristics of different
regions, jurisdictions, and
localities. While
implementing the strategy
will result in adjustments to
our long-term strategic
capability and capacity
development, DHS and our
Science and Technology Directorate
partners will continue
day-to-day operations using
current capabilities to address immediate threats and hazards. Contingency planning
efforts will continue to account for all kinds of biological incidents relevant to homeland
security, including low-likelihood, high-consequence biological incidents that exceed
“mid-range” risk.
To execute this strategy, we will collaborate with our partners to accomplish the following
six goals that involve refinements to our collective homeland security policies, capabilities,
and capacities:


50

Prevent or deter the release or introduction, whether intentional or inadvertent, of
priority biological threats and hazards in the United States. To accomplish this goal,
we will engage in activities to reduce the potential for priority biological threats and
hazards to be misused or introduced into the United States, whether intentionally or
inadvertently. These activities include efforts to identify, target, and interdict priority

2014 QUADRENNIAL HOMELAND SECURITY REVIEW

biological threats and hazards crossing the border into the United States and
supporting efforts to ensure an appropriate culture of biosafety and biosecurity in
laboratory operations. While preventative in nature, these activities, along with
others such as microbial forensics, also contribute to a deterrence regime that will
serve to reduce the potential for deliberate or accidental release or introduction of
priority biological threats and hazards.


Improve risk-informed decision making by ensuring decision makers at all levels
across DHS and our partners are appropriately informed by a common
understanding of the risk associated with priority biological threats and hazards
(e.g., potential likelihood and consequences such as illnesses/injuries, fatalities,
economic impacts, and disruption to society). To accomplish this goal, DHS will
work with partners to develop a common, authoritative understanding of biological
risk in the homeland security mission (including potential likelihood, and
consequences such as illnesses/injuries, fatalities, economic impacts, and
disruption to society). DHS will also work with partners to enhance our efforts to
anticipate emerging biological threats and hazards, and provide timely, accurate,
and actionable information and analysis concerning these priority biological threats
and hazards (at the classified/unclassified level as required).



Detect and confirm priority biological incidents sufficiently early to ensure incidents
do not exceed state, local, tribal, and territorial capacity to manage and respond. To
accomplish this goal, DHS, in close collaboration with our partners, will refine and
further integrate this detection and confirmation capability with federal, state, local,
tribal, and territorial partners to achieve sufficiently accurate, timely, and trusted
detection and confirmation across priority biological threats and hazards. DHS will
pursue additional information sharing, integration, and analysis efforts with
partners, and will reexamine information sharing policies. DHS will work with
partners to pursue technological advances (e.g., information sharing and sensing/
diagnostics capabilities) and translate them into deployed capabilities as they
become operationally feasible and affordable.



Improve the confidence of our partners to act by ensuring that decision makers at
all levels of government have timely, relevant, accurate, and trusted information
that supports decision making. Trusted information that gives decision makers
confidence to act includes threat indications and warnings, detection tools, impact
assessments, attack or disease emergence notifications, test sensitivity/specificity,
and other elements. Early notification maximizes the time available for decision

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STRATEGIC PRIORITIES
makers to effectively respond. Accurately confirming and characterizing an incident
and rapidly disseminating appropriate information to decision makers at all levels
maximizes decision making confidence. Tabletop exercises help decision makers
understand how to use information and make rapid decisions during a crisis.


Enable effective response to and recovery from priority biological incidents. DHS
and our partners should aim to have the collective capabilities and capacities to
address what might be expected from a “mid-range” priority biological incident (see
Figure 3) that would exceed the time phase, geographic scope, and casualty levels
of most other threats and hazards. To accomplish this goal, we will work to ensure
state, local, tribal, and territorial governments and critical infrastructure owners and
operators achieve sufficient capabilities and capacities to provide lifesaving medical
support and services; stabilize food, agriculture, and other critical sector functions;
and minimize economic loss.



Maintain mission-essential functions across government and critical infrastructure
services and functions during and after incidents involving priority biological threats
or hazards. To accomplish this goal, we will emphasize protection and maintenance
of critical infrastructure operations that provide vital services and whose loss of
functionality could negatively impact national security, economic vitality, and public
health and safety in the face of a biological event. Such emphasis must form part of
our risk-informed, all-hazards approach to security and resilience of critical
infrastructure so that people are protected and critical facilities continue to operate.
We will also encourage collaborative planning and the development and adoption of
protocols and standards for protecting critical infrastructure from biological attacks.
DHS will maintain our mission-essential functions and protect Department
personnel against priority biological threats and hazards. DHS will provide guidance
to other Federal departments and agencies and encourage our other partners to
take appropriate actions to maintain mission-essential functions in the event of a
priority biological incident.

BUILDING FUTURE CAPABILITIES TO ACHIEVE SUCCESS
The success of this strategy relies upon DHS and our partners enhancing coordination
efforts and improving the confidence to act. Success also relies on increasing situational
awareness by further integrating and coordinating the collection, analysis, and sharing of
information, as appropriate, to proactively address priority biological threats and hazards.
Before making any substantial new investments, DHS will thoughtfully examine the way our
current efforts are being executed in order to identify untapped efficiencies.

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U.S. Customs and Border Protection

A RISK SEGMENTATION APPROACH TO SECURING AND MANAGING FLOWS OF
PEOPLE AND GOODS
OVERVIEW
DHS and our partners secure and manage the flows of people and goods to enable
prosperity and minimize risk. We ensure transit via legal pathways; identify and remove
people and goods attempting to travel illegally; and ensure the safety and integrity of these
flows of people and goods by safeguarding the conveyances, nodes, and pathways that
make up the travel and trade system. This includes our responsibilities in border security,
trade law compliance, transportation security, and immigration, among others.
Expediting and safeguarding trade and travel while deterring and interdicting illicit traffic
requires understanding how flows of people and goods interact with each other and with
external forces. For example, transnational criminal organizations are highly dynamic, and
will often respond to pressure on one illicit flow by shifting to another product or route.
Similarly, as the volume of global trade and travel increases, the potential for harmful
diseases or invasive species to cross our borders also increases.

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STRATEGIC PRIORITIES
Table 4: The following table shows how priority areas of emphasis for a risk segmentation
approach to securing and managing flows of people and goods map to the homeland
security missions.
A Risk Segmentation Approach to Securing and Managing Flows of People and Goods

Priority Area of Emphasis

Prevent
Terrorism and
Enhance
Security

Minimize Disruption to and Facilitate
Safe and Secure Inbound and Outbound
Legal Flows of People and Goods



Strengthen
Secure and
Enforce and Safeguard and
National
Manage Our Administer Our
Secure
Preparedness
Borders
Immigration Laws Cyberspace
and Resilience

Prioritize Efforts to Counter Illicit
Finance and Further Increase
Transnational Criminal Organization
Perception of Risk, While Continuing to
Increase Efficiencies in Operations
Prevent Terrorist Travel into the United
States, Terrorism Against International
Travel and Trade Systems, and the
Export of Sensitive Goods and
Technology

















SEGMENTING FLOWS OF PEOPLE AND GOODS
We identified three distinct but interrelated types of flows of people and goods based on an
in-depth look at legal and illegal flows. Each type requires a different approach by DHS and
our partners:

54



Legal Flows of People and Goods. The vast majority of people and goods entering
and exiting the United States represents lawful travel and trade. DHS and our
partners work to secure and expedite these flows of people and goods, as they are
a main driver of U.S. economic prosperity.



Market-Driven Illicit Flows of People and Goods. These flows of people and goods
are characterized by the exploitation of legitimate trade, travel, and financial
systems or the creation of alternative, illicit pathways through which people and
illegal goods—narcotics, funds, counterfeits, and weaponry—can cross the border.
Primarily driven by criminal profits, these flows of people and goods are persistent
and enduring. The risk from these activities is difficult to mitigate, especially given
the limited role of homeland security activity in addressing the root causes of
supply and demand.

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

Terrorism and Other Non-Market Concerns. These flows of people and goods are
driven by social, political, natural, or other non-market forces. These flows of
people and goods are illegal, attempt to hide within legal flows or illicit flows that
bypass ports of entry, and have the potential to overwhelm the legal trade and
travel system or threaten national security. Examples include terrorists; migration
driven by displacement or political fears; and the movement of diseases, pests, and
invasive species.

Segmenting flows of people and goods in this way permits more focused strategies and
more efficient allocation of resources.
A HOMELAND SECURITY APPROACH TO FLOWS OF PEOPLE AND GOODS
Our approach to flows of people and goods focuses on achieving three strategic objectives:
(1) minimize disruption to and facilitate safe and secure inbound and outbound legal flows
of people and goods; (2) prioritize efforts to counter illicit finance and further increase
transnational criminal organizations’ perception of risk through targeted interdiction and
other activities, while continuing to increase efficiencies in operations; and (3) prevent
terrorist travel into the United States, terrorism against international travel and trade
systems, and the export of sensitive goods and technologies.
MINIMIZE DISRUPTION TO AND FACILITATE SAFE AND SECURE INBOUND AND OUTBOUND LEGAL FLOWS OF
PEOPLE AND GOODS
Challenges to flows of people and goods are not limited to illegal activity. Trends indicate
higher volumes of trade and travel could overwhelm our port of entry infrastructure and

Transportation Security Administration

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STRATEGIC PRIORITIES
strain frontline personnel. Aging infrastructure needs to be upgraded at air, land, and sea
ports of entry.
We must also manage those threats and hazards that pose risk to the trade and travel
system. We do this by sorting traveler and cargo traffic based on risk and expediting the
movement of those found to be low risk. We partner with airlines, cargo carriers, and other
relevant organizations to expedite legal flows of people and goods without compromising
security. Pre-inspection capabilities, advanced analytics, and mutual recognition
agreements with our international partners will further increase the use of traffic
segmentation programs. Sorting traffic by risk also helps address terrorism threats, as
discussed in the Securing Against the Evolving Terrorism Threat subsection.
Partnerships that leverage the overlapping interests, resources, and authorities of our
partners in both the public and private sectors are essential to meet mutual safety and
security needs while expediting trade and travel. Public-private partnerships are an
important but underutilized resource, and we describe how to improve them in the
Strengthening the Execution of Our Missions through Public-Private Partnerships
subsection.
PRIORITIZE EFFORTS TO COUNTER ILLICIT FINANCE AND FURTHER INCREASE TRANSNATIONAL CRIMINAL
ORGANIZATION PERCEPTION OF RISK THROUGH TARGETED INTERDICTION AND OTHER ACTIVITIES, WHILE
CONTINUING TO INCREASE EFFICIENCIES IN OPERATIONS
Our analysis identified two areas where DHS intervention can have an especially high
impact: (1) targeting the profits of market-driven criminal activity and (2) increasing the
perception of risk transnational criminal organizations face in attempting to serve U.S.
markets. Our operations directed at market-driven illicit activities also need to become
more efficient.

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Targeting the profits of market-driven criminal activity eliminates the motive to conduct that
activity. Illicit finance is the common factor across all illicit market-driven flows of people
and goods. Our efforts should target illicit financing activities that transnational criminal
organizations depend on, such as money laundering, and increase outbound inspection to
deter practices such as cash smuggling or the use of stored-value media.
Transnational criminal organizations remain the primary adversary in market-driven flows
of people and goods, and maximizing profit continues to be their major incentive. Although
directly targeting the illegal movement of people and goods has resulted in reductions to
specific flows, transnational criminal organizations are highly dynamic and will often
respond to pressure on one illicit flow by shifting to another product or route. For that
reason, it is difficult to assess the long-term effectiveness of specific actions on
transnational criminal organization decision making. Homeland security activities must
therefore create a deterrent effect, injecting the greatest amount of uncertainty and
concern into that decision making. Examples of these types of activities include swiftly
shifting assets, presence, technology, and tools, further targeting and focusing interdiction
activities, and emphasizing strategic communications that project the effectiveness of
homeland security capabilities.
We must also increase efficiencies in how we acquire, govern, and employ our capabilities
for managing market-driven illicit activities. This includes (1) integrating capital acquisition
and major investments across government; (2) increasing joint governance structures and
collaboration to leverage assets, such as the National Targeting Center; and (3) shifting
activities that have a lower impact on the overall system to lower-cost solutions.
PREVENT TERRORIST TRAVEL INTO THE UNITED STATES, TERRORISM AGAINST INTERNATIONAL TRAVEL AND
TRADE SYSTEMS, AND THE EXPORT OF SENSITIVE GOODS AND TECHNOLOGY
Countering terrorism within the travel and trade system is a priority because (1) we must
prevent violent extremists from exploiting legal and illegal pathways to enter the United
States, and (2) attacks against the trade and travel system can cause major system
disruption to American life and global commerce.
We must work with our partners in the Departments of Justice, Commerce, Energy, and
elsewhere to prevent the export, re-export, or transfer of certain advanced technology and
sensitive goods and technologies (e.g., restricted military and dual-use items) that could
threaten the security of the United States and our allies if they fell into the wrong hands.
Countering terrorism is further discussed in the Securing Against the Evolving Terrorism
Threat subsection.

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STRATEGIC PRIORITIES

Port of Long Beach

STRENGTHENING THE EXECUTION OF OUR MISSIONS THROUGH
PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS
OVERVIEW
Homeland security is achieved through a shared effort among all partners, from
corporations to nonprofits and American families. Together, we can harness common
interests to achieve solutions beyond what any of us could do alone. The first Quadrennial
Homeland Security Review highlighted the need to mature and strengthen international
partnerships as well as partnerships with state, local, tribal, and territorial governments.
Building on that foundation, the second quadrennial review focuses on enhancing the
critical relationship between government and the private sector.
Partnerships have always been fundamental to homeland security. Public-private
partnerships advance the security and resilience of critical infrastructure under the
National Infrastructure Protection Plan. Government relationships and agreements with
airlines, shippers, and multi-national corporations facilitate the lawful flows of people and
goods while enhancing security and screening capabilities. The Whole Community initiative
for national preparedness and resilience supports the creation of critical preparedness

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partnerships long before disasters occur. The Captain of the Port relationship, which
combines a mix of authorities, regulatory regimes, and proactive collaboration among state
and local agencies, industry, and port partners, strikes an important balance between
regulation and partnership. This relationship encourages the use and creation of
reasonable and fair regulations and fosters industry-led innovations in maritime safety and
response technologies. The Air Cargo Advance Screening pilot program was built from the
ground up in coordination with industry in response to al-Qa’ida in the Arabian Peninsula’s
2010 attempt to attack the international air cargo system by detonating explosive devices
hidden in air cargo shipments from Yemen to the United States. The Air Cargo Advance
Screening pilot program is widely considered one of the best examples of homeland
security partnership within both the public and private sectors.
Still, the Department can go further to advance a consistent, structured approach to
partnerships as well as to enhance institutional awareness of public-private partnerships.
The following framework outlines that structured approach and can be found in more detail
in the Partnerships Toolkit, available at http://www.dhs.gov/qhsr.
Table 5: The following table shows how priority areas of emphasis for strengthening the
execution of our missions through public-private partnerships map to the homeland
security missions.
Strengthening the Execution of Our Missions through Public-Private Partnerships

Priority Area of Emphasis

Prevent
Terrorism and
Enhance
Security

Institutionalize a structured approach
to developing public-private
partnerships, to include homeland
security partnership archetypes
linked to specific desired outcomes











Establish a homeland security
Community of Practice to identify
potential partnership opportunities,
develop a repository of partnerships
and best practices, and serve as a
consultative body to inform the
exploration and formation of new
partnerships











2014 QUADRENNIAL HOMELAND SECURITY REVIEW

Secure and
Enforce and
Safeguard and
Manage Our Administer Our
Secure
Borders Immigration Laws Cyberspace

Strengthen
National
Preparedness
and Resilience

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STRATEGIC PRIORITIES
A STRUCTURED APPROACH TO PUBLIC-PRIVATE SECURITY AND RESILIENCE
PARTNERSHIPS
ALIGNED INTERESTS AND SHARED OUTCOMES
At a time when we must do more with less, two guiding principles help public-private
partnerships maximize the investment by each partner and the success of the partnership:
(1) aligning interests and (2) identifying shared outcomes.
By focusing on how interests align, we can provide alternatives to costly incentives or
regulations and help ensure a partnership is based on a solid foundation of mutual interest
and benefit. There are many examples of public and private sector interests aligning in
homeland security. Common interests include the safety and security of people and
property, the protection of sensitive information, effective risk management, the
development of new technology, reputation enhancement, and improved business
processes. New ways of thinking about corporate social responsibility—in which societal
issues are held to be core business interests rather than traditional philanthropy—also
present an opportunity to identify shared interests.
Where interests do not directly align, potential partners can often be motivated by shared
desired outcomes, such as enhanced resilience; effective disaster response and recovery;
and greater certainty in emerging domains, such as cyberspace and the Arctic.
Despite the existence of shared interests and mutual desired outcomes, challenges will
exist. Partnerships must often overcome inherent differences in motivations and
operational cultures, including risk tolerance, funding, and time horizons. The government
must also be mindful to avoid suggesting a preferred relationship, endorsing a partner, or
the appearance of privileged access or unfair competition. Being aware of, respecting, and
creatively addressing these differences create an essential foundation for public-private
partnerships.
PARTNERSHIP ARCHETYPES FOR HOMELAND SECURITY
Successful, well-organized partnership frameworks begin with a set of flexible models for
current and future partnerships. For decades, industries, such as construction and
international development, have employed public-private partnership models to bring
organization and definition to partnerships and provide a basic starting point for developing
future partnerships. Flexible models also provide a foundation for thinking about
partnership objectives, potential partners, and the resources and capabilities needed to
address varying challenges.

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Table 6: The five partnership archetypes.

Partnership Archetypes for Homeland Security
Information- and Data-Sharing Archetype
Engage and Disseminate
A partnership based on sharing relevant and timely information that may be useful to both parties
Coordination Archetype
Align Complementary Activities
A partnership that aligns policies, objectives, messages, and relevant activities among a group of partners to
produce clarity and consensus
Operational Linkages Archetype
Integrate Activities
A partnership in which systems, procedures, or routines of individual partners are linked to facilitate
operations
Co-Investment Archetype
Consolidate Financing and Resources
A partnership that consolidates financing for a specific project for a specific goal
Co-Production Archetype
Create New Products
A partnership in which the public and private sectors come together to develop and produce new products
and processes

Within homeland security, there are five partnership archetypes that encompass the types
of relationships we share with the private sector, as shown in Table 6. These archetypes
are tied to unique desired outcomes and are arrayed across a spectrum according to
depth, investment, and complexity. For well-known challenges, where roles and
responsibilities are clearly documented, partnership models can be applied directly. As
problems increase in complexity and risk, however, the flexible models can be adapted,
scaled, or even combined to achieve desired outcomes.

THE PATH FORWARD: A PARTNERSHIP CULTURE FOR HOMELAND SECURITY
Building on the foundation of the archetypes, we can begin to apply common lessons
learned and best practices, spark new and innovative partnerships, and develop crucial
relationships long before crises occur. We will build a Department-wide Community of
Practice to synchronize the identification of potential partnership opportunities, develop a
repository of partnerships and best practices, and serve as a consultative body to inform
the exploration and formation of new partnerships, in close collaboration with other federal
agencies and the private sector. In addition, we must highlight the importance of
partnerships in training and education activities to build the skills needed to identify and
negotiate successful partnerships. By developing this shared expertise, we will create,
enhance, and sustain our essential relationship with the private sector.

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AREAS OF ONGOING PRIORITY AND EMPHASIS

Federal Emergency Management Agency/Tim Burkitt

6. AREAS OF ONGOING PRIORITY AND EMPHASIS
While the Strategic Priorities section of this report describes strategic shifts and new areas
of priority, this section reflects certain key ongoing priorities and areas of emphasis for
homeland security, driven by risk and long-standing policy imperatives.

NUCLEAR TERRORISM USING AN IMPROVISED NUCLEAR DEVICE
OVERVIEW
Nuclear terrorism remains an enduring risk because of its potential consequences, and as
such, preventing nuclear terrorism is a national security priority for the United States. As
President Obama stated in his speech at South Korea’s Hankuk University in March 2012,
“We know that just the smallest amount of plutonium—about the size of an apple—could kill
hundreds of thousands and spark a global crisis. The danger of nuclear terrorism remains
one of the greatest threats to global security.” A terrorist nuclear attack on the Nation
would cause severe loss of life, illness, and injury; present challenges to our economy and
our free and open society; and damage the national psyche. While the difficulty of stealing

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a nuclear weapon or fabricating one from stolen or diverted weapons materials reduces the
likelihood of this type of attack, the extremely high consequences of an improvised nuclear
device attack make it an ongoing top homeland security risk.
STRATEGIC APPROACH
We prioritize a sustained, long-term focus on preventing nuclear terrorism through two
foundational capabilities: (1) nuclear detection and (2) nuclear forensics. These
capabilities are aimed at preventing our adversaries from developing, possessing,
importing, storing, transporting, or using nuclear materials. While we have made
significant progress in both detection and forensics over the years, the threat of nuclear
terrorism is persistent and requires constant vigilance.
DHS and other departments and agencies have combined their authorities and assets to
build the U.S. Government’s global nuclear detection capability through the Global Nuclear
Detection Architecture, a world-wide network of sensors, people, and information designed
to encounter, detect, characterize, and report on nuclear material out of regulatory control.
Not only does the Global Nuclear Detection Architecture help reduce the likelihood that
radiological or nuclear material can be used as a weapon against the Nation, but by

U.S. Customs and Border Protection

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AREAS OF ONGOING PRIORITY AND EMPHASIS
increasing the cost, difficulty, and risk of attempting a nuclear attack, it also acts to deter
those who may seek to attack us. The Global Nuclear Detection Architecture presents
terrorists with many obstacles to a successful attack, greatly increasing their cost, difficulty,
and risk, and thereby deterring terrorists. Through this detection architecture, departments
and agencies train personnel, deploy detection systems at home and abroad, and analyze
the data these systems generate. Federal, state, local, tribal, territorial, and international
partners, as well as many others, are engaged in this effort.
While Global Nuclear Detection Architecture capabilities are focused primarily against
terrorists, federal department and agency nuclear forensics capabilities target the decision
making of would-be state sponsors. Terrorists can only acquire the special nuclear
material necessary for a nuclear weapon by theft, illicit trafficking, or direct support from a
state. Thus, nuclear forensics efforts are focused on deterring potential state sponsors of
nuclear terrorism by denying them anonymity and ensuring they be held accountable.
As stated in the Nuclear Posture Review (2010), the United States is committed to hold
fully accountable any state, terrorist group, or other non-state actor that supports or
enables terrorist efforts to obtain or use weapons of mass destruction. Our commitment is
made possible by our ability to identify perpetrators through information gained from
nuclear forensics, intelligence, and law enforcement. Such information serves as a strong
deterrent to terrorist accomplices and especially to potential state sponsors of terrorism.
Federal agencies work with our National Technical Nuclear Forensics Center to ensure the
Nation’s nuclear forensics capability is continually advancing and is ready to respond to a
nuclear trafficking incident or a terrorist nuclear attack.
We can leverage these nuclear detection and forensics capabilities to influence the
decision making of key actors in a potential terrorist nuclear attack or radiological attack,
thereby reducing its likelihood.
We complement our operational efforts with extensive analysis aimed at understanding
radiological and nuclear terrorism risk. This analysis has matured to a point where we can
understand and discern different levels of risk posed by the various pathways and
mechanisms for introducing an improvised nuclear device into the United States, not
simply the potential consequences of such an introduction. Consequently, we balance our
efforts across pathways commensurate with the risk that each one poses.

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U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services

IMMIGRATION
OVERVIEW
Immigration is essential to our identity as a nation of immigrants. Most American families
have an immigration story, some recent, some more distant. Many immigrants have taken
on great risks to come to our country and seek to work and contribute to America’s
prosperity or were provided refuge after facing persecution abroad. Americans are
extremely proud of this tradition.
Immigration will always be, first and foremost, an opportunity for our country. We reap
great economic benefits from receiving the best, brightest, and most hardworking people
from across the globe. Immigrants also build bridges to other nations, personally extending
our diplomatic reach. They serve in our military and intelligence services with honor,
sometimes contributing important language and cultural skills. Immigration enhances how
the United States is perceived—as a cosmopolitan nation made up of many cultures and as
a champion of humanitarian causes around the world.

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AREAS OF ONGOING PRIORITY AND EMPHASIS
Smart and effective enforcement and administration of our immigration laws remains a
core homeland security mission. But even though we have already made significant
improvements to border security, interior enforcement, and benefits adjudication, our
current immigration system remains broken, and it remains an economic, humanitarian,
and national security imperative to fix it. Our country needs an immigration system that
better supports family reunification, meets the demands of our growing economy, extends
humanitarian protections to those in need, and gives undocumented immigrants a path to
earned citizenship. Enactment of comprehensive immigration reform thus remains a top
homeland security priority.
The President has established four core objectives for strengthening our immigration
system through common-sense immigration reform:


Continuing to strengthen border security;



Cracking down on employers that hire undocumented workers;



Creating a path to earned citizenship; and



Modernizing and streamlining our legal immigration system.

To accomplish these objectives, homeland security partners and stakeholders must
function as an interconnected whole. DHS and the Departments of State, Justice,
Education, Health and Human Services, and Labor all work to facilitate lawful immigration
and to identify and remove threats to our national security and public safety. Further, state
and local governments and law enforcement, businesses large and small, and
nongovernmental and voluntary organizations also play important roles in our immigration
system. For example, government and voluntary organizations together support new
refugee arrivals, and government and employers cooperate to ensure that employees are
working legally and to prevent employers from discriminating against employees when
verifying their authorization to work in the United States. The Federal Government and
state and local law enforcement agencies coordinate as appropriate to identify those who
pose a national security or public safety risk, so the Federal Government can pursue
appropriate enforcement action.
As the President stated in his 2014 State of the Union address, Congress must enact
common-sense, comprehensive immigration reform.

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STRATEGIC SHIFTS IN IMMIGRATION
BUILDING A STRONGER, SMARTER BORDER ENFORCEMENT SYSTEM
Our immigration system continues to prioritize the security of our border and its arrival
zones. As with other flows of people and goods (described in the A Risk Segmentation
Approach to Securing and Managing Flows of People and Goods subsection), we take a
risk-informed, intelligence-driven, and networked approach to enforcing immigration laws.
We have built a border security system that is stronger than ever before; the Border Patrol
has doubled from approximately 10,000 agents in 2004 to 21,370 in 2014. Investigative
resources have also expanded. The Federal Government works closely with state, local,
tribal, and territorial partners
to identify concerns at our
borders, whether they occur
on land, via air routes, or at
sea.
Securing the border is not
just about adding more
resources; it is about using
the resources we have in a
smarter way. We have
deployed a vast array of new
technologies at and between
points of entry. For example,
unmanned aerial
U.S. Customs and Border Protection
surveillance tools now can
cover the southwest border
from California to Texas. More traditional border security tools also remain available to
enhance border security. We continue to deploy fixed and mobile surveillance capabilities
on the ground, allowing more agents to shift from detection duties to increase our capacity
to respond, interdict, and resolve illegal activities. We will continue to operate in a manner
that protects privacy and civil liberties and respects humanitarian interests.
The security of the U.S. immigration system can only be ensured by cooperating with
foreign states. Through the U.S.-Canada Beyond the Border initiative and the U.S.-Mexico
Declaration on 21st-Century Border Management, we are working to harmonize processing
inspection and data-sharing efforts with the Governments of Mexico and Canada. We have
also concluded agreements with Caribbean countries lending support to U.S. Coast Guard
rescue and interdiction operations at sea. In Central America, in collaboration with our

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AREAS OF ONGOING PRIORITY AND EMPHASIS
partners, we are focusing public messaging and diplomatic engagement efforts, in
conjunction with the Department of State, on countries that have been increasing sources
of illegal migration. In other countries, U.S. visa security program officers continue to
prevent travel by those who pose a threat. We will continue to secure the border by
cooperating with foreign allies.
Together, these efforts are making concrete improvements in our homeland security. We
will continue to build on this progress, enhancing infrastructure and deploying technology
to strengthen our ability to keep out criminals and national security threats.
Comprehensive immigration reform, including enhanced penalties against criminals, would
facilitate this effort.
ACHIEVING SMART AND EFFECTIVE INTERIOR ENFORCEMENT
DHS and our partners are taking a more effective approach to interior enforcement. In
particular, we prioritize removing those posing threats to national security, border security,
or public safety—aliens engaged in or suspected of terrorism or espionage and aliens
convicted of crimes—while protecting victims of crime and human trafficking. We also
prioritize prosecuting priority cases, such as against unscrupulous employers and
transnational criminal organizations involved in document fraud, trafficking, and human
smuggling, while using prosecutorial discretion on a case-by-case basis and as appropriate.
Our worksite enforcement
strategy uses other tools, such
as audits and civil fines, to
penalize employers who
knowingly hire illegal workers.
We also promote compliance
through E-Verify, a web-based
service that allows employers to
verify whether their employees
are eligible to work in the United
States. Approximately 520,000
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement
employers representing more
than 1.4 million worksites are
enrolled in the E-Verify program, including employers with federal contract positions.
While we use many means to effectively secure the Nation’s interior, these efforts can only
go so far. Comprehensive immigration reform is needed to enable businesses to employ a
legal workforce through programs, such as mandatory employment verification, and more
stringent penalties for those who violate the law.

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CREATING A 21ST-CENTURY LEGAL IMMIGRATION SYSTEM
We are also committed to creating an immigration system that better meets our diverse
economic needs. Such a system requires comprehensive immigration reform. Existing
numerical limits within our immigration system ignore the needs of today’s economy and
constrain the benefits immigrants bring to our country. Further, workers need better
mobility and additional protections to reduce the risk that they will be exploited.
Comprehensive immigration reform is needed to reorient our immigration system to meet
the needs of the marketplace.
In the meantime, we are working to better assist high-skilled immigrants. Entrepreneurs
and government officials leveraged knowledge from our best and brightest through the
Entrepreneurs-in-Residence initiative, streamlining DHS policies and practices to better
reflect the realities faced by foreign entrepreneurs and start-up businesses. We have
continued to use industry-specific Executives in Residence to ensure consistency in
adjudications within the performing arts, entertainment, and nursing industries. We are
also streamlining the processing of immigrant visas to encourage businesses to grow in the
United States. For students, the Study in the States program provides concrete
immigration guidance to those who want to study here. We will continue to develop
innovative programs to enable immigrants to reach their potential in the United States.
ADDRESSING LENGTHY VISA BACKLOGS
Perhaps nowhere is there greater evidence of a broken immigration system than in the
burdensome backlogs for family-based immigrants waiting for visa numbers to become
available. Many family members face a wait time of a decade or more just for the chance
to reunite with family members in the United States. While we already work to identify
solutions on a case-by-case basis, more can and should be done.
Comprehensive reform of our family-based immigration system is needed to reunite
families in a timely manner consistent with our values. One important reform would
change numerical limits on family-sponsored immigration, significantly reducing the years
of separation these families now endure.
EARNED PATH TO CITIZENSHIP
Today, we have an estimated 11.5 million immigrants living in America without
documentation. The overwhelming majority does not pose a threat; these individuals seek
only to be fully contributing members of their communities. We support comprehensive
immigration reform that would provide an earned pathway to citizenship for these persons.
Qualified applicants would be required to register and undergo national security and

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AREAS OF ONGOING PRIORITY AND EMPHASIS
criminal background checks, pay taxes and a fine, and fully integrate into the United States
by learning English.
Our country is stronger and more secure when everyone has a stake, fulfills his or her
responsibilities, and is equally invested in our common future. Comprehensive immigration
reform would represent a unique opportunity to improve homeland security.
ENHANCING MANAGEMENT AND ORGANIZATION TO DEVELOP A RESPONSIVE IMMIGRATION SYSTEM
At the center of any good immigration system must be an administrative structure able to
rapidly respond to changes in demand while safeguarding security. We are constantly
seeking ways to better administer benefits, clarify what is required of applicants, and use
technology to make information more accessible. Based on feedback from our partners,
DHS has implemented programs to support naturalization applicants and to help the public
as the Department transforms from paper-based to electronic processing.
It is well understood that
comprehensive immigration
legislation will significantly
increase pressures on our
administrative system. We
will work hard to ensure we
have the capacity, staff, and
resources to successfully
implement any changes in the
law. Following DHS’s decision
in June 2012 to extend
consideration of deferred
action for childhood arrivals
—a process to allow
undocumented young people
who meet certain guidelines
to remain and work in the
United States—the
Department received and
processed more than a halfmillion deferred action
requests in less than a year.
We can and will build upon
these successes.

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Federal Emergency Management Agency

NATIONAL PREPAREDNESS AND THE WHOLE COMMUNITY APPROACH
OVERVIEW
National preparedness is a top Administration priority and an enduring homeland security
focus. Indeed, national preparedness underpins all efforts to safeguard and secure the
Nation against those threats and hazards that pose the greatest risk. Given the evolving
terrorism threat; the growing risk of cyber disruptions; enduring hazards, such as biological
challenges and nuclear terrorism; and the increasing number of natural disasters with
more costly and variable consequences—driven by trends, such as climate change, aging
infrastructure, and shifts in population density to higher-risk areas—it is imperative to build
and sustain core capabilities to prevent, protect against, mitigate, respond to, and recover
from the most high-risk threats and hazards. Continued integration and increased
coordination provide a mechanism for achieving greater national preparedness among
homeland security partners within resource limits.

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AREAS OF ONGOING PRIORITY AND EMPHASIS
STRATEGIC APPROACH
Presidential Policy Directive 8 calls for a National Preparedness Goal (the Goal) that
identifies the core capabilities necessary to prevent, protect against, mitigate, respond to,
and recover from the threats and hazards that pose the greatest risk; a National
Preparedness System composed of guidance, programs, and processes to guide activities
to achieve the Goal; and a comprehensive Campaign to Build and Sustain Preparedness to
unify efforts across the Whole Community to build and sustain national preparedness.
Presidential Policy Directive 8 reinforces and complements the authorities set forth in the
Post-Katrina Emergency Management Reform Act of 2006. These key national
preparedness elements include the following:


The National Preparedness Goal: The Goal defines what it means for the Nation to
be prepared for the threats and hazards that pose the greatest risk, including acts
of terrorism, cyberattacks, pandemics, and catastrophic natural disasters. The Goal
is “[a] secure and resilient Nation with the capabilities required across the Whole
Community to prevent, protect against, mitigate, respond to, and recover from the
threats and hazards that pose the greatest risk.”



The National Preparedness System: The National Preparedness System provides a
consistent approach that supports decision making, resource allocation, and the
measurement of progress toward achieving the Goal. The National Preparedness
System includes but is not limited to the following:


72

National Planning Frameworks and the Federal Interagency Operational Plans:
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and its partners
completed first editions of the National Prevention Framework, National
Protection Framework, National Mitigation Framework, and National Disaster
Recovery Framework, as well as the second edition of the National Response
Framework. Together, these National Planning Frameworks describe how the
Whole Community works together to prevent, protect against, mitigate,
respond to, and recover from threats and hazards. Each framework is
supported by a Federal Interagency Operational Plan, which explains how
federal departments and agencies work together to deliver the core
capabilities through the coordinating mechanisms outlined in the framework.
The Protection Federal Interagency Operational Plan is under development.
The frameworks are built upon scalable, flexible, and adaptable coordinating

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structures that align key roles and responsibilities to deliver necessary
capabilities.





Catastrophic Planning: Catastrophic planning is performed both at FEMA
Headquarters and the FEMA regional offices in collaboration with the Whole
Community and includes planning for National Special Security Events.



National Exercise Program: The National Exercise Program serves as the
cornerstone of a collective effort to test, improve, and assess national
preparedness. The program seeks to enhance resilience at all levels of
government, within nonprofit, faith-based, and nongovernmental organizations
and throughout the private sector. It employs a finite series of progressive
exercises that test the ability to prevent, protect against, mitigate, respond to,
and recover from all hazards.



National Preparedness Report: The annual National Preparedness Report
summarizes national progress in building, sustaining, and delivering the 31
core capabilities outlined in the Goal, based on analysis from ongoing national
preparedness assessments.

Campaign to Build and Sustain Preparedness: The Campaign has four key
elements: (1) a comprehensive campaign, including public outreach and
community-based and private sector programs; (2) federal preparedness efforts; (3)
grants, technical assistance, and other federal preparedness support; and (4)
research and development. This initiative provides a structure for integrating new
and existing community-based, nonprofit, and private sector preparedness
programs, research and development activities, and preparedness assistance.
Further, the Campaign is designed to provide consistent and constant outreach to
the public to help ensure the basic tenets of the Goal are understood and met.

Recognizing that preparedness is a shared responsibility, the Whole Community approach
calls for the involvement of everyone—not just the government—in preparedness efforts. By
working together, everyone can keep the Nation safe from harm and resilient when struck
by hazards. The Whole Community approach is based on three core principles: (1)
understanding and meeting the actual needs of the Whole Community; (2) engaging and
empowering all parts of the community; and (3) strengthening what works well in
communities on a daily basis. Whole Community is a means by which residents,
emergency managers, organizational and community leaders, government officials, private
and nonprofit sectors, faith-based and disability organizations, and the general public can

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AREAS OF ONGOING PRIORITY AND EMPHASIS
collectively understand and assess the needs of their respective communities as well as
determine the best ways to organize and strengthen their assets, capacities, and interests.
A Whole Community approach to planning and implementing disaster strategies helps build
a more effective path to societal security and resilience.
Whole Community includes the following:


Individuals and families, including those with access and functional needs;



Businesses;



Faith-based and community organizations;



Nonprofit groups;



Schools and academia;



Media outlets; and



All levels of government, including federal, state, local, tribal, and territorial
partners.

The Whole Community approach helps each community make smart decisions about how
to manage those segments of the community. This includes accounting for the
composition of the community, the individual needs of community members of every age
and income level, and all accessibility requirements. It also helps residents, emergency
managers, organizational and community leaders, government officials, private and
nonprofit sectors, faith-based and disability organizations, and the general public to
collectively understand community needs and how to organize resources to meet those
needs. Supporting this process, state, local, tribal, and territorial governments identify their
risks and make decisions for addressing their greatest risks through the completion of the
Threat and Hazard Identification and Risk Assessment process.
In this manner, national preparedness increases security and resilience by helping our
Nation systematically prepare for the threats and hazards that pose the greatest risk.

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MISSION FRAMEWORK IN DEPTH

U.S. Department of Homeland Security

7. MISSION FRAMEWORK IN DEPTH
The first quadrennial review developed an enduring framework of missions and associated
goals that tell us in detail what it means to ensure a safe, secure, and resilient Nation, as
well as how to go about the business of conducting homeland security. These missions are
not limited to DHS—hundreds of thousands of people from across the Federal Government;
state, local, tribal, and territorial governments; the private sector; and other
nongovernmental organizations are responsible for executing these missions. These
homeland security professionals are responsible for public safety and security. They
regularly interact with the public; facilitate and expedite legal trade and travel; own and
operate our Nation’s critical infrastructure and services; perform research and develop
technology; and keep watch for, prepare for, deter, anticipate, and respond to emerging
threats and hazards. As our partners carry out their homeland security responsibilities, the
homeland security mission framework serves as a guidepost and provides clarity and unity
of purpose.

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MISSION FRAMEWORK IN DEPTH
The updated missions and goals set forth in this second Quadrennial Homeland Security
Review report reflect changes in the strategic environment and areas where homeland
security partners and stakeholders have matured, evolved, and enhanced their capabilities
and understanding of the homeland security mission space:

MISSION 1: PREVENT TERRORISM AND ENHANCE SECURITY
Goal 1.1: Prevent Terrorist Attacks


Analyze, fuse, and disseminate terrorism information;



Deter and disrupt operations;



Strengthen transportation security; and



Counter violent extremism.

Goal 1.2: Prevent and Protect Against the Unauthorized Acquisition or Use of Chemical,
Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear Materials and Capabilities


Anticipate chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear emerging threats;



Identify and interdict unlawful acquisition and movement of chemical, biological,
radiological, and nuclear precursors and materials; and



Detect, locate, and prevent the hostile use of chemical, biological, radiological, and
nuclear materials and weapons.

Goal 1.3: Reduce Risk to the Nation’s Critical Infrastructure, Key Leadership, and Events

76



Enhance security for the Nation’s critical infrastructure from terrorism and criminal
activity; and



Protect key leaders, facilities, and national special security events.

2014 QUADRENNIAL HOMELAND SECURITY REVIEW

MISSION 2: SECURE AND MANAGE OUR BORDERS
Goal 2.1: Secure U.S. Air, Land, and Sea Borders and Approaches


Prevent illegal import and entry; and



Prevent illegal export and exit.

Goal 2.2: Safeguard and Expedite Lawful Trade and Travel


Safeguard key nodes, conveyances, and pathways;



Manage the risk of people and goods in transit; and



Maximize compliance with U.S. trade laws and promote U.S. economic security and
competitiveness.

Goal 2.3: Disrupt and Dismantle Transnational Criminal Organizations and Other Illicit
Actors


Identify, investigate, disrupt, and dismantle transnational criminal organizations; and



Disrupt illicit actors, activities, and pathways.

MISSION 3: ENFORCE AND ADMINISTER OUR
IMMIGRATION LAWS
Goal 3.1: Strengthen and Effectively Administer the Immigration System


Promote lawful immigration;



Effectively administer the immigration services system; and



Promote the integration of lawful immigrants into American society.

Goal 3.2: Prevent Unlawful Immigration


Prevent unlawful entry, strengthen enforcement, and reduce drivers of unlawful
immigration; and



Arrest, detain, and remove priority individuals, including public safety, national security,
and border security threats.

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77

MISSION FRAMEWORK IN DEPTH
MISSION 4: SAFEGUARD AND SECURE CYBERSPACE
Goal 4.1: Strengthen the Security and Resilience of Critical Infrastructure


Enhance the exchange of information and intelligence on risks to critical infrastructure
and develop real-time situational awareness capabilities that ensure machine and human
interpretation and visualization;



Partner with critical infrastructure owners and operators to ensure the delivery of
essential services and functions;



Identify and understand interdependencies and cascading impacts among critical
infrastructure systems;



Collaborate with agencies and the private sector to identify and develop effective
cybersecurity policies and best practices; and



Reduce vulnerabilities and promote resilient critical infrastructure design.

Goal 4.2: Secure the Federal Civilian Government Information Technology Enterprise


Coordinate government purchasing of cyber technology to enhance cost-effectiveness;



Equip civilian government networks with innovative cybersecurity tools and protections;
and



Ensure government-wide policies and standards are consistently and effectively
implemented and measured.

Goal 4.3: Advance Law Enforcement, Incident Response, and Reporting Capabilities


Respond to and assist in the recovery from cyber incidents; and



Deter, disrupt, and investigate cybercrime.

Goal 4.4: Strengthen the Ecosystem

78



Drive innovative and cost effective security products, services, and solutions throughout
the cyber ecosystem;



Conduct and transition research and development, enabling trustworthy cyber
infrastructure;



Develop skilled cybersecurity professionals;



Enhance public awareness and promote cybersecurity best practices; and



Advance international engagement to promote capacity building, international standards,
and cooperation.

2014 QUADRENNIAL HOMELAND SECURITY REVIEW

MISSION 5: STRENGTHEN NATIONAL PREPAREDNESS
AND RESILIENCE
Goal 5.1: Enhance National Preparedness


Empower individuals and communities to strengthen and sustain their own
preparedness;



Build and sustain core capabilities nationally to prevent, protect against, mitigate,
respond to, and recover from all hazards; and



Assist federal entities in the establishment of effective continuity programs that are
regularly updated, exercised, and improved.

Goal 5.2: Mitigate Hazards and Vulnerabilities


Promote public and private sector awareness and understanding of community-specific
risks;



Reduce vulnerability through standards, regulation, resilient design, effective mitigation,
and disaster risk reduction measures; and



Prevent incidents by establishing, and ensuring compliance with, standards and
regulations.

Goal 5.3: Ensure Effective Emergency Response


Provide timely and accurate information;



Conduct effective, unified incident response operations;



Provide timely and appropriate disaster assistance; and



Ensure effective emergency communications.

Goal 5.4: Enable Rapid Recovery


Ensure continuity and restoration of essential services and functions; and



Support and enable communities to rebuild stronger, smarter, and safer.

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MISSION FRAMEWORK IN DEPTH
MATURE AND STRENGTHEN HOMELAND SECURITY
The strategic aims and objectives for Maturing and Strengthening Homeland Security are drawn
from the common themes that emerge from each of the homeland security mission areas.
Integrate Intelligence, Information Sharing, and Operations


Enhance unity of regional operations coordination and planning;



Share homeland security information and analysis, threats, and risks;



Integrate counterintelligence;



Establish a common security mindset; and



Preserve civil liberties, privacy, oversight, and transparency in the execution of homeland
security activities.

Enhance Partnerships and Outreach


Promote regional response capacity and civil support;



Strengthen the ability of federal agencies to support homeland security missions;



Expand and extend governmental, nongovernmental, domestic, and international
partnerships; and



Further enhance the military-homeland security relationship.

Conduct Homeland Security Research and Development


Scientifically study threats and vulnerabilities;



Develop innovative approaches and effective solutions; and



Leverage the depth of capacity in national labs, universities, and research centers.

Train and Exercise Frontline Operators and First Responders


Enhance systems for training, exercising, and evaluating capabilities; and



Support law enforcement, first responder, and risk management training.

Strengthen Service Delivery and Manage DHS Resources

80



Recruit, hire, retain, and develop a highly qualified, diverse, effective, mission-focused,
and resilient workforce; and



Manage the integrated investment life cycle to ensure that strategic and analytically-based
decisions optimize mission performance.

2014 QUADRENNIAL HOMELAND SECURITY REVIEW

CONCLUSION

U.S. Customs and Border Protection

8. CONCLUSION
Four years ago, the first quadrennial review defined homeland security for America in the
21st century as a concerted national effort to ensure a Nation that is safe, secure, and
resilient against terrorism and other hazards where American interests, aspirations, and
way of life can thrive.
Since then, we have developed capabilities and processes to become more risk based,
more integrated, and more efficient. This second quadrennial review describes how those
capabilities and processes inform us of what challenges lie ahead and how to strategically
posture ourselves to address those challenges.
Based on the strategic environment, the drivers of the most significant risk, and our guiding
principles, the second Quadrennial Homeland Security Review identifies the following
strategic priorities, which cut across the five homeland security missions:

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81

CONCLUSION



An updated posture to address the increasingly decentralized terrorist threat;



A strengthened path forward for cybersecurity that acknowledges the increasing
interdependencies among critical systems and networks;



A homeland security strategy to manage the urgent and growing risk of biological
threats and hazards;



A risk segmentation approach to securing and managing flows of people and goods;
and



A new framework for strengthening mission execution through public-private
partnerships.

Beyond these strategic priorities, this review also highlights ongoing areas of priority and
emphasis—countering nuclear threats, strengthening our national immigration system, and
enhancing national resilience—based on key aspects of the security environment and policy
priorities for homeland security.
Together, the strategic shifts and areas of renewed emphasis position DHS and our
partners to address those threats and hazards that pose the most strategically significant
risk to the Nation. Much work remains to be done to translate these strategies and
priorities into action, including a DHS Strategic Plan that specifies necessary capabilities
and associated investments, as well as focused efforts to enhance departmental
management and improve workforce morale. We must all play a role—and through the
commitment of each, we will secure the Nation for all.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection

82

2014 QUADRENNIAL HOMELAND SECURITY REVIEW

APPENDIX A
APPENDIX A: HOMELAND SECURITY ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
Homeland security spans the authorities and responsibilities of federal departments and
agencies; state, local, tribal, and territorial governments; the private sector; and private
citizens and communities. For this reason, coordination and cooperation are essential to
successfully carrying out and accomplishing the homeland security missions. This
Appendix highlights key roles and responsibilities of the many homeland security partners
and stakeholders. Nothing in this report alters, or impedes the ability to carry out, the
authorities or missions of federal departments and agencies to perform their
responsibilities or priorities under law.


The President of the United States is the Commander in Chief and the leader of the
Executive Branch of the Federal Government. The President, through the Homeland
Security and National Security Councils and the National Security Council staff,
provides overall homeland security policy direction and coordination.



The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is the federal agency defined by statute
as charged with homeland security: preventing terrorism and enhancing security;
securing and managing our borders; enforcing and administering our immigration laws;
strengthening cyberspace and critical infrastructure; and strengthening national
preparedness and resilience to disasters. The Secretary of Homeland Security is
responsible for coordinating the domestic all-hazards preparedness efforts of all
executive departments and agencies, in consultation with state, local, tribal, and
territorial governments, nongovernmental organizations, private-sector partners, and
the general public. Preparedness efforts include those actions taken to plan, organize,
equip, train, and exercise to build and sustain the capabilities necessary to prevent,
protect against, mitigate the effects of, respond to, and recover from those threats and
hazards that pose the greatest risk to the security and resilience of the Nation. DHS
includes U.S. Customs & Border Protection, U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services,
U.S. Coast Guard, Federal Emergency Management Agency, U.S. Immigration &
Customs Enforcement, U.S. Secret Service, and Transportation Security Administration.
DHS is the coordinating agency for multiple Emergency Support Functions under the
National Response Framework (see Figure A-1). In particular, with respect to its
responsibilities regarding safeguarding and security cyberspace:


To better manage and facilitate cybersecurity information sharing efforts,
analysis, and incident response activities, the Department operates the

2014 QUADRENNIAL HOMELAND SECURITY REVIEW

83

APPENDIX A
National Cybersecurity and Communications Integration Center, an around-theclock center where key government, private sector, and international partners
all work together. The National Cybersecurity and Communications Integration
Center serves as a focal point for coordinating cybersecurity information
sharing with the private sector; provides technical assistance, onsite analysis,
mitigation support, and assessment assistance to cyber-attack victims, as well
as situational awareness capability that includes integrated, actionable
information about emerging trends, imminent threats, and the status of
incidents that may impact critical infrastructure; and coordinates the national
response to significant cyber incidents affecting critical infrastructure.


DHS, through U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security
Investigations, operates the Cyber Crime Center, which is responsible for
providing domestic and international training; and the support, coordination
and de-confliction of cyber investigations related to online economic crime,
digital theft of export controlled data, digital theft of intellectual property and
online child exploitation investigations. The U.S. Secret Service leads a
network of Electronic Crimes Task Forces to bring together federal, state, and
local law enforcement, prosecutors, private industry, and academia for the
common purpose of preventing, detecting, mitigating, and investigating various
forms of malicious cyber activity.

The Department of Justice (DOJ), led by the Attorney General, is responsible for
prosecution of federal crimes. The Attorney General has lead responsibility for criminal
investigation of terrorist acts or threats within the United States and its territories, as
well as for related intelligence collection activities within the United States. The
Attorney General, generally acting through the Director of the Federal Bureau of
Investigation (FBI), in cooperation with other departments and agencies engaged in
activities to protect national security, coordinates the activities of the law enforcement
community to detect, prevent, preempt, and disrupt terrorist threats or incidents
against the United States. DOJ approves state governor requests for personnel and
other federal law enforcement support under the Emergency Federal Law Enforcement
Assistance Act. DOJ supports the National Health Security Strategy and it is a member
of the Mitigation Framework Leadership Group established under the National
Mitigation Framework. In addition, DOJ is responsible for Emergency Support Function
#13 (Public Safety and Security). In particular:

84

2014 QUADRENNIAL HOMELAND SECURITY REVIEW





The mission of the FBI is to protect and defend the United States against
terrorist and foreign intelligence threats, to uphold and enforce the criminal
laws of the United States, and to provide leadership and criminal justice
services to federal, state, municipal, and international agencies and partners;
and to perform these responsibilities in a manner that is responsive to the
needs of the public and is faithful to the Constitution of the United States. The
FBI, primarily through Joint Terrorism Task Forces, has lead responsibility for
the receipt and resolution of suspicious activity reporting of terrorist activities
or acts in preparation of terrorist activities. The Attorney General, acting
through the FBI Director, has primary responsibility for searching for, finding,
and neutralizing weapons of mass destruction within the United States and its
territories. As part of its efforts to investigate and disrupt cyber crime and
national security cyber threats, the FBI is also responsible for operating the
National Cyber Investigative Joint Task Force, a multi-agency national focal
point with representation from intelligence, law enforcement, and military
agencies to coordinate, integrate, and share information related to cyber
threat investigations.



DOJ deconflicts federal criminal investigations through several organizations,
including the International Organized Crime Intelligence and Operations
Center, the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force Fusion Center. The
International Organized Crime Intelligence and Operations Center is a multiagency intelligence center whose mission is to significantly disrupt and
dismantle those international criminal organizations posing the greatest threat
to the United States, and to coordinate the resulting multi-jurisdictional
investigations and prosecutions. The Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task
Force Fusion Center is a multi-agency intelligence center designed to produce
actionable intelligence products to support the field. The Center’s unique
capability includes cross-agency integration and analysis of data to develop
products that are disseminated through the multi-agency Special Operations
Division for further de-confliction before transmission to the field. All
Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force Fusion Center member
agencies receive products, including the Task Force’s Co-Located Strike
Forces.

The Department of State is the lead U.S. foreign affairs agency, and the Secretary of
State is the President’s principal foreign policy advisor. The Department develops and

2014 QUADRENNIAL HOMELAND SECURITY REVIEW

85

APPENDIX A
implements policies to advance U.S. objectives and interests in shaping a freer, more
secure, and more prosperous world. The Department also supports the foreign affairs
activities of other U.S. Government entities and works with international partner
nations and regional and multilateral organizations to protect the U.S. homeland and
U.S. interests and citizens abroad. The Department also provides an array of
important services to U.S. citizens and to foreigners seeking to visit or immigrate to the
United States. The Department supports the National Health Security Strategy and is
the coordinating agency for the International Coordination Support Annex under the
National Response Framework.


The Department of Defense’s (DOD) military services, defense agencies, and
geographic and functional commands protect the population of the United States and
its territories, as well as the critical defense infrastructure, against external threats and
aggression. DOD defends the Nation from attack; gathers foreign cyber threat
intelligence and determines attribution; secures national security and military systems;
supports national cyber incident protection, prevention, mitigation, and recovery; and
investigates cybercrimes under military jurisdictions. DOD also provides support to
civil authorities at the direction of the Secretary of Defense or the President when the
capabilities of state, local, tribal, and territorial authorities to respond effectively to an
event are overwhelmed. DOD is the lead coordinator for Emergency Support Function
#3 (Public Works and Engineering) through the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and
provides support to the other Emergency Support Functions as directed.




86

DOD accomplishes its cybersecurity operational roles and responsibilities as
part of the Federal Cybersecurity Operations Team through the CYBERCOM
Joint Operations Center, the National Security Agency/Central Security Service
Threat Operations Center, the Defense Cyber Crime Center, and the Defense
Information Systems Agency Command Center, in coordination with the
cybersecurity operations centers operated by DHS and DOJ.

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) leads the coordination of all
functions relevant to Public Health Emergency Preparedness and Disaster Medical
Response. HHS incorporates steady-state and incident-specific activities as described
in the National Health Security Strategy. HHS serves as a member of the Mitigation
Framework Leadership Group, the coordinating and primary agency for the Public
Health and Medical Services Emergency Support Function, the coordinating agency for

2014 QUADRENNIAL HOMELAND SECURITY REVIEW

the Health and Social Services Recovery Support Function, and a primary agency for
the Community Planning and Capacity Building Recovery Support Function.


The Department of the Treasury works to safeguard the U.S. financial system, combat
financial crimes, and cut off financial support to terrorists, weapons of mass
destruction proliferators, drug traffickers, and other threats to the national security,
foreign policy, or economy of the United States. Treasury is a primary agency for the
Economic Recovery Support Function.



The Department of Agriculture (USDA) provides leadership on food, agriculture, natural
resources, rural development, and related issues based on sound public policy, the
best available science, and efficient management. The Department works with private
land owners to build more resilient agricultural systems and healthier forest to reduce
the risk of wildfire, insects, and disease. The USDA is a member of the Emergency
Support Function Leadership Group, Recovery Support Function Leadership Group,
and Mitigation Framework Leadership Group, the coordinator and primary agency for
the Firefighting Emergency Support Function and Agriculture and Natural Resources
Emergency Support Function, and primary or support agency for all six Recovery
Support Functions.



Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI). The Director of National
Intelligence serves as the head of the Intelligence Community, acts as the principal
advisor to the President for intelligence matters relating to national security, and
oversees and directs implementation of the National Intelligence Program. In addition
to intelligence community elements with specific homeland security missions, ODNI
maintains a number of mission and support centers that provide unique capabilities
for homeland security partners, including the National Counterterrorism Center and
National Counterproliferation Center.



The Department of Commerce promotes job creation, economic growth, sustainable
development, and improved standards of living for all Americans. The Department of
Commerce is a member of the Mitigation Framework Leadership Group and the
coordinating agency and a primary agency for the Economic Recovery Support
Function.



The Department of Education oversees discretionary grants and technical assistance
to help schools plan for and respond to emergencies that disrupt teaching and

2014 QUADRENNIAL HOMELAND SECURITY REVIEW

87

APPENDIX A
learning. The Department of Education supports the National Health Security Strategy
and is a primary agency for the Health and Social Services Recovery Support Function.

88



The Department of Energy (DOE) maintains stewardship of vital national security
capabilities, from nuclear weapons to leading-edge research and development
programs. DOE is the coordinating and primary agency for the Energy Emergency
Support Function, is a member of the Mitigation Framework Leadership Group, and a
primary agency for the Infrastructure Systems Recovery Support Function.



The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is charged with protecting human health
and the environment. EPA is a member of the Mitigation Framework Leadership
Group, a primary agency for the Oil and Hazardous Materials Response Emergency
Support Function, and a primary agency for the Natural and Cultural Resources and
Health and Social Services Recovery Support Functions. EPA also carries out critical
activities, as directed by Homeland Security Presidential Directive 10 and the National
Response Framework, as it relates to decontamination.



The Department of Housing and Urban Development is the coordinator and primary
agency for the Housing Recovery Support Function and a member of the Mitigation
Framework Leadership Group.



The Department of the Interior (DOI) develops policies and procedures for all types of
hazards and emergencies that impact Federal lands, facilities, infrastructure, and
resources; tribal lands; and insular areas. DOI is also a member of the Mitigation
Framework Leadership Group, a primary agency for the Search and Rescue Emergency
Support Function, the coordinating agency and a primary agency for the Natural and
Cultural Resources Recovery Support Function, and a primary agency for the Health
and Social Services Recovery Support Function.



The Department of Transportation (DOT) collaborates with DHS on all matters relating
to transportation security and the security and resilience of transportation
infrastructure and in regulating the transportation of hazardous materials by all modes
(including pipelines). DOT supports the National Health Security Strategy and serves
as a member of the Mitigation Framework Leadership Group, the coordinating agency
for the Transportation Emergency Support Function, and a primary agency for the
Infrastructure Systems Recovery Support Function.

2014 QUADRENNIAL HOMELAND SECURITY REVIEW



The General Services Administration is a member of the Mitigation Framework
Leadership Group.



The Department of Labor supports the National Health Security Strategy and is a
primary agency for the Economic and Health and Social Services Recovery Support
Functions. The Department of Labor/Occupational Safety and Health Administration is
the Coordinating Agency for the Worker Safety and Health Support Annex under the
National Response Framework.



The Department of Veteran’s Affairs is a primary agency for the Health and Social
Services Recovery Support Function.



The Small Business Administration is a member of the Mitigation Framework
Leadership Group and a primary agency for the Economic Recovery Support Function.



Other Federal Agencies contribute to the homeland security mission in a variety of
ways. This includes agencies responsible for either supporting efforts to assure a
resilient homeland or collaborating with the departments and agencies noted above in
their efforts to secure the homeland.



The American Red Cross is chartered by Congress to provide relief to survivors of
disasters and help people prevent, prepare for, and respond to emergencies.

In addition to the roles and responsibilities specified above, Table A-1 identifies the
coordinating and primary agencies for each of the Emergency Support Functions under the
National Response Framework. The Emergency Support Functions are the primary federal
coordinating structures for delivering response core capabilities established in the National
Preparedness Goal.

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89

APPENDIX A
Table A-1: ESFs and ESF Coordinators (Source: NRF)
ESFs and ESF Coordinators
ESF #

ESF

ESF Coordinator

Primary Agency

1

Transportation

Department of Transportation

Department of Transportation

2

Communications

DHS/National Protection and
Programs/Cybersecurity and
Communications/National Communications
System

DHS/National Communications
System DHS/FEMA

3

Public Works and Engineering

Department of Defense/U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers

Department of Defense/U.S. Army
Corps of Engineers

4

Firefighting

Department of Agriculture/Forest Service,
DHS/FEMA

Department of Agriculture/Forest
Service

5

Information and Planning

DHS/FEMA

DHS/FEMA

6

Mass Care, Emergency
Assistance, Temporary Housing,
and Human Services

DHS/FEMA

DHS/FEMA, American Red Cross

7

Logistics

General Services Administration,
DHS/FEMA

General Services Administration,
DHS/FEMA

8

Public Health and Medical
Services

Department of Health and Human
Services

Department of Health and Human
Services

9

Search and Rescue

DHS/FEMA

DHS/FEMA, DHS/U.S. Coast Guard,
DHS/Customs and Border Protection,
Department of the Interior/National
Park Service, Department of Defense

10

Oil and Hazardous Materials
Response

Environmental Protection Agency

Environmental Protection Agency,
DHS/ U.S. Coast Guard

11

Agriculture and Natural
Resources

Department of Agriculture

Department of Agriculture,
Department of the Interior

12

Energy

Department of Energy

Department of Energy

13

Public Safety and Security

Department of Justice/ Bureau of Alcohol,
Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives

Department of Justice/Bureau of
Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and
Explosives

14
15

90

Superseded by National Disaster Recovery Framework
External Affairs

DHS

DHS/FEMA

2014 QUADRENNIAL HOMELAND SECURITY REVIEW

In addition to the roles and responsibilities of federal departments and agencies, other
homeland security participants include the following:


Private Sector Entities, including businesses, industries, private schools and
universities are integral parts of the community, and they play a wide range of critical
roles. The majority of the Nation’s infrastructure is owned and operated by private
sector entities. They take action to align relevant planning, training, exercising, risk
management and investments in security as a necessary component of prudent
business planning and operations. During times of disaster, private sector partners
provide response resources—including specialized teams, essential services,
equipment, and advanced technologies—through public-private emergency
plans/partnerships, or mutual aid and assistance agreements, or in response to
requests from government and from nongovernmental-volunteer initiatives. In
addition, the private sector has a role in building community resiliency by preparing for,
responding to, and recovering from emergencies affecting their businesses.



Governors are responsible for overseeing their state’s threat prevention activities as
well the state’s response to any emergency or disaster, and take an active role in
ensuring that other state officials and agencies address the range of homeland
security threats, hazards, and challenges. During an emergency, governors will play a
number of roles, to include serving as the state’s chief communicator and primary
source of information on the scope of the disaster, the need for evacuations, and the
availability of assistance. Governors are commanders of their National Guards and are
able to activate them to assist under state active duty during a disaster, and also
retain command over their National Guard under Title 32 status. During a disaster,
governors also will need to make decisions regarding the declaration of emergencies
or disasters, requests for mutual aid, and calls for federal assistance.



State and Territorial Governments supplement the activities of cities, counties, and
intrastate regions. States administer federal homeland security grants (in certain
grant programs) to local and tribal governments, allocating key resources to bolster
their prevention and preparedness capabilities. State agencies conduct law
enforcement and security activities, protect the governor and other executive
leadership, and administer state programs that address the range of homeland
security threats, hazards, and challenges. State government officials lead statewide
disaster and mitigation planning. During response, states coordinate resources and
capabilities throughout the state and are responsible for requesting and obtaining
resources and capabilities from surrounding states. States often mobilize these

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91

APPENDIX A
substantive resources and capabilities to supplement the local efforts before, during,
and after incidents.

92



Tribal Leaders are responsible for the public safety and welfare of their membership.
They can serve as both key decision makers and trusted sources of public information
during incidents.



Tribal Governments, which have a special status under federal laws and treaties,
ensure the provision of essential services to members within their communities, and
are responsible for developing emergency response and mitigation plans. Tribal
governments may coordinate resources and seek assistance from neighboring
jurisdictions, states, and the Federal Government. Depending on location, land base,
and resources, tribal governments provide law enforcement, fire, and emergency
services as well as public safety to their members. During a disaster, tribal
governments make decisions regarding whether to request a Presidential emergency
or major disaster declaration independent of the state within which the tribal lands are
located.



Mayors and Other Local Elected and Appointed Officials are responsible for ensuring
the public safety and welfare of their residents, serving as their jurisdiction’s chief
communicator and a primary source of information for homeland security-related
information, and are responsible for ensuring their governments are able to carry out
emergency response activities. Officials serve as key decision makers and trusted
sources of public information during incidents. In some states, elected officials such
as sheriffs or judges also serve as emergency managers, search and rescue officials,
and chief law enforcement officers.



Local Governments are responsible for the public safety, security, health, and welfare
of the people who live in their jurisdictions. Local governments promote the
coordination of ongoing protection plans and the implementation of core capabilities,
as well as engagement and information sharing with private sector entities,
infrastructure owners and operators, and other jurisdictions and regional entities.
Local governments also address unique geographical issues, dependencies and
interdependencies among agencies and enterprises and, as necessary, the
establishment of agreements for cross-jurisdictional and public-private coordination.
Local governments provide front-line leadership for local law enforcement, fire, public
safety, environmental response, public health, and emergency medical services for
preventing, protecting, mitigating, and responding to all manner of hazards and

2014 QUADRENNIAL HOMELAND SECURITY REVIEW

emergencies. They are also responsible for ensuring all citizens receive timely
information in a variety of accessible formats and coordinate resources and
capabilities during disasters with neighboring jurisdictions, nongovernmental
organizations, the state, and the private sector.


Nongovernmental Organizations provide sheltering, emergency food supplies,
counseling services, and other vital services to support response and promote the
recovery of disaster survivors. They often provide specialized services and advocacy
that help individuals with special needs, including those with disabilities, and provide
resettlement assistance and services to arriving refugees. They also provide for
evacuation, rescue, shelter, and care of animals, including household pets and service
animals. Nongovernmental organizations are key partners in preparedness activities
to include response and recovery operations.



Communities are unified groups that share goals, values, or purposes rather than
geographic boundaries or jurisdictions. These groups may possess the knowledge and
understanding of the threats and hazards, local response capabilities, and
requirements within their jurisdictions and have the capacity to alert authorities of
those emergencies, capabilities, or needs. During an incident these groups may be
critical in passing along vital communications to individuals and families, and to
supporting response activities in the initial stages of a crisis.



Individuals, Families, and Households take protective actions and the basic steps to
prepare themselves for emergencies, including understanding the threats and hazards
that they may face, reducing hazards in and around their homes, preparing an
emergency supply kit and household emergency plans (that include care for animals,
including household pets and service animals), monitoring emergency
communications, volunteering with established organizations, enrolling in training
courses, and practicing what to do in an emergency. These preparedness activities
help to strengthen community resilience and mitigate the impact of disasters. In
addition, individual vigilance and awareness can help communities remain safer and
bolster prevention efforts by contacting local law enforcement and sharing information
within their communities.

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APPENDIX B
APPENDIX B: PROCESS AND STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT
ACTIVITIES
Section 2401 of the Implementing Recommendations of the 9/11 Commission Act of
2007, Pub. L. 110-53, amends Title VII of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to require
the Secretary of Homeland Security to conduct a Quadrennial Homeland Security Review
every four years beginning in 2009. In conducting the review, DHS is directed to consult
with (1) the heads of other federal agencies, including the Attorney General, the Secretary
of State, the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, the
Secretary of the Treasury, the Secretary of Agriculture, and the Director of National
Intelligence; (2) key officials of the Department; and (3) other relevant governmental and
nongovernmental entities, including state, local, tribal and territorial government officials,
Members of Congress, private-sector representatives, academics, and other policy experts.
By articulating an enduring vision for and definition of homeland security, and establishing
five homeland security missions, the first quadrennial review in 2010 answered the
question, “What is homeland security?” Building on this foundation, the second
quadrennial review identifies the necessary strategic shifts and areas of ongoing priority
and renewed emphasis that will position DHS to successfully counter evolving threats and
hazards, and keep our Nation safe. Pursuant to the legislative direction, the second review
included two years of deliberate, rigorous analysis and substantive collaboration with
partners at all levels of government and across the public and private sector.

REVIEW APPROACH: STRATEGY THROUGH ANALYSIS
The second Quadrennial Homeland Security Review included four phases: (1) preparation;
(2) study and analysis; (3) writing and decision; and (4) rollout. The preparation phase,
which took place in 2012 and early 2013, included a review of homeland security risks and
the dynamic security environment, as well as preliminary updates to the goals within the
homeland security missions. The study and analysis phase, which took place during the
spring and summer of 2013, focused on deep dive studies and targeted analyses. The
writing and decision phase, which took place in fall 2013 and early 2014, interrupted by
the partial government shutdown in October 2013, aimed at reaching decisions on highpriority questions with interagency partners and external stakeholders. As with the first
Quadrennial Homeland Security Review, substantive engagement and outreach across a
wide variety of stakeholders were critical across all stages of the review. Roll-out
culminates the engagement with the release of the second quadrennial review. As with the

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first review, the Office of Policy (PLCY), through its Office of Strategy, Planning, Analysis &
Risk, served as the executive agent for the second review.

Figure B-1: The four phases of the second quadrennial review
PREPARATION PHASE
The Quadrennial Homeland Security Review preparation phase began in 2012 and focused
on two primary efforts to prepare the Department to successfully execute the second
review: (1) deeply examining the strategic environment, including threats and hazards,
trends, future uncertainties, and strategic risk; and (2) reviewing, affirming, and where
necessary updating the DHS missions and goals based on changes since the first
quadrennial review. During this process, DHS developed a Homeland Security Strategic
Environmental Assessment, which combined cross-cutting threat and hazard analysis with
an examination of the changing risk environment through analysis of system relationships,
trends, and future uncertainties. The result was insight into how strategic homeland
security risk will likely evolve over time, and a clear sense of the threats and hazards that
pose the most strategically significant risk to the Nation over the next five years. The
Department also conducted a roles and missions review that affirmed the enduring nature

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APPENDIX B
of the five core missions and the cross-cutting imperative to Mature and Strengthen
Homeland Security.
STUDY AND ANALYSIS PHASE
Based on the preparation phase analyses and informed by conclusions about the areas
that pose the most strategic significant risk, DHS leadership directed the following
Quadrennial Homeland Security Review studies: (1) The Evolving Terrorism Threat; (2)
Cybersecurity; (3) A Homeland Security Strategy for Countering Biological Threats and
Hazards; (4) Securing and Expediting Flows of People and Goods; and (5) Governance in
the Homeland Security Enterprise: The Public-Private Relationship. Several key areas of
ongoing emphasis—Nuclear Terrorism Using an Improvised Nuclear Device, Immigration;
and the National Preparedness System and the Whole Community Approach—were the
subject of ongoing efforts pursuant to Congressional and Presidential direction and
therefore were not explicitly studied in the quadrennial review process.
Each Quadrennial Homeland Security Review study involved a strategic review of the topic
area, with on-going guidance and in-progress decisions from Departmental leadership.
Each study group included a leader from PLCY’s Office of Strategy, Planning, Analysis, and
Risk, and a dedicated group of senior managers and subject matter experts from across
DHS. Each study followed a tailored analytic plan based on a common approach to
strategy development and analysis. This common approach includes four sequential
elements with associated analytic milestones and deliverables:

96



Lay the Foundations—Departmental leadership provided guidance, defined
priorities, and set expectations for each study, while study groups developed plans
for engaging partners and stakeholders inside and outside DHS;



Define the Context—each study framed the challenge, including understanding
threat and risk today and making assumptions about the future given key trends
and uncertainties, and specified desired end-states;



Develop Solutions—each study defined key priorities or areas of emphasis to best
address the challenge and meet desired outcomes; where applicable, studies
considered alternatives that traded off cost, risk reduction, executability, and
robustness against future uncertainty; and

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

Decide on an Approach—each study worked through relevant criteria and results
from analysis to reach conclusions and recommendations for leadership on
strategic posture shifts and areas of ongoing or renewed emphasis.

WRITING AND DECISION PHASE
Study group recommendations were provided to DHS leadership through the Quadrennial
Homeland Security Review Executive Steering Committee, a body of senior executives from
all DHS directorates, Components, and offices, and a series of Deputy Component head
meetings chaired by the Deputy Secretary. The Department initiated drafting of the
Quadrennial Homeland Security Review Report once decisions were reached across all
studies. Decisions were informed by input from interagency partners and homeland
security communities of interest, as described in “Stakeholder Engagement,” below.
ROLL-OUT PHASE
The roll-out phase focuses on generating substantive dialogue with our partners and
stakeholders, to include the public, on the future of the Nation’s homeland security. The
ultimate goal for the second review is to foster discussion about Quadrennial Homeland
Security Review conclusions across the broad range of homeland security partners and
stakeholders, and to drive review conclusions into programs and budgets, major
investments, and operations.

STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT
Throughout the Quadrennial Homeland Security Review study process, DHS conducted
extensive engagement with federal executive branch partners and Congress; state, local,
tribal and territorial partners; the private sector; academics; and others. The primary goal
of stakeholder engagement was to solicit stakeholder perspectives on studies and
supporting analysis, and to incorporate that input into the second quadrennial review.
Since the Quadrennial Homeland Security Review Terms of Reference directed that the
second review be an enterprise-wide review, a thorough and accurate picture of the
homeland security landscape, and robust participation from stakeholders across all
aspects of the enterprise was required. Acquiring this input involved engaging a group of
stakeholders that was broad enough to present perspectives from across the enterprise
and possessed the subject matter expertise needed to inform the analytic studies. Our
analytical efforts focused on reviewing, researching, and synthesizing existing literature
and academic work on the study topics, in-person discussions with experts in the field, and

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APPENDIX B
the participation of homeland security stakeholders.
Pursuant to the Quadrennial Homeland Security Review legislative mandate, the review
engagement strategy sought input from three groups of stakeholders (see Figure B-2):

Figure B-2: DHS engaged three distinct stakeholder communities

DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY
Throughout the review, DHS employees at all levels were consulted and provided input.
Each study lead convened a group of subject matter experts to shape and inform the
analysis. An Executive Steering Committee of DHS Senior Executives guided the
overarching narrative and presented decisions to DHS senior leadership through a series of
Component Deputy Meetings:

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Study Groups: In keeping with the inclusive approach of the review, more than 200
participants from across DHS Components and offices conducted each of the studies
through standing working groups, led by a core group of analysts from PLCY’s Office of
Strategy, Planning, Analysis, and Risk. The work of the DHS study group participants was
supported by a team of subject-matter experts and research analysts from the Homeland
Security Studies and Analysis Institute, one of the Department’s federally funded research
and development centers. The study groups conducted their analysis over a 12-month
period, with work products consistently shared using the online portals described in
“Homeland Security Communities of Interest,” below.
Executive Steering Committee: A Steering Committee, chaired by the Assistant Secretary
for Strategy, Planning, Analysis & Risk and made up of senior executive-level
representatives of all DHS Components, met more than 25 times for coordination and
consultation through the course of the review. The Steering Committee provided insight
and suggestions, and shaped study group material for decision.
DHS Senior Leadership Meetings: The DHS Deputy Secretary hosted leadership meetings
more than a dozen times throughout the review process, in order to shape the preferred
approach of each study topic and to review final results. Final decisions on the
recommendations reflected departmental acknowledgement of major themes around
which the Quadrennial Homeland Security Review Report was written.
FEDERAL PARTNERS
Stakeholders across the Federal Government were consulted throughout the review
process, culminating in a series of decisions that informed both policy and budget
priorities. Federal partners received regular briefings and participated in discussions at key
decision points during the review.
Legislative Branch: Staff-level briefings on Quadrennial Homeland Security Review
progress were offered to all relevant committees on a variety of occasions, and provided to
the House Committee on Homeland Security, the Senate Homeland Security and
Governmental Affairs Committee, and the Senate Appropriations Committee. Additionally,
key members and staff of relevant committees were invited to participate on the online
engagement venues; several joined to monitor and participate in quadrennial review
discussions. In discussions with congressional staff, their access to the ongoing online
discussion was invaluable in understanding the process and results of the review.
Chairman Michael McCaul (R-TX) and Ranking Member Bennie Thompson (D-MS) of the
House Committee on Homeland Security also provided consolidated input to the process in

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APPENDIX B
a joint letter sent to the Department in December 2013.
Executive Branch: The Quadrennial Homeland Security Review team held regular
synchronization briefings with executive branch staff to remain aligned with evolving
presidential policy decisions, budget priorities, and national security concerns, and to
enable mutual awareness of the progress and direction of the review.

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

Interagency Policy Process: Input from federal partners was coordinated through
meetings under the National Security Council (NSC)1 structure. Sub-Interagency
Policy Committees were convened for interagency engagement and a series of
Interagency Policy Committee-level briefings were used to socialize quadrennial
review progress and decisions. Sub-Interagency Policy Committees were set up
specifically for the Quadrennial Homeland Security Review studies on a Homeland
Security Strategy for Countering Biological Threats and Hazards, Securing and
Managing Flows of People and Goods, and Governance in the Homeland Security
Enterprise: The Public-Private Relationship.



Direct Engagement with other Agencies: In order to fulfill the requirement of
consulting with other federal agencies, DHS engaged in interagency coordination
through the NSC staff as well as direct bilateral meetings with interagency partners
to receive interdepartmental expertise and coordinate strategy. These direct
departmental meetings included discussions with the Departments of Defense,
Justice, State, Health and Human Services, Veterans Affairs, Agriculture, and
Treasury, as well as the Environmental Protection Agency, and the Internal Revenue
Service.



Direct Engagement with the Executive Office of the President: DHS engaged
directly with various offices and policy council staff of the Executive Office of the
President, including the NSC staff, staff from the Office of Management and Budget
(OMB), and the Office of National Drug Control Policy. DHS held nearly two dozen
meetings with senior NSC staff to help drive consensus throughout the strategic
review process and ensured interagency coordination on key issues. DHS met
monthly with OMB staff to update them on progress of the Quadrennial Homeland
Security Review and the FY14-18 DHS Strategic Plan. DHS also consulted with the
Office of National Drug Control Policy to confirm data related to securing and
expediting flows of people and goods, and the Domestic Policy Council staff for
insight on topics related to immigration.

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HOMELAND SECURITY COMMUNITIES OF INTEREST
Outreach efforts focused on a cross-section of homeland security stakeholders. In order to
reach the widest swath of homeland security practitioners and experts using available
resources, pre-existing online venues were used as a primary mechanism for engagement.
Two sites—the Quadrennial Homeland Security Review Community of Practice hosted
through DHS Science and Technology’s FirstResponder.gov Communities of Practice and
the IdeaScale site managed by the DHS
Office of Public Affairs—served as the
Figure B-3: Stakeholder participation in
primary interface between quadrennial
IdeaScale
review study teams and homeland
Stakeholder Participation in IdeaScale
security stakeholders.
Stakeholder Group

Percentage of Users

In June 2013 the Secretary invited more
State, Local, Tribal, Territorial
27%
than 200 organizations and their
Employee
members, representing all facets of
Private Sector
25%
homeland security, to join the
Nongovernmental
Quadrennial Homeland Security Review
6%
Organization/Non-profit
Community of Practice, which was linked
Academia
9%
to the Quadrennial Homeland Security
Review IdeaScale site. This invitation
Federal Government
32%
garnered dynamic and enthusiastic
participation throughout the entire review process from subject matter experts in the field.
Their essential insights strengthened and supported the review, providing a holistic
understanding of the realities of homeland security.
While the engagement process aimed to receive extensive stakeholder input, it also sought
informed expertise that could be used for quadrennial review studies and analysis. To that
end, the Quadrennial Homeland Security Review team reached out to:


Hundreds of key organizations representing state, local, tribal, and territorial elected
and appointed officials, and the national associations, organizations, and affiliates
that represent them, the private sector, and non-profit organizations;



Tens of thousands of practitioners through homeland security listservs managed by
FEMA, DHS Intergovernmental Affairs, the Naval Postgraduate School, and the First
Responder Community of Practice, among others;

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APPENDIX B


Hundreds of Federal Advisory Committee Act Committee members;



Several international partners with interest in homeland security topics; and



Individual organizations and experts closely related to quadrennial review study
topics.

These stakeholders were targeted for extensive involvement throughout the Quadrennial
Homeland Security Review study process. Study groups developed IdeaScale and
Community of Practice engagement topics directly related to their analysis and
stakeholders were invited to provide their thoughts and ideas. Between the two online
venues, more than 2,000 unique stakeholders registered to provide their perspectives and
insights, yielding thousands of comments, more than 100 source documents, and more
than 10,000 votes. Stakeholders from across disciplines and from every state and several
territories and tribal nations participated in these engagements. This focused and
substantive input was used to inform study group analysis and helped shape the final
Quadrennial Homeland Security Review Report.
To supplement this online engagement, study groups held a series of briefings and forums
to solicit input and socialize the quadrennial review process with members of DHS Advisory
Committees Following the 2010 review, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) noted
that the review did not fully utilize Federal Advisory Committee Act groups due to a number
of limitations. Specifically, it was suggested by GAO that as the limitations of Federal
Advisory Committee Act “significantly reduced the role that nonfederal stakeholders played
in the [Quadrennial Homeland Security Review]…addressing the [Federal Advisory
Committee Act] requirements and including appropriate [Federal Advisory Committee Act]compliant groups with a broader range of academics and others could have affected the
outcome of the study group’s deliberations.”2 In order to remediate this issue, PLCY’s
Office of Strategy, Planning, Analysis, and Risk held eight Quadrennial Homeland Security
Review Forums to engage with members of DHS Federal Advisory Committee Act
committees between April and December 2013. The forums allowed the Department to
engage DHS’s advisory committee members as individual stakeholders with relevant
expertise in focused briefings. These forums did not function as Advisory Committee
meetings, as the members who attended were not solicited for consensus advice or
recommendations, did not speak on behalf of the Committees, and each forum consisted
of different members from across the Department’s Advisory Committees. When individual
DHS Advisory Committees requested specific quadrennial review briefings, staff from
PLCY’s Office of Strategy, Planning, Analysis, and Risk provided those briefings at the

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committees’ regularly-scheduled and publicly-noticed meetings. DHS also engaged with
specific organizations to host review-related activities, including a forum on public-private
partnerships hosted by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and a public-private partnerships
tabletop exercise held in conjunction with Business Executives for National Security.

In January 2014, the Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs changed the name of the integrated National Security Council and Homeland Security Council staff from the National Security Staff (NSS) to
the National Security Council (NSC) staff. This appendix refers to the NSC staff, although during the conduct
of the review the staff was referred to in QHSR preparatory documents as the NSS.
1

2 “Quadrennial

Homeland Security Review: Enhanced Stakeholder Consultation and Use of Risk Information
Could Strengthen Future Reviews,” GAO-11-873, September 2011, pg. 23.

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