Building on a quarter century of service helping to build a more resilient and secure America, BENS members are stepping forward like never before — offering their unique business expertise and experience to help build a more effective and efficient military, save billions of taxpayer dollars and protect the American homeland.
Protecting the Homeland
Responding Today — Further burnishing BENS’ reputation as a pioneer in homeland security, the innovative public-private partnerships we’ve championed have become a model for the nation, helping government officials prepare for and respond to real-life emergencies. In 2008 alone, our partnerships made a difference coast-to-coast:
- Georgia storms — When a massive tornado hit downtown Atlanta in April, the BENS Georgia Business Force quickly processed commercial damage assessments and located commercial property for a FEMA relief center.
- Iowa floods — When historic floods ravaged Iowa in June, the Safeguard Iowa Partnership — a BENS-facilitated initiative — won national praise for coordinating the private-sector response, including the delivery of urgently needed food, water and supplies.
- Democratic National Convention, Denver — The Colorado Emergency Preparedness Partnership — another BENS-facilitated initiative — connected dozens of Denver businesses with local, state and federal officials to help keep the city safe, secure and smoothly functioning during the DNC in August.
- California wildfires — Just one month after Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger made them a formal part of California’s emergency management system, the BENS Bay Area Business Force and the Los Angeles-area Homeland Security Advisory Council helped coordinate the private-sector response to the Southern California wildfires in November.
Preparing for Tomorrow — To ensure that their states and communities are prepared for any contingency — whether a natural disaster or a terrorist attack — member companies and BENS representatives regularly partner with government and military planners to rehearse for a wide range of crises. In 2008, our Kansas City members led an exercise simulating a pandemic flu outbreak, Los Angeles rehearsed for a tsunami, Georgia practiced responding to a massive hurricane and the BENS New Jersey Business Force participated in a nationwide exercise involving mass casualties and evacuations.
Shaping Homeland Security Policy — Guided by our 2007 Business Response Task Force report, Getting Down to Business — with its call for the private sector to be fully integrated into all levels of disaster response — BENS continues turning good ideas into good policy.
- A “core” role for the private sector — Following BENS’ input during a review and comment period, then-Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff unveiled a new national blueprint for disaster response in January 2008, noting that private-sector involvement is now a “core principle.”
- Protections for business — Thanks in part to the aggressive advocacy of BENS members and partners in Georgia and California, governors in both states signed into law legislation extending “Good Samaritan” protections to protect businesses from legal liability when donating support during disasters.
- Streamlining disaster assistance — At the request of the Federal Emergency Management Administration, a BENS team led by Board Member Ramon Marks is working with the Department of Health and Human Services to streamline the process for suspending federal regulations during crises so that private-sector assistance can be donated quickly and delivered more effectively.
- New in 2009 — To measure how much progress the nation has made since our 2007 Getting Down to Business report, BENS plans to assemble a team of members who will examine whether our recommendations are being implemented and assess the state of public-private partnerships across the nation.
Ensuring Business Continuity — Recognizing that safe communities depend on strong, secure businesses in times of calm and crisis, BENS helps executives and their companies prepare for and respond to threats to business operations. In September, more than 100 business leaders gathered in Kansas City at a BENS-supported conference to hear Department of Homeland Security and other federal officials explain how companies can avoid being used or harmed by terrorist organizations. Scores of BENS members — in Washington, DC, in August and in New York in December — heard the nation’s top counterintelligence official, Dr. Joel Brenner, describe how their companies can defend against commercial espionage. Dr. Brenner plans to address more BENS audiences in 2009.
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Reforming the Business of Defense
Reforming Defense Acquisition — In keeping with our founding mission of helping the Defense Department improve its business practices and support operations, BENS has made a renewed push to reform the Pentagon’s antiquated acquisition system in which nearly 100 major systems are behind schedule and nearly $300 billion over budget.
- Pilot project — At the invitation of the Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA)—responsible for military computer networks — a BENS review, guided by Board Member Steve McClellan, identified a series of bureaucratic “roadblocks” that often prevent the timely acquisition of cutting-edge information technologies and recommended reforms that are now shaping the agency’s efforts to reduce costs and delays.
- Acquisition Reform Task Force — Building on the DISA project, BENS launched a Task Force on Acquisition Law and Oversight in October, chaired by BENS member and former Lockheed Martin chief Norm Augustine. Comprised of 27 members and 12 subject matter experts who will offer a package of reforms to Congress in spring 2009, the Task Force includes former Army Chief of Staff General Dennis Reimer and former Air Force Chief of Staff General Speedy Martin, who with BENS Board Members Raphael Benaroya, Mark Gerencser, and Frank Sica are leading Task Force sub groups.
Spending Defense Dollars Smarter — BENS members continue to use their business expertise to help the Defense Department spend taxpayer dollars smarter. Since November, members of Atlanta-based BENS Southeast have been sharing their private-sector insights with leaders at nearby Fort McPherson, home to the Army’s Southeast Installation Management Command, responsible for operating and maintaining Army installations across the region. By sharing their wide-ranging management experience — from marketing to advertising, from human resources to natural resources — BENS members aim to help the Army get the biggest bang for every taxpayer buck.
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Confronting New Threats
Enhancing Intelligence Analysis — In the latest example of U.S. intelligence officials seeking BENS’ advice on best business practices, the Central Intelligence Agency, Defense Intelligence and State Department asked us in 2008 to identify the best analytical practices of major financial and market research companies. Based on interviews with 20 diverse firms, a BENS team led by Board Member Don Smith produced a report and recommendations that are now helping guide intelligence community efforts to enhance the quality of analytical products and methods.
Tracking Terrorist Finances — Drawing on the expertise of our members from the financial services industry, BENS continues to play a leadership role in preventing terrorist and criminal organizations from exploiting the U.S. financial system.
- Identifying vulnerabilities — A BENS/U.S. Special Operations Command-hosted roundtable in Washington, DC, in June drew 65 government and industry specialists to address the security challenges posed by the proliferation and abuse of electronic prepaid Stored Value Cards that allow consumers to access and transfer funds anonymously.
- Exploring solutions — At the invitation of U.S. Special Operations Command — the Tampa-based command playing a leading role in the war on terror — BENS members from the financial and IT sectors attended two conferences, in April and October, to share with government and industry officials their insights and expertise on identifying and understanding emerging technologies that can be exploited by terrorist organizations and states.
Strengthening Cyber Security — Drawing on the expertise of our members from the information technology sector, BENS continues to play a leadership role in the search for affordable, effective approaches to securing the nation’s vulnerable computer systems.
- Threat warning — BENS members advised Dr. Joel Brenner, the nation’s top counterintelligence official, on the development of his presentation to business executives on the growing cyber threat that foreign intelligence agencies pose to U.S. companies.
- Threat response — Led by Board Member Mark Gerencser, BENS partnered with Booz Allen Hamilton to host a two-day conference and cyber attack simulation in Washington, DC, in December bringing together industry and government leaders, including then-Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff, who urged industry and government to see cyber security as a “shared responsibility.”
Improving Crisis Management — A series of BENS-hosted roundtables in Washington, DC, in June allowed BENS members to share their experience in risk assessment and distance-learning with State Department officials who rely on a global workforce to anticipate and navigate crises.
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Shaping National Security Policy
Strengthening a Proven Program — Continuing BENS’ long-standing support for the Cooperative Threat Reduction program that safeguards and destroys old Soviet nuclear, chemical and biological weapons, Chairman Joe Robert and President Chuck Boyd wrote to Congress in favor of a package of program reforms and improvements that President Bush then signed into law in January 2008.
BENS Hits the Campaign Trail — As we do every two years, BENS once again made our voice and views heard on the campaign trail last year, distributing 2,000 copies of Campaign 2008 to more than a thousand major party candidates, congressional offices and BENS members offering innovative, business-minded solutions to challenges ranging from securing the nation’s ports to revitalizing military bases.
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Last updated April 2009
