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It's a privilege to speak to the men and women who entertain, inform and educate tens of millions of Americans every day.  I have a great deal of respect for your work.  You reflect and affect society, and your creativity has great impact.

On September 11th, 2001, and the days immediately following, television was the medium that connected and informed us.  It was almost hard to be away from the TV set as we struggled to understand what had happened and what it would mean for the future.

Certain scenes from that day are seared into our minds.  The plane flying into the building.  The towers - first one then the other - buckling.  White House Chief of Staff Andy Card whispering in the President's ear.  The horror on the faces of people in New York, the Pentagon, Shanksville and around the world as they realized what had happened.

Broadcasters gave up more than $300 million in the first five days of coverage - something that doesn't happen every day.  As horrific as the images were, we felt a strong sense of connection in viewing them.

In the following days, as the nation's leaders prepared to respond, TV producers, writers and directors continued to educate and inform.  With documentaries and features on Osama bin Laden, the Taliban and our role in the world, among others, the creative community provided context and calmed fears as we entered this new era - the war against global terrorism.

But that was but one chapter in this struggle.  The next chapters are still ours - and, I might add, yours - to write.  There's no question about it - your vision will help determine America's vision.

And that's why I want to say a few words about the other national response to 9-11 going on today:  the national effort to secure the homeland.

We face an enemy that never rests, one capable of obtaining weapons that come packaged in suitcases and envelopes, cargo and cars.  And by desire and design, we are one of the most open countries in the world.  We have:

• 95,000 miles of shoreline to protect
• 7,000 miles of share borders with Canada and Mexico to safeguard
• Thousands of tons of cargo to inspect
• And over a million people to process coming across our borders on a daily basis.
  

It can seem an impossible task.  An impossible task full of incredible obstacles.

Yet history teaches us that great things have been accomplished by those who remain undaunted by obstacles and choose instead to press on.

Generations of Californians understand this truth.  California was settled by people willing to make a treacherous track across uncharted territory with little more than a wagon and the hope of a better life.

John Steinbeck put it this way:  "The Mojave is a big desert and a frightening one.  It's as though nature tested a man for endurance and constancy to prove whether he was good enough to get to California."

That "endurance and constancy" is what we now seek from every American as we move forward to confront an enemy and a threat that requires the biggest fight of our lives.

While terrorism is not a new phenomenon, we must recognize that in the 21st Century, it is different.  As recent events have shown, we have passed over into a far more menacing frontier of warfare - potentially with far more horrifying consequences.  For the first time in the history of humankind, a small number of people with weapons of mass destruction can wreak untold havoc in our cities and against our citizens.

The term "homeland security" was rarely heard two-and-a-half years ago.  Now, we have an entire Cabinet Department charged to prevent terrorist attacks on our shores, protect our cities and critical infrastructure, and prepare to respond should another attack occur.  180,000 people make up this Department 180,000 dedicated patriots - 180,000 stories.

Twenty-two separate agencies came together to make up the Department, in the largest government reorganization in half a century - and one of the largest mergers, acquisitions and start-ups ever.  Many were people who were securing our communities and borders and ports long before the Department came into existence.  Now, they work with a unified sense of purpose and toward a common mission.

Our goal is to make it easier for them to do their jobs, to identify vulnerabilities so we can close them - to work together, effectively and efficiently, not at cross purposes.

Some concrete examples:  Before September 11, ticket agents at airports asked if you had help packing your bags - but stopped there.  Little else was done to provide security.

Today, from the curb to the cockpit, new measures are in place: hardened cockpit doors and federal air marshals in the skies; and thousands of highly trained screeners on the ground, inspecting passengers and their luggage.

Before September 11, we never looked in the 20,000 cargo containers that reached our ports until they arrived.  Today, U.S. inspectors in Rotterdam, Singapore, Hong Kong and other major international ports work alongside our foreign counterparts to label these containers high-risk or low-risk, long before they arrive on our shores.

Before September 11, our national stockpile of medications to protect Americans against a bioterrorist attack was drastically and dangerously undersupplied.

Today, we have stockpiled a billion doses of antibiotics and vaccines, including enough smallpox vaccine for every man, woman, and child in America.

Before September 11, many of our first preventers and first responders lacked the financial resources to adequately respond to a crisis.

Today, more than $6 billion in grants and funds for equipment, training and other needs have been awarded or allocated to our state and local partners across the country, with extra funding for densely populated urban areas filled with critical infrastructure, such as Los Angeles.

California's two-year total is more than $800 million.  Some of the funding paid for equipment to respond to last year's wildfires.

Before September 11, very little information and intelligence was shared between federal agencies or with state and local officials.

Today, we have a Terrorist Threat Integration Center to gather and analyze threat information from across the entire federal government.

We now share our findings with state and local officials on a regular basis.  And when the threat is severe enough, we raise the threat level, triggering significant new preventive actions and protections across the country.

This was evident during our recent rise to "orange" alert status over the holidays.  Some of the new security measures were unseen, such as portable biological and radiological sensors.  But other measures were highly visible, designed not just to protect but to deter.

Many of you saw increased police presence at malls, subways and other sites.  Some may have noticed stepped-up air patrols over cities.  Some waited in longer lines at airports while we more thoroughly checked passengers and baggage and safety procedures.

And if you noticed the increased security presence, the terrorists saw them, too.  We know that increased protections coupled with increased vigilance will stop terrorist attacks.

Such a mobilization does not happen automatically.  It has required a new philosophy of shared leadership and shared responsibility...

Homeland security cannot be led from Washington, D.C.  It must be a priority in every city, every neighborhood, every hometown and home across America.

Homeland security is about the integration of a nation - powered not just by those of us in Washington, but by governors, mayors, law enforcement officers, firefighters, business leaders, our international partners and citizens.

Our national response to the "Orange" alert showed we are getting there.

It's this integration that propels our vision - a vision for what a safe and secure America will look like by the end of this decade, or sooner.

In time, every community will have a preparedness plan organized down to the neighborhood level.  School children, moms and dads, senior citizens, colleagues - all will be empowered by the knowledge of preparedness - by the knowledge of what they are going to do to protect themselves should a terrorist attack occur.

Over the next several years, every state will not only have identified their most vulnerable roads, bridges, monuments and power plants, they will know what they need to do to make it significantly harder to hit them.

Mutual aid compacts will be organized and regularly tested not only within states, but across state lines wherever it makes sense.

Within the next several years, global security measures will protect our cyber networks - with capabilities that shut down hackers right at the keyboard.  Sensors will not only be able to detect dangerous bioagents, but quickly contain them as well.

What's more, the world's companies will be shipping their goods with maximum reliability.  Vastly improved global information-sharing will increase the likelihood that we can stop the terrorists before they get close to harming us.

And all legitimate travelers will speed across our borders and through our airports - without needing to take off their shoes!

In several years time, through layered defenses on land and sea, we will have deterred threats, foiled attacks and captured enemies of freedom - all the while saving many lives in the process.

This is a vision that is reasonable and real - and I am proud to say has been embraced throughout the country with a sense of urgency, commitment and passion unrivaled in modern times.  These last weeks at alert condition "orange" validated that many times over.

As we have learned since 9-11, those who work so hard to protect us wear many different uniforms - a fireman's jacket, a nurse's scrub, a policeman's hat, a scientist's lab coat.  They wear badges, pins and patches that identify them as members of the Department of Homeland Security.

Their actions can mean the difference between life and death for thousands of Americans.

I wish that you and other Americans had the privilege, as I do, to travel all over the country and see not only the terrific progress that is being made, but the resolve, innovation and determination that is demonstrated each and every day.

There are many inspiring stories - such as U.S. Customs Agent Diana Dean, who stopped the so-called Millennium Bomber four years ago by asking the right questions.  As the would-be terrorist sat in his car, waiting to board a ferry bound for the U.S., he began to sweat and fidget.  Checking his trunk, Dean found a bomb he had planned to detonate at Los Angeles International Airport.  Her actions, no doubt, saved dozens, if not hundreds of lives.

I encourage you to find these and other stories and tell them.  There are some real heroes and heroines at work on the front lines protecting America, not just in the federal government but in this community and many others as well.  We'd be happy to help you find those heroes wherever we can or just answer any questions you have on how we do our work.

Many of you may have worked with members of our Coast Guard public affairs staff that has an office here in Hollywood.  We're going to add a couple staff with knowledge of the rest of our Department's efforts to also serve as a resource for you.  And I hope you'll call.

Yes, it is a new world after 9-11 - but the enduring truths remain, truths you have spent your careers uncovering.  I believe we do not have to look far for our inspiration.

Faced with the greatest horror of our lifetimes on 9-11, Americans did not surrender to grief; we stood up our guard and swiftly sped to action.

In so doing, we followed in the giant footsteps of our Founding Fathers, and President Lincoln and President Roosevelt - all of whom have been worthy subjects of documentary and drama, on the small screen and the silver screen.

The dedicated patriots who secure our homeland have proven themselves worthy as well.  I look forward to seeing their quiet heroism portrayed by the creators in this room.  And if we could be of assistance with this effort, we would welcome the opportunity.  Thank you.