For Immediate Release
Office of the Vice President
July 8, 2004
Vice President's Remarks at the Opening of the Department of Homeland Security Operations Center
Department of Homeland Security
Washington, D.C.
2:45 P.M. EDT
THE VICE PRESIDENT: Well, I want to thank you, Tom, for your warm
welcome. It's nice to be back, and also to see the tremendous progress
that's been made. This is obviously, I guess -- I don't know, is this
the formal opening?
SECRETARY RIDGE: It is.
THE VICE PRESIDENT: It's around the opening of the new Homeland
Security Operations Center. But it really is remarkable the amount of
progress that has been made. And on behalf of the President, I'm here
today to thank all of you for the work you've done to get us up and
running.
It's an enormously important mission, obviously. And I think we've
all been reminded recently that the threat level is high out there, and
continues because of the nature of the enemy we face; that the duties
that you're asked to carry out here are enormously important to the
safety and security of the country. You're going to have to stand long
hours under a lot of duress, and the crucial moments of any crisis come
when everybody is tired and exhausted, and then you've really got to
rise to the occasion. But we have great confidence in all of you and
your ability to do the job we've asked you to do for us.
I want to thank the Secretary today for showing me around. Tom and
I have known each other for a long time -- since we served in the House
of Representatives many years ago, when we both had real influence.
And I'm delighted to be back, and Tom does a superb job. And he's been
with us now since, I guess, October of '01, shortly after 9/11. And
we're delighted to have him heading up the team.
This is a very important step forward, I think, in terms of
securing the nation. The ability to collect and integrate critical
information across departments, as well as vertically with state and
local units of government in the private sector is absolutely vital.
One of the complaints I've always received as I get out around the
country, especially talking with local officials, is you've got to give
us more information, feed us more information. Let us have access to
the kind of intelligence you've got. And I think we've finally
achieved a level of proficiency in that area so that the system really
will function in ways that will make it far easier for them to do their
job, as well, too.
As Tom said, you can't defend the nation from just inside the
Beltway. It's in no small part a matter of getting all of those folks
out, all around the country actively engaged, vigilant, watching what's
going on in their communities around them, obviously, and the various
key sectors of our economy, as well as our state and local law
enforcement and first responders to be on the watch and actively
engaged at all times. And the Homeland Security Operations Center and
the work that you do here will now be absolutely crucial to that
process.
The lessons I think we learned on 9/11 were that the United States
is in fact a battlefront, if you will, in the war on terror. The
notion that our conflicts can be fought overseas and we're safe and
secure here at home, I think, was pretty well put to rest on 9/11. And
we now know that we have to stay actively engaged and vigilant if we're
going to defend ourselves here at home, as well as take the battle to
the enemy overseas, which we've also done.
Nearly three years now have passed without another attack on our
soil, yet as all of you know so well, and as the Secretary reminded
Americans earlier today, the terrorist threat to America remains.
That's why the President and I will continue working to do everything
we can to improve the government's capability to protect the American
people. We've already tripled funding for homeland security since 2001
to over $30 billion. We transformed the mission of the FBI to focus on
preventing terrorist attacks, not just prosecuting lawbreakers; worked
with Congress to pass the Patriot Act to provide better tools for our
law enforcement and intelligence agencies to be able to protect us here
at home; and of course, stood up the Department of Homeland Security --
the biggest governmental reorganization since 1948.
DHS has now been operating for more than 16 months. I think you
can take pride in some extraordinary accomplishments including
continuing the overhaul of security at our airports and onboard
commercial aircraft, from the curb to the cockpit; improvements in
security at our borders and ports, including the new program to inspect
cargo shipments at foreign harbors before they depart for our shores;
and of course, deployment of new technologies to detect and defend
against chemical, biological and radiological attack. All these
efforts feed into your mission to integrate critical information here
at the Homeland Security Operations Center. And across the country,
Homeland Security personnel now count on this center to evaluate and
disseminate the most urgent information about any kind of threat, and
to help coordinate the immediate response to any emergency.
All Americans have reason, I believe, to be confident in the
abilities of the men and women employed here. I'm tremendously
impressed by the operations I've seen on my tour today, by the talent
and the dedication of the employees. And your versatility, your broad
expertise and commitment to teamwork, I think, will serve America well
in the years ahead.
So once again, congratulations on getting the new center up and
running, and thank you for your service to the nation. (Applause.)
END 2:52 P.M. EDT
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