Guam Gov. Lou Leon Guerrero said her administration is working directly with the Department of Homeland Security to bring a federally compliant secure room online for the Mariana Regional Fusion Center, following last week’s decertification of the current facility.
The governor was responding to a statement issued earlier Sunday by Sen. Shawn Gumataotao, who said decertification of the secure room means “Guam will no longer have the capability to handle classified national security information.”
Gumataotao chairs the legislative Committee on Public Safety, Emergency Management, and Guam National Guard, which held an oversight hearing on Office of Homeland Security and Civil Defense last week.
Gumataotao said the decision to decertify the secure room, relayed in a Feb. 4 memo, confirms what his committee “has feared could happen when local leadership protects the status quo instead of strengthening our emergency management infrastructure.”
Gumataotao urged the governor to relocate the secure room and regain access to classified security information to support law enforcement.
The governor said standards for secure rooms are updated as threats evolve.
“Contrary to the senator’s political commentary, the DHS memo lays no blame. It does not state that Guam is unprepared. It does not cite failures in emergency planning or law enforcement readiness. It does not suggest any breakdown in public safety,” she said. “The memo does exactly one thing: it directs that the secure room be closed and relocated to a facility that meets current federal standards.”
The governor said her administration will “meet the standard, correct the issue, and continue doing the work of keeping Guam safe.”