Word: napolitano
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...Napolitano's other obvious distinction is that, as a governor, she can be expected to have much more sympathy for states, which have felt disrespected and excluded under a top-down approach to homeland-security issues since 9/11. "The trust between federal, state and locals is just not there," says Ray Scheppach, executive director of the National Governors Association. Governors, including Napolitano, have protested the costs of REAL ID, a 2005 law passed by Congress to upgrade the security of drivers' licenses, as well as the failure of the Federal Government to take a lead in repairing the country...
...surveyed every state employee and said, 'What is the one federal organization that you think does a great job,' it would have been overwhelmingly FEMA," says Scheppach. "Now, if I ask what is the one organization that is a failure, they would probably point to FEMA." Scheppach, who knows Napolitano from her time as chair of his organization, expects that she will work to rebuild the trust between the Feds and the locals, which will go a long way toward fixing FEMA. "She's smart, she reaches out well, but she knows how to move things. She's pretty highly...
...remains unclear whether Napolitano hopes to move FEMA out of DHS. That's an option advocated by many emergency-management experts since the Katrina debacle, but the Homeland Security transition manual published this month by two think tanks, including the one led by Obama transition chief John D. Podesta, recommends shelving that decision until late...
...Napolitano's governorship may also be a liability, at least in the beginning. "Her one weakness is not knowing how to operate inside the Beltway," says Randall Larsen, author of Our Own Worst Enemy, a 2007 book on homeland security. "What she will need is a very savvy deputy - one who knows how to deal with Congress and the interagency community...
...Above all else, congressional staffers and homeland-security experts seem to be hoping that Napolitano will be the kind of manager desperately needed at Homeland Security. The sprawling 200,000-person DHS, which has a $40 billion budget and reports to more than 80 committees, is still a source of much frustration and shame in Washington. So a governor known for getting things done may be the best hope for taming the bureaucracy. "DHS needs a strong manager, and she appears to be a tough cookie," says a Democratic Senate staffer. "I predict zero problem with her confirmation...