Enhanced national security requires public-private partnership: Napolitano
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WASHINGTON—Enhancing national security requires a public-private partnership, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano told a U.S. Chamber of Commerce conference Wednesday.
“Everyone has a role to play in security—it is a shared responsibility,” Ms. Napolitano said. One example of a needed public-private partnership is an ongoing campaign to better secure the global supply chain, she said.
Businesses also can report to authorities situations where they see “something that was just not right,” Ms. Napolitano said.
Planning and recovery
“We need to have the private sector more involved” in various aspects of security against terrorism, including planning and recovery efforts, Tom Ridge, the first secretary of DHS, said during the Washington conference.
“Needs and wants are limitless; resources are not,” said Mr. Ridge, who is chairman of the chamber's national security task force. “Reality requires that the private and public sector work together to manage risk,” he said.
The conference focused on how security has improved and where it needs improvement since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. In the past, the chamber has been a strong advocate of maintaining the federal government's terrorism insurance backstop, which is slated to remain in place until the end of 2014.
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