Leave your feedback Share Copy URL https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/high-level-homeland-security-vacancies-raise-concerns Email Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Tumblr Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Transcript Nearly one-quarter of Department of Homeland Security positions remain vacant, according to a House committee report, raising concerns that the office may be unprepared for future emergencies. Read the Full Transcript Notice: Transcripts are machine and human generated and lightly edited for accuracy. They may contain errors. GWEN IFILL: Now, high-level job vacancies at the Department of Homeland Security. Judy Woodruff has the story. JUDY WOODRUFF: The report released today by the Homeland Security Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives revealed that almost one-quarter of the top positions at the Department of Homeland Security are now vacant. Among the findings: 36 percent of the leadership positions in intelligence are not filled; 34 percent are empty at U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services; and 31 percent are vacant at FEMA, the Federal Emergency Management Agency.The report raises anew concerns about management at the agency, which, in 2003, at the instigation of President Bush, merged 22 existing federal organizations into one. Here to tell us more is reporter Spencer Hsu of the Washington Post.Spencer Hsu, thanks for being with us. You wrote a story, a front-page story for the Post today, 138 vacancies. What are these jobs? SPENCER HSU, The Washington Post: Well, Judy, these are the top category of jobs at the Department of Homeland Security. That includes presidential appointments, top level of senior executive service of top civil servants, and also a tier below that, of top scientific, technical and executive positions. JUDY WOODRUFF: And to put it into layperson's terms, Spencer, what work that should be being done is not being done as a result of this? SPENCER HSU: Well, these are the kinds of jobs that are in charge of programs and agencies. When you hear people talk about creating an integrated culture of information-sharing, for instance, these are people whose job it is to merge those 22 agencies and make sure that information gets in the right hands.When you hear about people talking about changing computer systems and making sure the one hand of the government knows what another hand of the government is doing, these are the folks who decide what these databases, what information they should include, how they should work, and whether the costs are worth the benefits.Finally, if you hear people talk about priority of setting scientific research for new ways of detecting airport explosives, for example, or people who talk about overhauling the immigration system, or folks who talk about screening cargo containers, this is the work done by the people at the very top levels. No matter how good the line officer is, until you set policy and dictate the rules, the work won't be done.