The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) was created to catch terrorists after 9/11, but in its eight years its responsibilities have grown. Secretary Janet Napolitano must not only make airlines safe but also fight government hackers, control drug trafficking, and deport illegal immigrants. As President George W. Bush said in 2001, “Our war on terror begins with al Qaeda, but it does not end there.” For more on 9/11, see “Sandler O’Neill’s journey from Ground Zero.” –Anne VanderMey
By the numbers:
$56.9 billion: The requested DHS budget for 2012, which includes more than $230 million in cybersecurity upgrades. In 2003, the year of its inception, it had a budget of $31.2 billion.
14.2%: The percentage of DHS funding allotted to the Transportation Security Administration. Contrary to popular assumption, the largest chunk goes to border patrol and security, followed by the Coast Guard and FEMA.
21,370: The number of federal Border Patrol agents who will be between our ports of entry in 2012. That’s nearly double the count in 2004, and is the largest number of agents ever deployed.
This article is from the September 5, 2011 issue of Coins2Day .