The FY12 Homeland Security Appropriations bill that passed the House and Senate as part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2012 was signed into law by President Obama on December 23rd. To read the summary of the homeland security appropriations conference report, click here.  

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Marc Pearl

Our next full Thought Leadership meeting will be held on Monday, January 23rd from 11:45am- 2:15pm in Fairfax, VA.  The Council's special topic workgroups continue to actively engage in meetings with DHS officials and congressional staff to exchange ideas, share the varied points-of-view and perspectives of industry, and to discuss how best to develop a collaborative approach to the Council members' issues and mission. 

This year, we will begin planning for our National Conversation series and Symposiums (spring and fall) on Cloud Security, S&T issues, and Management issues (with an overall theme of looking towards the future).  We hope to plan these symposia in a way that fully incorporates each of our individual workgroups and addresses enterprise-wide issues.  We are also looking at possibly facilitating a meeting of private sector R&D directors with the S&T Directorate to discuss how to better communicate and leverage their expertise.  If you have members that would like to get involved in the planning for one of these events in one of the Council's Thought Leadership Committee workgroups listed below, please contact Krista.

• Advancement of Technology in Homeland Security
• Cyber Security /IT Infrastructure Protection
• Homeland Security Enterprise
• Protection, Preparedness and Resilience 
• Information Sharing and Management

Council members, senior advisors, strategic partners, and public sector guests gathered together at our Annual Dinner on December 15th and presented its Lifetime Distinguished Service Award to U.S. Senator Joe Lieberman (ID-Conn.), Chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs.  Senator Lieberman delivered remarks that focused on the need to pass comprehensive cybersecurity legislation, which the Senate is scheduled to take up early this year.

The Chairman of the Council's Board of Directors Jack Mayer, Executive Vice President at Booz Allen Hamilton, also delivered remarks and outlined the need to establish a National Commission on Homeland Security.  Additionally, Marc Pearl recognized outgoing Board Members Dave Abel from IBM and Marcus Collier from General Dynamics IT for their leadership and dedication to the success of the Council.  Click here to read the press release. Click here to read Senator Lieberman's remarks. Click here to read Jack Mayer's remarks.

During the week of December 5th, 28 Council members participated in a Southwest Border Executive Tour to Arizona and California.  The purpose of the tour was for industry executives to gain a better understanding of the dynamics, communication, coordination and strategic approach to the manpower, technology, and infrastructure needed to secure the Southwest Border of the United States.  Over the course of four days, Council members visited the Joint Field Command and Joint Intelligence Operations Center in Tucson; the Ports of Entry in Nogales and San Diego; the I-19 Checkpoint in Arizona; the San Diego Law Enforcement Coordination Center; the San Diego Border Patrol Headquarters; and the Air and Marine Operations Center.  In addition to these tours, members also participated in a number of roundtable discussions on the challenges that local, state, and federal officials face in securing the border and facilitating lawful travel and trade.  Members met with officials from the Department of Defense's Joint Task Force North, the Arizona Governor's Office, the Arizona - Mexico Commission, Senator McCain's Tucson Office, local and state law enforcement officials, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Coast Guard, FBI, and Customs and Border Protection, specifically representatives from the Office of Border Patrol, Office of Field Operations, and Office of Air and Marine. 

The Council will host a Southwest Border debrief session on Monday, January 23rd, from 10:30am-11:30am in Fairfax, Virginia.  If you would like to participate or just listen to the discussion to hear the lessons learned, please contact Krista Sweet for more details.  The Council is tentatively planning an executive tour to learn more about intelligence and counterterrorism operations in New York City in March or April.  If you would like to be added to the distribution list to receive future information on this trip, please contact Krista Sweet.  

The Council hosted Patricia Hoffman, Assistant Secretary for the Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability, U.S. Department of Energy, at our December Executive Roundtable. Assistant Secretary Hoffman discussed her role in protecting our critical infrastructure, priorities in leading the nation's efforts to modernize the electric grid, and specifically discussed her work with the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Defense.  We very much appreciate Mike Kelly of TASC moderating the Roundtable.