Plan to Cut Federal Security Unit Decried

It found that 30 percent of the guards in the D.C. area whose records were reviewed had expired certifications, including background checks due every two years. One guard had a felony assault conviction but was still on the job seven months after the Protective Service found out.

Only a dozen service employees were checking the credentials and performances of the 5,700 guards in the D.C. area -- "an inadequate number," said the audit, conducted by the Homeland Security inspector general's office.

James Taylor, the department's deputy inspector general, testified that further reductions in the service "could lead to uneven effects across the nation, perhaps placing some facilities . . . at risk."

Gary Schenkel, a former Marine lieutenant colonel who runs the Federal Protective Service, said that it had assigned more employees to monitor the credentials of guards in the D.C. area.

"I think we've got a handle on it now," he said in an interview.

And, Schenkel said, the Washington region has little to fear in the downsizing. The service has shelved a controversial proposal to eliminate about half of the 200 federal police officers and staffers in the area, he said, adding that it will only change by "negligible numbers." Officials have not pinpointed where the cuts will be made.

Homeland Security officials say they have no choice but to reshape the service. It has been in financial straits since it was absorbed by the department in 2003 and lost a $139 million annual subsidy from the General Services Administration. The service's budget, paid by fees, is about $900 million.

But the reorganization is also aimed at bringing greater efficiency to a service that oversees security at 8,900 buildings nationwide, officials say. The service's federal police officers should focus on priorities such as anti-terrorism planning and overseeing the contract guards, officials say. The service shouldn't be tied up responding to emergency calls when local police officers can do that, officials say.

Schenkel gave an example: In Chicago, the service has a dozen federal police officers. The city has 13,600.

"Who do you think can provide a better response?" he asked.

Legislators question whether local police departments should pick up the calls instead of Protective Service officers on the scene.

"I don't think that visitors to, or employees of, federal government agencies . . . would be very comforted by the knowledge that if something occurs, if a gunman enters the building, that the contract service will be able to call 911," said Rep. James L. Oberstar (D-Minn.), chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, at a hearing in April.