Homeland security

GAO Finds DHS Plans To Consolidate CBRNE Programs Not Thorough

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) on Monday released a report saying that the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) proposed consolidation of its chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear and explosives (CBRNE) programs into a new office lacks a thorough analysis of the benefits and consequences of the reorganization.

“DHS did not fully assess and document potential problems that could result from consolidation,” says the report, Homeland Security: DHS’s Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear and Explosives Program Consolidation Proposal Could Better Consider Benefits and Limitations (GAO-16-603).

The report also says that DHS “Did not include a comparison of benefits and costs” and “Conducted limited external stakeholder outreach in developing the consolidation proposal and thus the proposal may not sufficiently account for stakeholder concerns.”

DHS in 2015 proposed consolidating its CBRNE functions into a new Office of CBRNE Defense after Congress directed the department to review its weapons of mass destruction programs and a possible reorganization of its CBRN functions. The resulting review led the department to include its Office of Bombing Prevention in the proposed consolidation.