Homeland Security doles out research money

Homeland Security officials said Wednesday they are continuing to build technological capabilities to protect the country. Undersecretary for Science and Technology Charles McQueary told attendees at the 2005 Homeland and Global Security Summit that many systems have been procured -- including sensors -- but they still do not produce information in a timely manner.

McQueary has about $1 billion to grant to homeland defense research in fiscal 2005 through the Homeland Security Advanced Research Projects Agency. Nearly 40 percent of that money, about $400 million, is being spent on biodefenses. So far, the agency has awarded 200 contracts out of 7,000 proposals.

"We've had an enormous response," McQueary said.

One particularly tough area is interoperable communications for first responders in steel-framed buildings, like the World Trade Center, which was destroyed by the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. "It's a hard problem," he said. Another troublesome area is protecting against shoulder-fired missiles: "We don't have a solution for it tomorrow," he said.

The Pentagon is looking for better ways to track terrorist threats at sea, said Peter Verga, the deputy assistant secretary of defense. In particular, the Defense Department wants a bird's-eye view of vehicles, much like the current air-traffic control system. "We want the same type of view of the maritime world as we have in air and space now," he said.

Going forward, security vendors will have to fight harder to get contracts, predicted Darryl Moody, senior vice president for homeland security and intelligence at the consulting firm BearingPoint.

"The amount of sole-source contracting has diminished," he said. In addition, many contracts are now being consolidated as Homeland Security aims to eliminate duplication among previously separate departments.