For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
September 21, 2002
Radio Address by the President to the Nation
THE PRESIDENT: Good morning. In the past week, U.S. officials in
Pakistan took custody of five al Qaeda members, including a key
strategist for the September the 11th attacks. And here in America,
federal agents arrested six men suspected of having trained at al Qaeda
terrorist camps in Afghanistan.
These arrests remind us that we are engaged in a new kind of war,
fought on many fronts, including the home front. The arrests also
remind us that the enemy is still at large, threatening our safety and
security. Defeating terrorism requires constant vigilance and
preparation by our citizens and by our government.
One way for the Congress to protect the American people is to pass
legislation creating a new department of homeland security. This new
department must have a single, overriding responsibility, to coordinate
our homeland defense efforts, which are now scattered across the
government.
After less than a week of debate, the House of Representatives
passed a good bill, a bill that gives me the flexibility to confront
emerging threats quickly and effectively. Yet after three weeks of
debate, the Senate has still not passed a bill I can sign. The
legislation the Senate is debating is deeply flawed. The Senate bill
would force the new department to fight against terror threats with one
hand tied behind its back. The department of homeland security must be
able to move people and resources quickly, to respond to threats
immediately, without being forced to comply with a thick book of
bureaucratic rules.
Yet the current Senate approach keeps in place a cumbersome process
that can take five months to hire a needed employee, and 18 months to
fire someone who is not doing his job. In the war on terror, this is
time we do not have.
Even worse, the Senate bill would weaken my existing authority to
prohibit collective bargaining when national security is at stake.
Every President since Jimmy Carter has had this very narrow authority
throughout the government, and I need this authority in the war on
terror.
As Democrat Senator Zell Miller said, the daunting task of securing
this country is almost incomprehensible. Let's not make it more
difficult by tying this President's hands and the hands of every
President who comes after him.
In an effort to break the logjam in the Senate, Senator Miller and
Republican Senator Phil Gramm have taken the lead in crafting a
bipartisan alternative to the current flawed Senate bill. I commend
them, and support their approach. Their proposal would provide the new
secretary of homeland security much of the flexibility he needs to move
people and resources to meet new threats. It will protect every
employee of the new department against illegal discrimination, and
build a culture in which federal employees know they are keeping their
fellow citizens safe through their service to America.
I ask you to call your senators and to urge them to vote for this
bipartisan alternative. Senators Miller and Gramm, along with Senator
Fred Thompson, have made great progress in putting the national
interest ahead of partisan interest. I'm confident that every Senator,
Republican and Democrat, wants to do what is best for America.
Creating a new department of homeland security will make America
stronger and safer. It is time for the Senate to act.
Thank you for listening.
END
|