Week 1 USA PATRIOT Act Paper

·         Access and familiarize yourself with the following Web sites:

o    DOJ: The USA Patriot Act – Preserving Life and Liberty

http://www.justice.gov/archive/ll/highlights.htm

o    DHS Fact Sheet: The USA PATRIOT Act – A Proven Homeland Security Tool
http://www.dhs.gov/xnews/releases/press_release_0815.shtm

o    Reform the PATRIOT Act
http://www.aclu.org/keep-america-safe-free

o    Congressional Budget Office: Pay-As-You-Go Estimate for the Bill
http://www.cbo.gov/showdoc.cfm?index=3180&sequence=0&from=6

·         Access and familiarize yourself with your local homeland security plan.

·         Write a 1,400- to 1,750-word paper in which you address the political issues associated with the continuation or elimination of the USA PATRIOT Act. Do you support its continuation or elimination? Be sure to address the following:

o    Justify a position for or against the USA PATRIOT Act.

o    Evaluate the overall influence(s) of the USA PATRIOT Act.

o    Examine the financial/funding issues associated with the USA PATRIOT Act and the current mission of the Department of Homeland Security.

·         Format your paper according to APA standards.

Week 2 Individual Federal Agencies in Homeland Security Paper:

Write a 1000 to 1500 word paper that outlines the Federal agencies that were incorporated into the US Department of Homeland Security and those that have been added and deleted since its inception in 2003. What additional agencies would you have added? Which agencies would you not have put into the Department?

Week 2 Learning Team Agency Culture:

Write a 1000 to 1500 word paper on a recent survey from the Office or Personnel Management, the Department of Homeland Security ranked in the bottom 3 in employee job satisfaction. Much of this has to do with the different agency cultures that were brought into DHS. If you worked for DHS management what recommendations would you make to improve employee job satisfaction?

Week 3 National Response Framework: 

Write a 750-1000 word paper outlining how the Stafford Act and the National Response Framework work together to direct emergency management during an incident of national significance. What provisions to the two documents contain that help communities respond to significant disasters? Why is it important to utilize both authorities? See http://www.fema.gov/emergency/nrf/

Week 4 Immigration:

Write a 1000 to 1500 word paper on the currently 12 million illegal aliens in the United States. The President and Congress are working on a new plan for immigration, Outline your plan to secure the border and reform US immigration policies including addressing the issue of those who are in the US illegally.

Week 5 Critical Infrastructure Presentation:

Write a 1000 to 1500 word paper where your team represents a local government who is applying for an infrastructure protection grant to protect one property that is considered to be critical infrastructure. Write a proposal that outlines your plan to protect the local infrastructure and outline why you deserve the grant money from DHS.