President Marks Homeland Security's Accomplishments at Year One
Remarks by the President on the One-Year Anniversary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security
Ronald Reagan Building
Washington, D.C.
10:06 A.M. EST
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you all, please be seated. Please be seated
-- unless, of course, you don't have a seat. (Laughter.) Thanks for
the warm welcome. I'm honored to join the proud men and women of the
Department of Homeland Security in celebrating this agency's first
anniversary.
Many of you were here from day one. Others have come aboard in
the days since. Yet, from the President to the Secretary to
the newest employee, all of us here are tasked with a single,
vital mission: to secure the American homeland and to protect
the American people. (Applause.) There is no duty more
important. We're meeting that duty together, and on behalf of a
grateful nation, I thank you all for what you do to defend our
country.
I appreciate Secretary Ridge's leadership. I plucked him out of
the ranks of the governors because I knew he knew how to manage and
to set an agenda. He has not let me down. Along with the other
leaders here, he and the team are doing a fantastic job of
leading this Department. I appreciate Deputy Secretary Jim
Loy, as well, for his outstanding leadership. I want to thank
all the officials who are here. I appreciate the members of the
United States Congress who have come. Two Texans, Mac Thornberry and
Jim Turner, I appreciate you all being here. I appreciate Jennifer
Dunn, from the great state of Washington; and Chris Cox, from the
state of California. Thanks for taking time to honor these
employees today.
I appreciate all the employees who are here. I appreciate
you working hard for the American people. I'm sure people don't
thank you enough. Well, I'm here to thank you as much as an individual
possibly can, for working the long hours, for taking the risks on
behalf of the security of this country.
Today, I had the honor of meeting the family of Agent Jimmy
Epling. Jimmy was the first Department of Homeland Security employee
to be killed in the line of duty. He did so rescuing an individual.
He risked his life to save a life. And on behalf of our nation,
Monica and Seth and Shaine and Sean and James, and his loving
parents, Ken and Amy, thank you for raising such a good son and thank
you for having such a good husband; boys, you need to be proud of your
daddy. Thanks for coming. (Applause.)
Two-and-a-half years ago, our nation saw war and grief arrive on
a quiet September morning. From that day to this, we have pursued a
clear strategy: We are taking the offensive against the
terrorists abroad. We're taking unprecedented measures to protect the
American people here at home. The goal of the terrorists is to kill
our citizens -- that's their goal -- and to make Americans live in
fear. This nation refuses to live in fear. We will stand together
until this threat to our nation and to the civilized world is ended.
(Applause.)
We have been called to service. We've been called to action. And
we accept that responsibility. With fine allies, we are winning
the war against the terrorists. We're disrupting terrorist
operations. We're cutting off their funding. We are chasing down
their leaders one person at a time. We are relentless. We are
strong. We refuse to yield. Some two-thirds of already Qaeda's
key leaders have been captured or killed. The rest of them hear us
breathing down their neck. We're after them. We will not relent. We
will bring these killers to justice. (Applause.)
It is vital our nation speak with a clear voice, and when we
speak, we mean what we say. It's essential that this nation not be
a nation of empty words, but a nation that is determined to do our
duty. I laid out a doctrine a while ago, and it said if you harbor a
terrorist, if you feed a terrorist, you're just as guilty as the
terrorists. I meant what I said. And so did our nation. And
the Taliban, the brutal dictators, the barbarians that ran
Afghanistan now fully understand America will keep its commitments and
means what it says. (Applause.)
We delivered an ultimatum to Mr. Saddam Hussein, that he listen
to the world, disclose and disarm his weapons and weapons programs.
It's what the world had said time and time again. The United States
said the same thing. We saw a threat. It was time to deal with that
threat Mr. Saddam Hussein had the choice to make. He chose
defiance. He now sits in a prison cell, and the Iraqi people are
free and America is more secure. (Applause.)
We have said we will deal with weapons of mass destruction. We
have shown the world we mean what we say. With our allies, we're
taking action to stop the spread of chemical and biological,
radiological or nuclear weapons. We're working together with our
friends to prevent terror networks from gaining the means to match
their hatred. We're confronting states that develop deadly
weapons. We're shutting down networks that trade in the means to
produce the technologies of mass murder.
Nations like Libya have gotten the message and renounced
their weapons programs. The proliferation network of A.Q. Khan,
which sold nuclear secrets to Iran and North Korea, is being
dismantled. Its top leaders are out of business forever. America will
not allow terrorists and outlaw regimes to threaten our nation and
the world with the world's most dangerous technologies. (Applause.)
As we work to make this nation more secure, we're also working with
a broad coalition of nations to spread freedom. America
believes that freedom is the Almighty's gift to each and every person
who lives in this world. That's what we believe. We have
liberated more than 50 million people in Iraq and Afghanistan. Those
people have our help and the help of many nations to build free and
democratic nations.
We seek to spread the benefits of democracy and tolerance and
freedom throughout the greater Middle East. By opposing the
stagnation and bitterness that feed terror, this great nation and our
friends are bringing hope to millions, thereby strengthening the
long-term security of America and making the world a more peaceful
place. (Applause.)
We will stay on the offensive. We will not relent. And as we
wage this war abroad, we must remember where it began, here in our
homeland. Life in America, in many ways, has returned to normal, and
that's positive. It means we're doing our jobs. But life will really
never return to normal so long as there's an enemy that lurks in the
shadows, that aims to destroy and kill. The enemies are wounded,
but they're not broken. They still have desires to strike America
again. That's the reality with which we live. The reality is, vast
oceans can no longer protect us, and therefore we must have, and we do
have, a clear strategy to defend our homeland. Oh, we'll do
everything we can to prevent attacks on America. As we do so, we'll
reduce our vulnerabilities and prepare for any attack that might
come; that's our duty; that is our collective mission.
To meet the goals, we have tripled federal funding for
homeland security since 2001, to some $30.5 billion. I want to thank
the Congress for working with the administration to make sure these
good folks have got the ability to implement the strategy to protect
our country.
We've undertaken the most sweeping reorganization of the
federal government since the beginning of the Cold War. The FBI has
transformed itself into an agency dedicated primarily to the
prevention of future terrorist attacks. The Department of Defense
has established a new top level command whose priority is to
protect the American homeland. We established the Terrorist Threat
Integration Center, to merge and analyze in a single place all vital
intelligence on global terror. We created the Homeland Security
Council within the White House -- John Gordon is here with us today
-- to help coordinate all homeland security activities across our
government.
We'll face the terrorist threat for years to come. Our government
is prepared to meet that threat. One of the most important steps
we've taken is creating the Department of Homeland Security, combining
under one roof, with a clear chain of command, many agencies
responsible for protecting our nation. All of you go to work
every day with a single, overriding responsibility: to make this
nation more secure.
Creating the newest department of our federal government was a
tough task. It required a lot of hard work, changing some old
habits, in order to merge into a new strategy and a new department.
You've accomplished an historic task. In just 12 months, under the
leadership of your President, you have made air travel safer,
you've strengthened the security of our borders and infrastructure,
you've taken steps to protect the American people from dangerous
weapons, and you helped prepare our first responders for any
emergency. You faced the challenges standing up this new
Department and you get a -- and a gold star for a job well
done. (Applause.)
Since September the 11th attacks, we've taken significant steps
to ensure the safety of air travel. DHS is completing a massive
overhaul of security at our nation's airports. Federal air
marshals are flying on hundreds of commercial flights every day.
We are determined to protect Americans who travel by plane. We're
determined to prevent those planes from being used as weapons against
us.
The Department of Homeland Security is strengthening control of
all our borders and ports of entry, to keep out terrorists and
criminals and dangerous materials. We're using technology to allow law
abiding travelers to cross the border quickly and easily, while our
officials concentrate on stopping possible threats. We've increased
the number of border inspectors and improved access to sophisticated
data bases.
DHS personnel are checking ships and analyzing manifests to
prevent high risk cargo from entering our nation by sea. DHS
officials are also posted at foreign ports, working with other
governments to inspect shipments before they're loaded and shipped
to America. America welcomes tourists and students and business
people, legitimate cargo. Yet, we're working hard, you're working
hard, to make sure our border is closed to terrorists and criminals and
weapons and illegal drugs.
Third, we've worked with state and local governments and the
private sector to strengthen the defenses of our key infrastructure,
communication systems and power grids and transportation networks.
DHS is helping the operators of chemical facilities improve security.
We're working with Congress on new legislation that
establishes uniform standards for securing chemical sites, and gives
DHS the power to enforce those standards. We've established a
national cyber security division to examine cyber security
incidents and track attacks and coordinate nationwide
responses. America's infrastructure drives our economy and
serves our people. We're determined to provide the
infrastructure with the best possible protection.
Fourth, we're bringing the best technologies to bear against
the threat of chemical and biological weapons; we placed
sophisticated equipment to detect biological agents in many
metropolitan areas. We've greatly expanded the strategic national
stockpile for drugs and vaccines and medical supplies. We now have
on hand, for instance, enough smallpox vaccine to immunize every
American in the case of an emergency.
Last year, I proposed Project BioShield, which will speed
the development of new vaccines and treatments for biological agents
that could be used in a terrorist attack. Congress needs to
send this vital legislation to my desk. Attacks from a chemical or
biological weapons is one of the gravest threats our country has ever
faced. We're doing what is necessary to protect this country.
Even with all these measures, there's no such thing as
perfect security in a vast and free country. So as a fifth step,
we've worked to improve the ability of state and local authorities to
respond quickly and effectively to emergencies. My administration
has provided over $13 billion to equip and train local officials,
such as firefighters and police officers and EMS workers and health
professionals. I thank the Congress for their work on this important
measure.
The new budget proposes additional money, $5 billion, to continue
to help the first responders. We're focusing more of our resources
on the areas of greatest risk. It's essential we set
priorities with the taxpayer's money, to better protect the
American people. And so DHS is creating a national incident
management plan, a strategy to make sure taxpayer's money is wisely
spent. Under this plan, first responders at all levels of government
will know their responsibilities, will follow a clear chain of command,
and will be able to work with each other effectively in a time of
crisis.
Your hard work is already paying off. The system has proven
its worth in coordinating responses to such emergencies as Hurricane
Isabel and the California wildfires. America's first responders are
the first on the scene of danger. They need a strategy. They need
coordination. They need training. And they will get our help.
This administration has also worked to ensure that those charged
with defending America from the threat of terror have all the tools
necessary to fight the terrorists. One of those essential tools is
the Patriot Act, which enables federal law enforcement officials to
track terrorists, to disrupt their cells and to seize their
assets. For years we've used similar provisions to catch embezzlers or
drug traffickers. My attitude is pretty simple on this matter: If
these methods are good enough for hunting criminals, they're even more
important for hunting terrorists.
The Patriot Act made other important changes official to the
success of this new department. It tore down the walls that blocked
the FBI and the CIA from sharing intelligence. It's hard to track
terrorists if we can't share information. It was essential that
all elements of law enforcement be able to work together to secure
this homeland. The Patriot Act imposed tough new penalties on
terrorists and those who support them. We want to make it abundantly
clear to anybody who wants to hurt America: there will be
significant penalty. These are responsible measures, fully consistent
with the United States Constitution.
Key provisions of the Patriot Act are set to expire next year.
The terrorist threat will not expire on that schedule. You, and
others in law enforcement, need this vital legislation to protect
our citizens. We cannot afford to let down our guard. Congress must
renew the Patriot Act. (Applause.)
For the men and women of the Department of Homeland Security,
the past year has been one of progress and achievement. You have
risen to confront a new threat and to meet unprecedented
challenges. You have responded to hurricanes and tornadoes and
wildfires with incredible skill and speed. You've worked hard to
protect our borders, you've saved lives. You're prepared for greater
dangers. You've passed every single test. You should be proud of all
you've accomplished, and you need to know America is proud of you.
(Applause.)
We have done a lot in a year. It's been an incredible year
of accomplishment, but none of us charged with defending this nation
can rest. We must never forget the day when the terrorists left their
mark of murder on our nation. We must never forget that day. We will
remember the sorrow and the anger. We'll also remember the resolve
we felt that day. All of us have a responsibility that goes on.
We will protect this country, whatever it takes.
God bless your work, and may God continue to bless our
country. (Applause.)