GAO offers transportation security recommendation

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) has issued the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) a recommendation regarding creating a federal transportation security national strategy governing document.

GAO officials said after researching the issue, it has recommended DHS should, in consultation with the Department of Transportation (DOT), communicate to stakeholders how National Strategy for Transportation Security aligns with related strategies to guide federal efforts. The GAO said DHS concurred with the recommendation.

The GAO reviewed relevant transportation security documentation, interviewed DHS and DOT personnel regarding the development and use of the strategy, evaluated interagency collaboration during the development of the national strategy, and analyzed the national strategy’s incorporation of risk information.

In 2004, Congress directed DHS to create a national strategy to be the governing document for federal transportation security efforts, with the end goal of identifying infrastructure to protect while ensuring security and freedom of movement of people and goods.

Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and DOT officials identified a measure of redundancy or overlap regarding the role of the strategy in the wake of other transportation security strategies such as the National Strategy for Aviation Security.

Agencies reported using the national strategy for reference, context, and general coordination, but not for driving program activities.