Homeland Security Advisory System: Possible Issues for Congressional Oversight
Publication Date: January 2008
Publisher: Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service
Author(s):
Research Area: Government
Type:
Abstract:
The Homeland Security Advisory System (HSAS), established on March 12, 2002, is a color-coded terrorist threat warning system administered by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The system, which federal departments and agencies are required to implement and use, provides recommended protective measures for federal departments and agencies to prevent, prepare for, mitigate against, and respond to terrorist attacks.
DHS disseminates HSAS terrorist threat warnings to federal departments, state and local agencies, the public, and private-sector entities. This dissemination of warnings is conducted through multiple communication systems and public announcements.
HSAS has five threat levels: low, guarded, elevated, high, and severe. From March 2002 to the present, the HSAS threat level has been no lower than elevated, and has been raised to high six times. The first time it was raised to high was on September 10, 2002, due to the fear of terrorist attacks on the anniversary of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. The most recent time it was raised to high was on August 1, 2004, due to intelligence regarding possible terrorist attacks on financial institutions in New York City, Washington, DC, and Newark, New Jersey.
On March 16, 2004, the House of Representative's Committee on Government Reform's Subcommittee on National Security, Emerging Threats, and International Relations held a hearing on the HSAS, its threat codes, and public response to it. This hearing focused on the information DHS issued the public the six times the HSAS threat level was raised from "yellow" to "orange."
While the need for terrorist threat warnings seems to be widely acknowledged, there are numerous issues associated with HSAS and its effects on states, localities, the public, and the private sector.