October 19 marked the 30th anniversary of the Interagency Security Committee (ISC) – the federal body created to strengthen the protection of government buildings and the people who work and visit them.
The ISC was established in the aftermath of the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing. The attack on the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building killed 168 people and exposed significant vulnerabilities in how the government secured its facilities. Just six months later, on October 19, 1995, the President signed an executive order creating the ISC to coordinate government-wide security standards and strategies.
Since its founding, the ISC has evolved into a key collaborative forum with 24 primary and 40 associate members, representing 64 federal departments and agencies. Over the past three decades, the ISC has issued dozens of interagency security policies, risk management standards, and best practices that guide how federal agencies design, assess, and secure their buildings. In 2023, Executive Order 14111 reaffirmed the importance of the committee’s work, emphasizing the need for continued vigilance amid persistent and evolving threats to federal infrastructure.
To commemorate the 30-year milestone, the ISC partnered with the Oklahoma City National Memorial Museum to help create the “Are We Safer Today?” exhibit, a reflection on how federal facility security has advanced since the 1995 attack.
The committee also participated in the Survivor Tree Planting on Capitol Hill.
The ISC’s mission remains focused on collaboration, bringing agencies together to create unified, practical, and sustainable solutions that no single department could achieve alone.
As it marks three decades of service, the committee continues to uphold its vision: ensuring that federal facilities, their employees, and all who visit them remain safe and secure across the nation.
(AI was used in part to facilitate this article.)
