TSC Director Responds to Inspector General's Audit Review

Washington, D.C. -- Terrorist Screening Center Director Donna A. Bucella today released the following statement in response to the Department of Justice's Office of Inspector General (OIG) audit review of the Terrorist Screening Center (TSC):

"In just 18 months of operation, the TSC has made significant strides. The consolidated database is up-to-date, and contains all known or suspected terrorists. Since its inception the TSC has had over 16,000 encounters with individuals on the watch list. Today, officers on the street, border patrol officials, and consular officers at Embassies, all have access to the same updated list of known and suspected terrorists maintained by the U.S. Government. On a daily basis this information is accessed and shared effectively. TSC's timely ability to deploy one consolidated watch list has resulted in numerous successes which have helped make America safer.

The review was conducted at the request of the TSC's Director to solicit feedback to ensure that TSC adopted and implemented a viable strategy for accomplishing its mission, effectively coordinating with participating agencies, and properly managing all terrorist-related information. The OIG conducted a comprehensive review of the TSC's initial operation between April and November 2004.

Much progress has been made since. As the review states, ‘TSC's efforts in standing itself up within approximately 75 days of the President's mandate, establishing a 24-hour call center, and implementing a consolidated terrorist watch list within 6 months of its start date is a significant achievement.'

The review made 40 recommendations for improvement. Of these, 38 were in process prior to the OIG audit and were initiated independently by the TSC as part of the natural process of growth and maturity associated with a new operation less than a year old. The remaining two have been corrected.

To prevent acts of terror against the U.S., the TSC will continue to enhance its capabilities and strengthen its support structure to meet the emerging threats and arm law enforcement and the intelligence community with complete, updated, and accurate data on known and suspected terrorists.