DHS shifts stimulus funds into proven technologies

Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano announced Tuesday that she would cut off Recovery Act funding from the virtual fence initiative along the US southwest border, potentially signaling the final fate of the struggling program.

Napolitano has not yet completed a review of the Secure Border Initiative Network (SBInet) begun in January, but with the reallocation of SBInet funds under the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act (ARRA) (Public Law 111-5), the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) indicated its fear that it would lose those funds if left in the program.

"Not only do we have an obligation to secure our borders, we have a responsibility to do so in the most cost effective way possible," Napolitano said in a statement. "The system of sensors and cameras along the southwest border known as SBInet has been plagued with cost overruns and missed deadlines."

Under nearly $3 billion DHS received in stimulus funds, the department allocated $100 million to border technology under SBInet, a series of surveillance towers, sensors and cameras on the US southwest border. DHS only has until the end of fiscal 2010 to spend its Recovery Act money or else lose it.

Napolitano announced DHS would divert $50 million of $100 million in Recovery Act funds for SBInet into other proven, commercially available technologies for use in border security efforts. Those technologies would include mobile surveillance, thermal imaging devices, ultra-light detection, backscatter X-ray units, mobile radios, cameras and laptops for pursuit vehicles as well as remote video surveillance system enhancements, according to Napolitano.

Napolitano took the additional step of freezing all funding for SBInet beyond the initial deployment to border areas outside Tucson and Ajo, Ariz., until the completion of an assessment of the program she ordered in January.

Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.), chair of the House Homeland Security Committee, issued a strong rebuke to the program Tuesday in a similar statement to HSToday.us.

"Since its inception, the SBInet program has been a grave and expensive disappointment," Thompson lamented. "Today's announcement is recognition that this troubled program needs better management and stronger oversight. We are tired of listening to stories about faulty cameras, poor tower stability, and overly sensitive sensors, which have led to failed testing. This week my committee will once again examine the program and consider whether SBInet can contribute to the security of our nation's borders."

The House Subcommittee on Border, Maritime, and Global Counterterrorism will hold a hearing on the status of SBInet Thursday.

SBInet chief contractor The Boeing Co., Chicago, Ill., reacted to the news diplomatically.

"Boeing has always recognized the importance of getting border security capabilities into the hands of the Border Patrol quickly and affordably," the company said in a statement to HSToday.us. "We are fully committed to delivering border security technology that successfully assists them in their mission and we will continue to support the Department of Homeland Security as they examine the future of securing the nation's borders."

'Immediate resources'

Ralph Basham, former commissioner of US Customs and Border Protection (CBP), endorsed Napolitano's overall reassessment of SBInet, which has been in development for three and a half years now.

"Although they have seen some successes, we need to go back and re-look at this and decide whether or not this is the smartest way to spend money and that there are other solutions out there that could be immediately put into place to provide the Border Patrol with what they need to carry out their critical mission," said Basham, who was CBP chief when the SBInet contract was awarded in 2006.

"I have seen the technology and witnessed it first hand. The Border Patrol agents have seen it and witnessed it first hand themselves. But they need some immediate resources and tools to get their job done," Basham commented. "SBInet just hasn't delivered on what they said it would do. Maybe it will and they will continue to work on it. But maybe it's not the best way to spend valuable and scarce resources right now."

Basham, now a consultant at Command Consulting Group, cited the DHS mantra that only the proper combination of technology, infrastructure and manpower could secure US borders. As such, DHS was not planning to deploy a single technological solution such as SBInet across the entire southwestern border.

The proposed fiscal 2011 DHS budget already had cut funding for SBInet to $574 million, down from $800 million in fiscal 2010.

To date, DHS has spent about $700 million on SBInet, building out the first 23-mile leg of it along the Arizona border with Mexico. That segment includes nine fixed surveillance towers with sensors, cameras, and communications equipment. By the end of this year, DHS planned to build out 53 miles of the virtual fence, covering the areas known as Tucson-1 and Ajo-1, SBInet Executive Director Mark Borkowski told HSToday.us last month.

Delays in fixing cameras and other equipment caused SBInet to miss its most recently scheduled deadlines. US Border Patrol was to receive the system for operational testing in January but testing was bumped back to September 2010.

Thursday's House hearing will include testimony from acting Border Patrol chief Michael Fisher, congressional investigator Randolph Hite, Boeing vice president Timothy Peters, and Borkowski.