From the House Committee on Homeland Security:
Critical Leadership Vacancies Impede Department of Homeland Security
(PDF; 328 KB)
The Department of Homeland Security became operational in the spring of 2003. This ambitious undertaking pulled together 22 existing Federal organizations into a single new Departmental entity. Since that time, contracting abuses, poor leadership, and low employee moral have been endemic.
As pointed out by the National Journal in its June 2 issue, one of the continuing problems appears to be the over politicization of the top ranks of Department management. This is evident in the fact that some 24 percent of all Department top positions are now vacant. This could lead to heightened vulnerability to terrorist attack when the new administration is installed in January of 2009 and the political appointees who now run the Department exit without ensuring continuity of operations. The gaping hole in Department executive resources is a homeland security issue that must be addressed and rectified immediately.
