The Department of Homeland Security's color-coded alert system is not working as intended, a way inform the public of potential terrorist threats, instead it is creating complacency and a lack of credibility throughout the country, says one expert on security and threat assessment.

Meanwhile, members of Congress debate DHS about whether changing the Nov. 2 election is excessive or part of a prudent effort to plan for "doomsday scenarios." The election issue is the newest one related to an earlier announcement that al-Qaeda terrorists are planning a large-scale attack on the United States this summer.

These are issues that will become more critical as high profile events such as the Democratic and Republican National Conventions take place this summer, says.James W. Noe, president of Secure Product Creations, a homeland security products provider.

Noe says the color coding system is too vague.

For example, he says if there is a specific threat to Washington, D.C., the alert is upgraded to orange, the second highest level, for the entire country. The higher alert forces all other major municipalities to expend costly homeland defense resources on additional manpower and equipment. Because the threat level is not localized, some of these homeland defense departments -- and the public -- are becoming more complacent about security and have less faith in the alert system.

U.S. officials have discussed the idea of postponing Election Day in the event of a terrorist attack on or about that day, according to the Department of Homeland Security.

"Regardless of the nature of the threat, we must make every effort to be proactively prepared with the right training, the right tools, and the right techniques to not only keep our officials and our citizenry safe. Municipalities need to empower their law enforcement and fire professionals with the right tools they need to safely evacuate the most people and secure the perimeter of a scene," says Noe.

Noe has worked with federal agencies for a decade, including managing the threat and vulnerability assessment of 241 U.S. embassies as a member of the elite Special Operations Division. He has completed over 100 Secret Service missions involving leading and performing assessments and actions directed at protecting the President and other officials from explosive and chemical threats, as well as the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, the Central Intelligence Agency and the Defense Threat Reduction Agency.