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| Agency overview | |
|---|---|
| Formed | 2002 |
| Agency executives | |
| Parent agency | Executive Office of the President of the United States |
The Homeland Security Council (HSC) is an entity within the Executive Office of the President of the United States tasked with advising the president on matters relevant to Homeland Security. The current homeland security advisor is Elizabeth Sherwood-Randall.
The Homeland Security Council (HSC) is an entity within the Executive Office of the President and was created by Executive Order 13228 on October 29, 2001, and subsequently expanded on by Homeland Security Presidential Directive 1. [1] It served as the successor to the Office of Homeland Security, established on September 20, 2001, immediately after the September 11 attacks. Congress subsequently codified the HSC in the Homeland Security Act of 2002, charging it with advising the president on homeland security matters. [2]
On February 23, 2009, the Obama administration released Presidential Study Directive 1. This memorandum ordered a 60-day inter-agency review of the White House homeland security and counter-terrorism structure. The review recommended that the president merge the staff supporting the Homeland Security Council with the staff supporting the National Security Council. [3] [4] On May 26, 2009, Barack Obama signed the recommendation to merge the Homeland Security Council and National Security Council staffs into one National Security Staff. On February 10, 2014, President Obama renamed the National Security Staff the National Security Council (NSC) staff. [5]
Policymakers and observers have debated whether the HSC staff should remain an independent entity within the White House or merged with the NSC staff. [6] The HSC and NSC continue to exist by statute as independent councils of leadership advising the president. [7]
The Homeland Security Council is responsible for assessing the objectives, commitments, and risks of the United States, and for making recommendations to the president with respect to homeland security policy.
The HSC was similar to its national security counterpart, the National Security Council (NSC), which was established in the National Security Act of 1947. The HSC also maintained structural similarities with the NSC; the HSC consisted of full-time staff organized by subject areas relating to homeland security missions, with the Council itself being composed of Cabinet members and senior White House officials whose departments have principal interests in homeland security policy-making. During the Bush administration, the council was chaired by the Homeland Security Advisor. The Joint Chiefs of Staff consist of the primary military advisers to the Homeland Security Council, as well as the National Security Council. [8] Due to the recommendations implemented by Obama, the Homeland Security Council and the National Security Council now have combined staff, the National Security Staff (NSS).
While similar in name, the Department of Homeland Security is a distinct federal executive department; unlike DHS, the HSC functioned as part of the Executive Office of the President, drawing staff from across federal agencies and under the direct control of the president.
| Structure of the United States Homeland Security Council (current) | |
|---|---|
| Chair | President of the United States |
| Regular attendees | Vice President Secretary of State Secretary of the Treasury Secretary of Defense Attorney General Secretary of Energy Secretary of Homeland Security National Security Advisor |
| Statutory military advisor | Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff |
| Statutory intelligence advisor | Director of National Intelligence |
| Additional attendees | White House Chief of Staff White House Counsel Director of the Office of Management and Budget |
The United States National Security Council (NSC) is the principal forum used by the president of the United States for consideration of national security, military, and foreign policy matters. Based in the White House, it is part of the Executive Office of the President of the United States, and composed of senior national security advisors and Cabinet officials.
The assistant to the president for national security affairs (APNSA), commonly referred to as the national security advisor (NSA), is a senior aide in the Executive Office of the President, based at the West Wing of the White House. The national security advisor serves as the principal advisor to the president of the United States on all national security issues. The national security advisor participates in meetings of the National Security Council (NSC) and usually chairs meetings of the principals committee of the NSC with the secretary of state and secretary of defense. The NSA also sits on the Homeland Security Council (HSC). The national security advisor is supported by NSC staff who produce classified research and briefings for the national security advisor to review and present, either to the NSC or the president. The national security advisor is appointed by the president and does not require confirmation by the United States Senate. An appointment of a three- or four-star general to the role requires Senate confirmation to maintain that rank in the new position.
The National Security Council is a federal institutional and consultative body chaired by the prime minister of Pakistan as its chairman. The NSC is a principal forum that is mandated for considering national security and foreign policy matters with the senior national security advisers and Cabinet ministers. The idea and inception of National Security Council was first conceived in 1969 under the President Yahya Khan, its functions were to advise and assist the president and prime minister on national security and foreign policies.
National security directives are presidential directives issued for the National Security Council (NSC). Starting with Harry Truman, every president since the founding of the National Security Council in 1947 has issued national security directives in one form or another, which have involved foreign, military and domestic policies. National security directives are generally highly classified and are available to the public only after "a great many years" have elapsed. Unlike executive orders, national security directives are usually directed only to the National Security Council and the most senior executive branch officials, and embody foreign and military policy-making guidance rather than specific instructions.
Robert Rand Brittingham Beers is an American government official. He served as Deputy Homeland Security Advisor to the President of the United States during the Barack Obama administration. He also served as acting Secretary of Homeland Security following the resignation of Secretary Janet Napolitano on September 6, 2013 until Jeh Johnson assumed that office on December 23, 2013.
The National Security Council (NSC) of India is an executive government body tasked with advising the prime Minister of India on matters of national security and foreign policy. It was established by the former prime minister of India Atal Bihari Vajpayee on 19 November 1998, with Brajesh Mishra as the first National Security Advisor.
Counselor to the President is a title used by high-ranking political advisors to the president of the United States and senior members of the White House Office.
The National Security Council (NSC) is Israel's central body for coordination, integration, analysis and monitoring in the field of national security and is the staff forum on national security for the Israeli Prime Minister and Government. However, national security decisions typically made by national security councils in other countries are handled by the Security Cabinet. The Council draws its authority from the government and operates according to guidelines from the Prime Minister.
The National Security Council Deputies Committee (DC) is a committee of the United States National Security Council and the senior sub-Cabinet interagency forum for consideration of national security policy issues by the United States Government.
The National Science and Technology Council (NSTC) is a council in the Executive Branch of the United States. It is designed to coordinate science and technology policy across the branches of federal government.
The White House Office is an entity within the Executive Office of the President of the United States (EOP). The White House Office is headed by the White House chief of staff, who is also the head of the Executive Office of the President. The staff work for and report directly to the president, including West Wing staff and the president's senior advisers. Almost all of the White House Office staff are political appointees of the president, do not require Senate confirmation and can be dismissed at the discretion of the president.
Executive oversight of United States covert operations has been carried out by a series of sub-committees of the National Security Council (NSC).
Thomas Edward Donilon is an American lawyer, business executive, and former government official who served as the 22nd National Security Advisor in the Obama administration from 2010 to 2013. Donilon also worked in the Carter and Clinton administrations. He is now Chairman of the BlackRock Investment Institute, the firm's global think tank.
The Presidential Task Force on the Auto Industry was an ad hoc group of United States cabinet-level and other officials that was formed by President Barack Obama to deal with the financial bailout of automakers Chrysler and General Motors.
Energy Czar, and also later Climate Czar, is a nickname, using the political term "czar", for the person in the government of the United States given authority over energy or climate policy within the executive branch. This has never been the official title of any office, but has often been informally used to refer to various officials since the 1970s.
The National Security Council is the principal forum of the president of the Philippines considering national security and foreign policy matters with his senior national security advisors and cabinet officials.
The Arctic policy of the United States is the foreign policy of the United States in regard to the Arctic region. In addition, the United States' domestic policy toward Alaska is part of its Arctic policy.
Nelson Cunningham is an American attorney and a Democratic political advisor who served in the presidential administrations of Bill Clinton and Barack Obama.
Elizabeth D. Sherwood-Randall is an American national security and energy leader, public servant, educator, and author currently serving as the 11th United States Homeland Security Advisor to President Joe Biden since 2021. She previously served in both the Clinton and Obama Administrations and held appointments at academic institutions and think tanks.
Rear Admiral Kenneth Bernard is an American public health physician and expert on biodefense and health security policy. He served at the George W. Bush White House from 2002-2005 as Special Assistant to the President for Biodefense and as Assistant Surgeon General.
| International | |
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| National | |
