Congressman Brad Miller Welcomes Decision to Abandon Troubled DHS Radiation Monitoring Program
(Washington, DC) -- Today, Congressman Brad Miller applauded the Domestic Nuclear Detection Office (DNDO) for finally terminating its long troubled and very costly Advanced Spectroscopic Portal (ASP) radiation detection program. “The ASP program has been one of the most technically troubled, poorly managed programs I have ever seen,” said Mr. Miller, “and I applaud DNDO Director Warren Stern’s decision to abandon this flawed and expensive program.”
The ASP program was originally created to help improve radiation monitoring at the nation’s borders and ports. But since its initial launch five years ago by former DHS Secretary Michael Chertoff the program ran into problems. Costs rose dramatically-- eventually totaling an estimated $2-to-$3 billion -- to develop and deploy the new radiation monitors. Testing of ASPs was inadequate. There was also weak coordination with the Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) officials who would have used the monitors at the nation’s borders and ports to detect potentially dangerous radioactive or nuclear material.
As Chairman of the Subcommittee on Investigations & Oversight of the Committee on Science & Technology, Rep. Miller held two hearings on the Advanced Spectroscopic Portal radiation monitor program last Congress. At the request of the House Science Committee, the Government Accountability Office conducted multiple investigations of various aspects of the program over the past few years and turned up a laundry list of problems. Their investigations also found extremely limited evidence that the new ASPs offered any enhanced capability to detect radiation over the existing radiation monitors used by Customs and Border Patrol agents.
Last year DNDO reduced the plans for the proposed $3 billion ASP program limiting its operations to secondary screenings only and not the primary radiation screenings at borders and ports that it had originally envisioned. The cost of the curtailed ASP program was still an estimated $350 million. Today, Director Stern said Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano has directed his office and CBP to make recommendations on redeploying the funding it had requested for the ASP program in the FY2012 budget. DNDO will also follow-up on a recommendation from the National Academy of Sciences that they deploy the existing ASP systems into the field in order to gather data that may be helpful in supporting a future acquisition program that will include competition from commercially-available alternatives.
“In November 2009 I urged the former Acting Deputy Director of DNDO, Dr. William Hagan, to develop an ‘off-ramp’ for the ASP program,” said Mr. Miller. “I commend the actions of the new DNDO Director, Mr. Stern, in finally putting an end to the ASP program,” said Mr. Miller.
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