United States Homeland Security Council

United States Homeland Security Council

Agency overview
Formed	2001
Agency executives	(President of the United States), Chairman, President of the United States Vice President of the United States, Secretary of Treasury, Secretary of Defense, Attorney General, Secretary of Health and Human Services, Secretary of Transportation, Secretary of Homeland Security, Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Homeland Security Advisor, Others as necessary
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 relating to Homeland Security. The current Homeland Security Advisor is Lisa Monaco who holds the rank of Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism.

History

The Homeland Security Council (HSC) is an entity within the White House Office 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]

Mission

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.

Structure

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. 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.

Membership

United States Homeland Security Advisors

#	Picture	Name	Term of office		President(s) served under
			Start	End
1		Tom Ridge	October 5, 2001	January 24, 2003	George W. Bush
2		John A. Gordon	June 2003	June 2004
3		Frances M. Fragos Townsend	June 2004	November 2007
4		Kenneth L. Wainstein	March 30, 2008	January 20, 2009
5		John O. Brennan	January 20, 2009	January 25, 2013	Barack Obama
6		Lisa Monaco	January 25, 2013	Incumbent

References

Executive Office of the President Council of Economic Advisers Council on Environmental Quality National Security Council Homeland Security Council Office of Administration Office of Management and Budget Office of National Drug Control Policy Office of Science and Technology Policy Office of the United States Trade Representative President's Council on Jobs and Competitiveness President's Intelligence Advisory Board White House Office Office of the Vice President