Secrets of the Secret Service: Old Computers, Problems Recruiting

March 18, 2010— -- The stone-faced agents who silently guard the president of the United States and other top officials can easily go unnoticed.

But behind the silent facade, the U.S. Secret Service is struggling to keep up with modern technology and keep a qualified workforce.

The agency urgently needs to modernize its information technology infrastructure and recruit more people at a time when demands for its services are rising, director Mark Sullivan told members of Congress today.

Sullivan appeared before the House Appropriations committee on Homeland Security today to request $1.57 billion for the Secret Service's fiscal year 2011 budget. That figure is 6 percent, or $89 million, more than what Congress appropriated for the Secret Service for fiscal year 2010. But the increase doesn't come as a surprise.

Upgrading its IT system remains a challenge for the Secret Service. While the rest of the federal government has modernized its computer systems, the Secret Service -- which needs them to plan protection of the president and other officials -- lags considerably.

"In support of the protective and investigative mission, the Secret Service must modernize its IT infrastructure and communications systems," Sullivan said. "The network and mainframe system used today struggles to meet operational demands, and is incompatible with federal guidelines for information sharing, enterprise architecture, and privacy protection."

Sullivan is requesting $36 million to integrate and transform the agency's IT infrastructure and $12.6 million to begin work with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on data consolidation. While it may seem hefty, that number is still a far cry from what officials project will be needed to update the system.

Officials have estimated that the cost to update the system would be $187 million in fiscal year 2011 alone, and that it could escalate to as much as $771 million over five years. DHS, which oversees the Secret Service, had allocated $33 million, and requested $69 million in the department's most recent budget request, which still wouldn't be enough to cover what officials estimate they will need.

With elections looming on the horizon, members of Congress say the Secret Service needs to upgrade its systems quickly.

"Last year, we started the Secret Service on a course to overhaul its IT systems, and clearly, this is a project that cannot wait if the Secret Service is to provide the highest levels of protection necessary for the 2012 campaigns," Rep. David Price, D-N.C., who serves as chairman of the House Appropriations committee on Homeland Security, said in a statement. "I'm astonished that this problem was deferred for so long, since most agencies budget for upgrades to their computer systems on an annual basis."

Last month, a classified review of the agency's technology found that its computers were operational only 60 percent of the time because of outdated systems and a computer mainframe dating back to the 1980's. That made the Secret Service's operational average far worse than "industry and government standards that are around 98 percent generally," according to Sen. Joe Lieberman, I-Conn., chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee.

Today, Sullivan said that he had ordered a review of the Secret Service's IT programs in 2007.

"I asked for a top-to-bottom and bottom-to-top report on what the state of our IT infrastructure was," he told lawmakers. "The report I got: that if you are looking for a 1980s state-of-the-art IT infrastructure compatible with the Treasury department, you know we're your guys."

"We had an IT infrastructure that was degrading. that was in need of repair," he said.

Noting funding increases that have recently taken place Sullivan said, "We are well on our way to fixing our IT infrastructure."

IT woes are not the only issue facing the Secret Service as it prepares for the upcoming election. Another key challenge the agency faces is recruiting and retention.

"This is in part because of its current pay structure and its inability to use certain hiring flexibilities, such as offering higher starting salaries to applicants who have prior state or local law enforcement experience," according to Sullivan.

Even as it struggles to confront technological and recruiting challenges, the demands on the Secret Service are mounting.

The agency is already beginning to train personnel and purchase equipment for the 2012 presidential campaign, preparation for which Sullivan estimates will cost $14 million, assuming that President Obama and Vice President Biden will run again.

Threats Against President Decline

After rising sharply during the 2008 presidential campaign, Sullivan said threats against now-President Barack Obama have declined.

"Over the past year, little over a year, I would say that the... number of threats we're seeing against the president are at the same level they were for... the last two administrations at this point in their administration," Sullivan said.

Asked by Rep. Price about the intensity and level of threats against the president, Sullivan replied, "Every day, there is somebody out there that is looking to harm those people that we protect, and you're right. It could be a lone gunman, it could be an organized group and we have to look at every single one of those possibilities."

Secret Service Faces Increasing Demands

In 2009, eight events were designated as "National Special Security Events," for which the Secret Service is responsible for planning, coordinating and implementing security operations. That number was higher than any other single fiscal year, Sullivan said.

Obama took 31 international trips last year, a 158 percent increase from President George W. Bush's first year in office. Biden took 21 international trips, compared to one by Dick Cheney in his first year of office, according to Sullivan.

Others were more predictable events, such as the presidential inauguration and the G-20 summit in Pittsburgh.

From the Secret Service's requests, it seems likely that such events will likely continue to drain funds.

For fiscal year 2011, the agency is requesting $1.2 million for former President Bush's post-presidency security detail alone, and it estimates costs associated with other White House "protectees" will be $1.3 million. The Secret Service provides a "dedicated police presence and response" for 537 foreign missions located in Washington, D.C.

The Secret Service was created in 1865 as a bureau of the Treasury Department with the sole purpose of detecting counterfeiting of U.S. current, Sullivan said. That mission has expanded considerably since then and with increased responsibility comes more criticism.

The Secret Service took much heat in November for allowing Tareq and Michaele Salahi to crash the White House state dinner. Sullivan took full responsibility for the breach of security, but officials denied it had anything to do with the agency's outdated computer system.

During Bush's term, the Secret Service faced criticism for not responding quickly enough when an Iraqi journalist hurled a shoe at the president.

Sullivan today discussed the challenges but also defended the agency's work.

"I don't believe there is an employee on our job who doesn't wake up in the morning or go to bed at night not thinking there is someone out there looking to harm any one of the individuals that we protect every day," he said.