Selected Homeland Security Issues in the 116th Congress: CRS Experts

Summary

In 2001, in the wake of the terrorist attacks of September 11, “homeland security” went from being a concept discussed among a relatively small cadre of policymakers and strategic thinkers to one broadly discussed among policymakers, including a broad swath of those in Congress. Debates over how to implement coordinated homeland security policy led to the passage of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (P.L. 107-296), the establishment of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and extensive legislative activity in the ensuing years.

Initially, homeland security was largely seen as counterterrorism activities. Today, homeland security is a broad and complex network of interrelated issues, in policymaking terms. For example, in its executive summary, the Quadrennial Homeland Security Review issued in 2014 delineated the missions of the homeland security enterprise as follows: prevent terrorism and enhance security; secure and manage the borders; enforce and administer immigration laws; safeguard and secure cyberspace; and strengthen national preparedness and resilience.

This report lists CRS experts across an array of homeland security issues that may come before the 116th Congress. It provides contact information for the subject matter experts and, in many cases, includes links to background Insights on the topics they cover. The Insights may be accessed individually by clicking the specific topic in the experts list, or as a single document better formatted for printing by clicking the “Compiled Insights” link at the bottom of the experts list.

After an introductory section with three crosscutting topics, the experts list groups more specific issues into five broad categories:

Counterterrorism and Security Management;

Border Security and Trade;

Disaster Preparedness, Response, and Recovery;

Cybersecurity; and

DHS Management Issues.

Each category contains a survey of topics briefly analyzed by CRS experts. The information contained in the Insights only scratches the surface of these selected issues. Congressional clients may obtain more detailed information on these topic and others by contacting the relevant CRS expert.