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5 - Congress and Homeland Security

from Part Two - Oversight Challenges

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 June 2012

David P. Auerswald
Affiliation:
National War College
Colton C. Campbell
Affiliation:
National War College
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Summary

Fragmentation is not an uncommon trend in government. Among congressional committees, executive agencies, and organized interests, the tendency toward dispersal and decentralization is prevalent. Considered in terms of separation of powers, fragmentation can be as much a blessing as a challenge. The splintering of legislative and executive authority ensures a diversity of perspectives, a wide range of access points, and layered accountability. In this regard, the nature of the congressional challenges facing the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is not unfamiliar.

How much is enough? Beyond some optimum point, fragmentation becomes hyper-fragmentation. The scope of the fragmentation challenge, and its implications for DHS’s missions, is anomalous. Although other fledgling departments have been beset by fragmentation – some degree of this is the norm – the expanse of missions and agencies, not to mention myriad committees with tangential interests, have amplified this trend to a degree unmatched currently, and perhaps historically. Moreover, the sprawling oversight of DHS among congressional committees continues to have daunting implications not only for the department’s senior leadership but also for the execution of DHS operations on the national front lines.

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Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2011

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