Why Give DHS Budget Flexibility?
The Department of Homeland Security needs a flexible budget to shorten its transition period and adapt quickly to changing threats. It will have many missions, each of which will need to be fully funded. The strategic approach needed to meet the domestic threat of terrorism is very different from that needed to meet challenges to American national security abroad. Global threats develop slowly (for example, military equipment must be procured) and are observed and can be prepared for in advance. Adaptation to meet these challenges can be met through the annual budget process. Terrorists, however, do not rely on long-term procurement strategies or a stable home front. As a result, they can change their tactics quickly. What the DHS views as its top priorities during the budget authorization and appropriations process can change even before the budget takes effect. If the Secretary must ask for Congress’s blessing to shift resources each time the terrorists shift tactics, the United Stat
