DHS deciding on future of SBInet

The Homeland Security Department is reevaluating its Secure Border Initiative-Net program.

DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano Jan. 15 ordered a departmentwide reassessment of the $6 billion-to-$8 billion program. SBInet's goal is to use technology, including cameras, sensors, advanced detection technologies, unmanned aerial vehicles and other computer hardware and software, to better secure the northern and southern borders.

"This fall, due to my ongoing concerns about SBInet, I directed the Acting Commissioner of Customs and Border Protection to evaluate its implementation," says Napolitano in an e-mailed statement. "As his analysis uncovered unacceptable delays, I ordered a departmentwide reassessment of the program to consider options that may more efficiently, effectively and economically meet our border security needs."

DHS awarded Boeing the SBInet contract in September 2006 with high expectations, but little has gone as expected.

The agency instructed Boeing to deploy SBInet at two places along the Southwest border, Tucson and Ajo, Ariz. But the technology has not performed well, says Mark Borkowski, SBInet executive director.

"The assessment's immediate focus is on, can we do SBInet?" he says. "This program has experienced a tremendous amount of delays. Are we prepared to accept any more delays? Or are we done with delays? And given an understanding or expectation of will it be there, what decisions do we make along the southwest border more broadly?"

Borkowski says SBInet's problems include everything from software bugs to monitors freezing to the technology not working as expected in the harsh conditions of the desert.

"The question from the Secretary and the department's perspective is where exactly are we at this point?" Borkowski says. "Why is it we are continuing to experience delays? What does that experience mean about the future potential of the program? And is there something we ought to be doing to deal with the urgency of technology?"

The department is just in the beginning to set up the group and parameters of the assessment. Borkowski says it will include all parts of DHS including his office, the Science and Technology Directorate, the Chief Acquisition Officer's office, the CBP chief information officer and others.

"My expectation as we have started to frame it is that will be a near term and long term piece to this," he says. "There will be a near term need based on this review maybe earlier than SBInet block 1 is ready to do them. We haven't concluded that yet, but we have to be prepared for that conclusion."

He says the longer term will be based on what DHS learns from the testing of SBInet initial deployments.

"I believe we will be asked to provide information to the secretary within several weeks," he says. "We haven't set the definite schedule yet. But I believe we will owe some feedback within a few to several weeks. There will be some follow on to that. But I think there will be some near term decisions particularly given the urgency in making sure any delays in SBInet are not really compromising our ability to do border security where we really need it but SBInet is not yet ready to put it there."

The delays and continued troubles continue to draw the attention of lawmakers.

"The Committee on Homeland Security has conducted close oversight of SBInet since its inception and has been greatly dismayed by the lack of progress with the program," says chairman Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) in an e-mailed statement. "I look forward to the results of Secretary Napolitano's review and to ensuring that DHS implements effective solutions for securing our nation's borders."

Rep. Mark Souder (R-Ind.) says he is not a surprised by DHS's decision to reassess SBInet. In fact, he is unhappy with several aspects of the administration's actions to secure the borders.

"This administration and Congress have not proposed Border Patrol increases or personnel increases," Souder says in an e-mailed statement. "What they have done is roll back detention capability and scaled back cooperation with state and local law enforcement."

Borkowski says despite the reassessment Boeing continues to work continues on the Tucson and Ajo sites.

"Tucson 1 is built. We are just waiting to do the final testing of that and quite frankly it works quite well," he says. "Ajo 1 we are about to turn dirt. We will go build those. That is the current plan."

But Boeing will not start any new work on the program, he says.

After the reassessment, DHS will make a future acquisition decision on the program, which could include a recompete of the contract, extending the contract or going down an entirely different path.

Borkowski says the strategy for SBInet may not come for another year or more because they need the experiences of Tucson and Ajo deployments.

"I think because we don't anticipate buying any more SBInet until [DHS makes the next acquisition decision] we don't have a plan to do anything with the contract," he says. "We may need Boeing to sustain the activity. But the decision will be do I buy a follow on SBInet block? I don't have plans to do that yet because I don't have permission."

Jena Baker-McNeil, a policy analyst for the Heritage Foundation, says DHS should consider taking an agile or spiral approach the SBInet. She says instead of trying to do it all at once, DHS should take what Boeing has delivered so far and add to it to meet specific needs.

She says SBInet is a starting point to set up a framework to deal with the country's border threat.

"SBInet is not the one stop solution for our border problems," Baker-McNeil says. "It's one piece of the process and clearly we should make sure it's effective. But we have to continue to look to other initiative such as getting state and locals involved at the border to help counter the threats at border."

In the meantime while DHS reevaluates SBInet, Borkowski says his office is working with Boeing to let border patrol agents begin using the deployed technology. He says it's not officially a pilot, but is similar.

"We expect that will happen in the next couple of weeks-the border patrol will get that opportunity on a non-interference basis to use this," he says. "It's Boeing's property at this point. But we've told Boeing we want the border patrol agents to use it, but you need to indemnify us, insure us, against damage and by the way you owe that to us because you contributed to the delays. Boeing seems willing to do that. Boeing is eager because they believe they have a good system out there and want to show it off. It will give us some experience. We will get to use it, but we don't have to take ownership of it to turn it over to the border patrol."

He adds DHS hopes to test the Tucson deployment of SBInet technology in the spring-summer timeframe. At that point, if all goes well, DHS would take ownership of the system.

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