DHS responds to criticism of database on vulnerable infrastructure

[The Straight Story]

DHS responds to criticism of database on vulnerable infrastructure

By Chris Strohm, CongressDaily
A top Homeland Security Department official lashed out in frustration Tuesday at critics who say the department is failing to make good judgments when it comes to risks and threats facing the country.

The department has come under heavy criticism recently -- and become the butt of jokes by late-night comedians -- due to its decision in May to cut urban antiterror funding to major metropolitan areas and an inspector general's report last week that found a national database of vulnerable targets rife with locations that pose no security risk.

The IG cited more than 32,000 assets out of about 72,000 in the database that "are not nationally significant," including a Mule Day Parade in Columbia, Tenn.; an Old MacDonald's Petting Zoo in Woodville, Ala.; an Amish popcorn factory in Berne, Ind.; a bean festival in Mountain View, Ark.; and the Kangaroo Conservation Center in Dawsonville, Ga.

Robert Stephan, the department's assistant secretary for infrastructure protection, told reporters that the inspector general "ignored" the facts and came to conclusions that are "fundamentally false."

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