ISC Faces Challenges to Fulfilling Its Responsibilities

ISC’s Executive Director identified several challenges that relate to ISC’s  many roles and responsibilities in coordinating the government’s facility  protection efforts. Although ISC has  taken steps to address challenges, such as seeking additional resources for  fiscal year 2006, it lacks an action plan that could be used to (1) provide  DHS and other stakeholders with detailed information on, and a rationale  for, its resource needs; (2) garner and maintain the support of ISC member  agencies, DHS management, OMB, and Congress; (3) identify  implementation goals and measures for gauging progress in fulfilling all of  its responsibilities; and (4) propose strategies for addressing the challenges  ISC faces. Key Practices in Federal Facility Protection

As ISC and agencies have paid greater attention to facility protection in  recent years, several key practices have emerged that collectively could  provide a framework for guiding agencies’ efforts. Key facility protection practices  that we identified include allocating security resources using risk  management, leveraging the use of security technology, coordinating  protection efforts and sharing information with other stakeholders, and  measuring program performance and testing security initiatives. These include realigning real property assets to agencies’ missions,  thereby reducing vulnerabilities, and strategic human capital management,  to ensure that agencies are well equipped to recruit and retain high- performing security professionals. Without an overall action plan for meeting this and  other responsibilities, ISC’s strategy and time line for these efforts remain  unclear. Objectives, Scope, and Methodology

Our objectives were to (1) assess the Interagency Security Committee’s  (ISC) progress in fulfilling its responsibilities and (2) identify key practices  in protecting federal facilities and any related implementation obstacles. Develop and evaluate security standards for federal facilities. Responsibilities Related to Ensuring Compliance and Overseeing Implementation of Policies and Standards Develop a strategy for ensuring compliance with standards. July 2004, ISC became responsible for reviewing federal agencies physical security plans  4.
Why GAO Did This Study

The war on terrorism has made physical security for federal facilities a governmentwide concern. The Interagency Security Committee (ISC), which is chaired by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), is tasked with coordinating federal agencies' facility protection efforts, developing protection standards, and overseeing implementation. GAO's objectives were to (1) assess ISC's progress in fulfilling its responsibilities and (2) identify key practices in protecting federal facilities and any related implementation obstacles.

What GAO Found

ISC has made progress in coordinating the government's facility protection efforts. In recent years, ISC has taken several actions to develop policies and guidance for facility protection and to share related information. Although its actions to ensure compliance with security standards and oversee implementation have been limited, in July 2004, ISC became responsible for reviewing federal agencies' physical security plans for the administration. ISC, however, lacks an action plan that could be used to provide DHS and other stakeholders with information on, and a rationale for, its resource needs; garner and maintain the support of ISC member agencies, DHS management, Office of Management and Budget, and Congress; identify implementation goals and measures for gauging progress; and propose strategies for addressing various challenges it faces, such as resource constraints. Without an action plan, ISC's strategy and time line for implementing its responsibilities remain unclear. s ISC and agencies have paid greater attention to facility protection in recent years, several key practices have emerged that, collectively, could provide a framework for guiding agencies' efforts. These include allocating resources using risk management; leveraging security technology; coordinating protection efforts and sharing information; measuring program performance and testing security initiatives; realigning real property assets to mission, thereby reducing vulnerabilities; and, implementing strategic human capital management, to ensure that agencies are well equipped to recruit and retain high-performing security professionals. GAO also noted several obstacles to implementation, such as developing quality data for risk management and performance measurement, and ensuring that technology will perform as expected.