Government agencies need restructuring

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According to a recent report released by the Department of Homeland Security’s, or DHS, Office of Inspector General, between 2006 and 2008 the department lost 289 weapons in the line of duty. No amount of language can demonstrate the actual gravity of this properly enough, so I will just state it as plainly as possible: DHS agents literally lost and forgot their weapons.

Some of these weapons were lost in places such as a bowling alley or a public restroom. One even was reported forgotten on a car bumper. These men were given firearms to protect the nation from evildoers. Sadly, we don’t have valiant tales of thwarted terrorist attacks — instead only agents issued firearms by our government forgetting their weapons in a bowling alley. It must be awfully difficult to bowl a strike with your firearm equipped. To make matters even worse, the report goes on to tell that 15 of these lost weapons later were confirmed to end up in the hands of gang members and criminals. But little more could be expected from one of the most poorly run parts of the government. The DHS was formed with noble intentions and lofty goals but has turned into a giant bureaucratic disaster. It not only is a money pit that we continually throw taxpayer dollars into, but also is a symbol of everything that is wrong with government today.

When people think of the DHS, the first thing that probably comes to mind is a color-coded advisory level used to assess our current risk of a terrorist attack. Currently, we live at a yellow, or elevated, risk level. The DHS defines yellow as a significant chance of a terrorist attack occurring. By issuing broad, meaningless labels, the DHS essentially can never be wrong. Besides mongering fear among fickle individuals, these colors hold little significance and are merely the agency’s attempt at appearing as if it has a purpose. On Christmas Day, we actually experienced a terrorist attack, but it was not the increased risk level or an air marshal that thwarted the attack on our fair city of Detroit. It was the brave passengers onboard. A handful of people saved the plane and took down the bomber. The efforts of the poorly organized DHS had no part in this success story. It couldn’t handle the obvious signals that were sent by this troubled young man.

Formed in 2002 under President George W. Bush by combining 22 separate agencies, the DHS was a mess from its inception. Overnight, a new government head sprouted that had 180,000 employees from 22 different agencies, ranging from every department of the government. It has been estimated that $2 billion has been lost by the agency due to fraud and wasteful spending — wasteful spending that included purchasing iPods, $68,442 in dog booties (I swear I can’t make this up) and boats at double the retail value, some of which later went “missing.” To add to that, Congress estimates that $15 billion has been wasted on failed contracts. As a taxpayer, and more specifically, as a reasonable human being, this sort of behavior and spending is nothing sort of appalling.

With the DHS budget standing at more than $55 billion and the U.S. deficit more than a trillion, $68,442 on dog costumes may seem menial, but it is the attitudes and what these costs represent that is particularly troublesome. As every other company and family struggles to survive, the attitude of the government remains static. We change as a people to adapt to economic conditions, but that same idea doesn’t seem to carry over to the government, more specifically at the DHS.

The DHS is a reactionary agency. It acts to stop the threat of yesterday instead of concentrating its concerns for the troubles of tomorrow. But all hope is not lost. With some restructuring, the DHS has the potential to keep America’s home front safe. It possesses both a large budget and the ability to recruit able talent. In 2006, th DHS was ranked by the Office of Personnel Management 35th out of 36 government agencies in leadership and knowledge management. Employees have complained that they are treated like human capital.

While the DHS was formed under difficult circumstances, today it can lead America into a new century as a shining example of a government agency that actually works. Management styles and attitudes must change along with increasing accountability throughout the agency. Forgetting a handgun at a bowling alley never should be considered acceptable. We all make mistakes, but I try not to make my mistakes at the expense of the American taxpayer.

Matt Manning is a State News guest columnist and international relations junior. Reach him at mannin84@msu.edu.

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