Barbara Mikulski: “I rise today to address yet another problem with the Department of Homeland Security. It has been 3 years since its…”

“I rise today to address yet another problem with the Department of Homeland Security. It has been 3 years since its creation, and the Department continues to have difficulties integrating a financial management system. The Department began with 18 different financial systems. The Department's most recent effort to create a new, consolidated financial management system, known as Emerge2, has been canceled after the Department spent $23 million without making progress. History has shown that integrating Federal computer systems and migrating data can be a complicated and costly undertaking. As the Department of Homeland Security moves forward in its efforts on financial management integration, it should do so carefully and deliberately. It is my hope that the Department considers a range of possible solutions. This includes soliciting ideas from commercial providers with prior Department of Homeland Security experience and contemplating a pilot program with one of these providers to work through the complicated technical and operational problems. Mr. President, I also wish to address one of the most important issues the Congress faces today--protecting our homeland from terrorist threats. One threat we have only just begun to address is a possible attack on our food production, supply and distribution systems.…”