Is Homeland Security Too Focused on Now?

The department's projects emphasize near-term results. But some say that could leave the U.S. vulnerable to threats that can't be anticipated

by Rachael King

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Editor's note: This is the third in a series of three stories on the challenges and opportunities facing the Homeland Security Dept. as it develops technology aimed at keeping the U.S. safe.

Before 2001, Analogic (ALOG) was known mainly for the development of high-precision imaging for medical equipment. Then came the September 11 terrorist attacks and the passage of a law requiring all checked baggage to be screened. "It opened up a demand for something we had the technology to supply," says Jim Green, CEO of Analogic, which received its first research and development award from Homeland Security's Transportation Security Administration in 2003.

Two years later, Analogic received additional funding to design an advanced screening system. It was given a tight deadline of one year. The company was already working on the system, which uses the same technology used in cardiac CT scans to take 3D images of a bag's contents. But the grant helped Analogic make its product better. The TSA was so pleased with the fruits of Analogic's efforts that in October, it agreed to buy 12 units for $7.6 million. As a result, travelers passing through selected airports will be able to pass through security without the hassle of removing laptops from bags.

Such are the fruits of a tendency within Homeland Security to focus research spending on projects that will have a near-term payoff. "DHS, for understandable reasons, is under pressure to deliver working homeland security technologies now," says Kei Koizumi, director of the R&D Budget & Policy Program for the nonprofit American Association for the Advancement of Science. While some companies that work with Homeland Security have become frustrated with what they consider foot dragging or a lack of support from the government (BusinessWeek.com, 12/18/07), Analogic is a case where the department's focus on the near term produced results.

Mobilizing Mobile Phones

Homeland Security mainly spends on research through its Science & Technology directorate and its Domestic Nuclear Detection Office. Science & Technology has requested a fiscal 2008 budget of $799.1 million. Of that amount, more than four-fifths, or $656.5 million, goes to research, development, testing, and evaluation. Over half of that amount goes to what's known as product transition, or research efforts that take less than three years to bear fruit. Another 11% is devoted to research that has a two- to five-year time frame, while 13% applies to basic research, or fundamental science requiring eight years or more of development.

So what exactly is Homeland Security looking into? A considerable chunk of research is aimed at confronting biological, chemical, radiological, and nuclear threats. Clark Ervin, the department's former inspector general, sees nuclear terrorism as the biggest threat facing the U.S. Were a nuclear attack to occur, "the economic impact would be greater [than the effect of September 11] and would bring this country to its knees for a considerable period, for decades," Ervin says.

About $229 million has been requested to guard against a biological or chemical attack. That includes projects to detect contaminants in the food supply and efforts to develop low-cost sensors for biohazards that might be placed in buildings. Nuclear research is funded by the department's Domestic Nuclear Detection Office, which has a separate budget from the Science & Technology directorate and has requested $320 million for nuclear research, detection, and operations in 2008.

One of the more recent attempts to guard against biological, chemical, and radiological threats is called CELL-ALL, a near-term effort to include miniaturized sensors in devices as common as cell phones.