Homeland Security

Mr. Chairman, Members of the Committee, thank you for this opportunity to meet with you today. As Coordinator for Counterterrorism at the Department of State, I chair the Interagency Working Group on Counterterrorism and oversee a number of interagency sub-working groups including the Technical Support Working Group (TSWG).

The TSWG coordinates and manages the National Counterterrorism Research and Development Program. The goal of this program is to strengthen our counterterrorism capabilities through development of new technologies, including those to counter weapons of mass destruction.

The TSWG was established in the early 1980's to improve coordination of information about counterterrorism technology. In 1986, the group expanded its role to develop counterterrorism technology. It was clear by then that a more coordinated interagency focus was needed. Congress provided $10 million in seed money to the Department of State to launch this effort.

The TSWG conducts research, development, and rapid prototyping of antiterrorism and counterterrorism technologies. We focus on requirements for equipment for use by many agencies which permits us to leverage funds, and to share information and experiences.

Most recently, the TSWG expanded its scope by entering into agreements with Canada, the United Kingdom, and Israel to develop counterterrorism equipment and technologies of mutual benefit.

Today, the TSWG has members from eight federal departments and over 50 agencies. There are seven functional subgroups. As Coordinator for Counterterrorism, I provide overall policy guidance for the program. Ambassador Holmes' office oversees execution of the Program, and the Navy's Office of Special Technology executes and administers the program.

Because of the TSWG's limited budget, we set clear priorities for R&D to avoid duplication and to maximize resources.

TSWG R&D priorities are based on the following criteria:

-- An Intelligence Community Assessment of Terrorist Threats and Technical Capabilities;

-- User Requirements and assessments of the feasibility of proposals;

-- Results of studies on security problems where technology can provide solutions; and

-- Our judgement that TSWG R&D will significantly improve our counterterrorist capability beyond present means.

Our priorities for TSWG research in the FY 96-98 period are as follows:

- Stand-off Detection of Explosives

- Large Vehicle Bomb Countermeasures

- Blast Mitigation

- Chemical and Biological Countermeasures

- Advanced Surveillance Technologies

- Detection and Defeat of sensors used by terrorists

- Infrastructure Protection

Research and development to enhance our capability to respond to terrorism using weapons of mass destruction - especially terrorism employing chemical or biological materials - is a high priority in accordance with the President's policy outlined in Presidential Decision Directive 39 (PDD 39). Approximately 25% of the funds provided for the TSWG program in FY 1997 are allocated toward projects in this critical area.

We are also monitoring R&D efforts in other programs in the broad area of countering weapons of mass destruction to see if they can be applied by the counterterrorism community.

And, we are also working actively with our foreign partners in counterterrorism R&D to seek better technical solutions to problems posed by terrorists, including countermeasures for weapons of mass destruction.

A number of successes already achieved in this field, and additional cooperative projects currently underway, have proved the advantages of leveraging national and international resources and expertise whenever possible.

Funding for the TSWG over the years has been spartan. I have submitted a chart outlining the Program's funding profile over the past decade.

In the early years, funding for the TSWG program was solely through the State Department's budget. In FY 90 and 91, following Congressional direction to find an alternate funding source for the main portion of the program, we began extensive consultations with various Federal agencies.

Following a recommendation from the National Security Advisor in 1991, DOD offered to assume responsibility for funding the lion's share of the program beginning in FY 92. Our successes in recent years and our ability to broaden the scope of the program are directly attributable to enhanced DOD funding and support.

DOD is planning a significant funding increase for the program beginning in FY 98. This reflects a growing demand for TSWG managed R&D as well as the confidence that agencies have in the Program.

These additional funds will enable us to broaden the program, and will also permit us to consider further enhancing our existing cooperative programs with foreign governments. We are exploring the possibility of broadening our international cooperation, if we can identify other allies and who have funds and expertise to contribute.

The TSWG program has yielded a wide variety of equipment to combat terrorism for DOD and other federal, state and local agencies.

We are convinced that with additional resources invested in the program, we can expand the technology that can be applied to combat terrorism. This program is a good investment. It already has achieved a number of successes - some of which Mr. Holmes will outline in his follow-on remarks.

The Department of State is grateful for this Committee's interest in the TSWG program, and we welcome your continued support.

I would like now to turn the floor back to Assistant Secretary Holmes.