The official in charge of science and technology at the Homeland Security Department has joined the State and Defense departments in an effort that will lead to an upcoming announcement on as many as 40 homeland security “areas of interest,” such as radiation and biological detectors. Industry, universities and others typically respond to these announcements with proposed solutions, and an evaluation team chooses which proposal to fund. The announcement is dependent upon congressional approval of a reprogramming request, expected when Congress returns from recess, Charles McQueary said. The requested reprogramming would move more than $200 million from a fiscal 2003 Defense Department appropriation of $420 million for biological countermeasures and put it in the radiological and chemical areas as well as some systems engineering areas. McQueary, Homeland Security undersecretary for science and technology, also said his office is looking for new technologies, but he wants researchers and companies to explain how it fits with the larger system of security for the nation. Full Story
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