President Bush Pushes for Homeland Security Department
Remarks by the President at District of Columbia Metropolitan Police Operations Center
District of Columbia Metropolitan Police Operations Center
Washington, D.C.
10:24 A.M. EST
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you all. Please be seated. Thanks a lot. I
want you to note, the Mayor said I made him a senior advisor.
(Laughter.) Mr. Mayor, you're doing a great job for the city of
Washington, D.C. I'm honored that I'm living in your neighborhood.
And as I told a lot of the folks who I had the honor of meeting just a
while ago at the Emergency Operations Center, I feel safe living here.
And so does my family. And so do a lot of families, thanks to the
dedication and hard work of people on the front line of making sure
that this city is buttoned up, dealing with the threats we face.
I'm here to thank you all for your hard work. I'm here, as well,
to tell all the first responders across the District, as well as around
the country, how much our country is grateful for your service, your
dedication, and remind you that we have not only a duty to prepare for
emergencies, we have a duty in this country to prevent them from
happening in the first place.
It's a new charge. It's a new charge because we learned on that
fateful day that America is now a battlefield. It used to be that
oceans would protect us. We didn't have to take certain threats
seriously. We could say, well, we can deal if we want to deal with
them. But we learned a tough lesson, that the old ways are gone, that
the enemy can strike us here at home, and we all have new
responsibilities. And I'm confident we can meet those responsibilities
because I understand the nature of the people who wear the uniform all
across America -- fine, dedicated, honorable public servants who are
willing to serve something greater than themselves. So, thank you for
what you do.
And the federal government has got a job, as well. Our job --
our government's greatest responsibility is to protect the American
people. That's our most important job. And this requires Congress to
create a new department of homeland security so we can better do our
job. I think this work can be done soon. The Congress is coming back
for a brief period of time. And in that period of time, they can get
the job done. If they put their mind to it, they can get a job done on
behalf of the American people. And I urge them to do so.
I'm honored to be here with Eleanor Holmes Norton. Thank you for
coming, Madam Congresswoman. I appreciate your service.
I appreciate being up here with Tom Ridge, my buddy who was a
governor. I said, look, we've got a new issue we've got to deal with
here in America. We've got to do everything we can to protect the
homeland, so you need to leave Pennsylvania and come and join us. And,
fortunately, he did, and he is doing a fabulous job inside the White
House of laying the groundwork for what I hope will soon be a
department of homeland security. And I appreciate you coming, Tom.
Mr. Mayor, thanks again. Margret Kellems, it's good to have met
you. It's an honor to be in the presence of the Deputy Mayor, as
well.
I'm impressed with Chief Ramsey. I don't know if this helps you or
hurts you, Chief. (Laughter.) He does a fine job. I got to know him
at the inauguration, and I've been watching him ever since. This is a
city with a lot of complex issues. It's a city where a lot of people
come to exercise their right as Americans, and we appreciate that. And
I'm proud that this city is able to allow people to express themselves,
and at the same time, maintain order. Mr. Chief, you and your troops
do a fabulous job here. (Applause.)
I want to thank Chief Adrian Thompson for coming, as well. I
appreciate you being here, Chief. This is -- the fire and emergency
teams have got just as an important role to play as our police officers
do.
I want to thank Peter LaPorte, who is the Director of the
Washington, D.C. Emergency Management Agency, for coming. I appreciate
Jim Buford, who is the Acting Director of the Washington, D.C.
Department of Health. I want to thank Linda Cropp for coming, as
well.
On September the 11th, 2001, our nation was confronted by a new
kind of war. See, we're at war. This is a war. This isn't a single
isolated incident. We are now in the first war of the 21st century.
And it's a different kind of war than we're used to. I explained part
of the difference is the fact that the battlefield is now here at
home. It's also a war where the enemy doesn't show up with airplanes
that they own, or tanks or ships. These are suiciders. These are
cold-blooded killers. That's all they are. The new kind of war has
now placed our police and firefighters and rescue workers on the front
lines. You're already on the front lines. Now you got another line.
There's another front to do our duty to the American people.
For the courageous individuals on September the 11th, it was a day
of great loss. But it was also a grave -- day of great, great
honor. It reminded the American people of the sacrifices that the
people who wear the uniform go through on a daily basis, and the risks
that you take every day.
We still weep and mourn for those who lost lives to save others.
But we also recognize there's a renewal in America of appreciation for
what you do. The entire nation appreciated the calm determination, the
steady hand, the ability to respond under severe circumstances. And
like our military, which is also on the front line of the war against
terror, you deserve all the tools and resources to do your work. This
country is going to support you, because we now understand the stakes.
Since September the 11th, every level of government has taken
important steps to better prepare against terrorism. We've now been
notified. We understand that history has called us into action. There
should be no doubt in anybody's mind the nature of the enemy. There
should be no doubt in anybody's mind that we must do everything we can
to protect the homeland.
For the first time ever, Customs agents are now at overseas ports
inspecting containers before they come close to the United States. In
other words, we're adjusting to the new world we're in. We've put more
marshals now on airplanes. Everybody's aware of that. We've stepped
up security at our power plants and our ports, and, as importantly, at
our border crossings. We need to know who's coming into the country,
what they're bringing into the country, and if they're leaving when
they say they're going to leave. We need to know that for the sake of
the homeland.
We've deployed detection equipment to look for weapons of mass
destruction. Whoever would have thought that this country needed to
use technologies to prevent people from smuggling in weapons of mass
destruction? But we needed to have that technology in place, so we can
better protect the American people. There's a real threat that
somebody might smuggle in one of these weapons that would create
incredible havoc here at home. So we're on alert. We're stockpiling
enough small pox vaccine for every man, woman and child in America.
The U.S. Patriot Act has helped us detect and disrupt terrorist
activity in this country. What I'm telling you there is, any time we
get a hint that somebody is thinking about doing something to America,
we're moving on it. Any time we get an inkling that somebody is
planning to hurt the American people, to take innocent life, we're
using every tool we can to disrupt and deny. And we're doing that at
the local level and at the state level and at the federal level.
That's what the American people expect, and that's what's going to
happen.
We act decisively in the clearest areas of vulnerability. We're
moving. And this is only the beginning of our effort to protect our
country from a global threat. The threats to the homeland are growing
threats. These people aren't going away any time soon. And so the
need for action is important.
And one of my jobs is to make sure nobody gets complacent. One of
my jobs is to remind people of the stark realities that we face. See,
every morning I go into that great Oval Office and read threats to our
country -- every morning. As a matter of fact, there hadn't a morning
that hadn't gone by that I haven't saw -- seen or read threats. Some
of them are blowhards, but we take every one of them seriously. It's
the new reality.
The Congress is in session today, and the House and the Senate have
pressing responsibilities to work with us for our security. And I'm
confident they'll meet those responsibilities. And the single most
important business before Congress is the creation of a department of
homeland security. Certain members of the Senate and the House have
got all kinds of agendas they'd like to discuss. The single most
important one is to get this bill done.
The importance of the homeland security means that we'll be able to
better coordinate and organize, and that there be clear lines of
authority. One reason this department works so well, and one reason
the center we just saw works well is there's great coordination with
clear lines of authority. And that's important. That's what you do
here in Washington, and that's what we ought to do at the federal
level, as well, in this new department.
The responsibility for protecting the homeland here in Washington,
at least at the federal level, is spread out among more than 100
different organizations, and not one organization has the primary
responsibility. Each agency operates separately, sometimes completely
unaware of what others are doing. The result is duplication that we
cannot afford, and inefficiencies which create problems.
So I set out to do something about it, for the good of the
country. And that is to call for a single Cabinet-level department of
government, staffed by dedicated professionals who wake up every single
day with one overriding duty, to protect the American people. That's
their duty. That's their most important responsibility.
The new department will work, of course, with our state and local
authorities to avert attacks, to plan for emergencies, and to respond.
That's the functions of the new department. We've got to make sure our
first responders are well-equipped and trained and organized for their
duties. You do a fine job here in Washington; there are some places
that need help, and the new department will help first responders.
The new department will control our borders. I mentioned the
border -- we need to know who's coming in, we need -- but there's
three agencies on the border right now, and they're all full of fine
people. They wear different uniforms, they have different strategies.
Sometimes they talk, sometimes they don't. There is a better way to
enforce our border here in America.
It will bring together scientists who develop technologies that
detect biological, chemical, and nuclear weapons, and discover drugs
and treatments to protect our citizens. So there will be a scientific
component in this new department.
For the first time in our history information on the threats to
America will be gathered and analyzed, together with information on our
vulnerabilities in one place. We've got a lot of good people working
hard to collect intelligence. This new agency will analyze the
intelligence to address vulnerabilities here in America.
Establishing the new department will require the latest
reorganization of the federal -- the largest reorganization of the
federal government since 1940. In other words, it's not going to be
easy. But I think Congress understands the need to do that. And I
think Congress is willingness to take the task. I want to thank very
much the House of Representatives for passing a good bill, one that
gives me the authority and the flexibility to work hard to defend
America.
The Senate -- it got stuck in the Senate. But it looks like it's
going to come out of the Senate, I hope. And we're working hard to
bring it forth in a way that will enable this President and future
Presidents to meet the needs of the United States. To meet the
threats, I must be able -- and future Presidents -- must be able to
move people and resources where they're needed, and to do it quickly,
without being forced to comply with a thick book of rules.
The enemy moves quickly and America must move quickly. We cannot
have bureaucratic rules preventing this President and future Presidents
from meeting the needs of the American people. To meet the threats to
our country, a President must have the authority, as every President
since John F. Kennedy has had, to waive certain rights for national
security purposes. It makes no sense in a time of war to diminish the
capacity of the President to be able to put the right people at the
right time at the right place.
This debate is often misunderstood. The rights of federal workers
should be, and will fully be, protected in the department of homeland
security. Every employee will be treated fairly and protected from
discrimination. The men and women who work in that department will
need and want leadership that can act quickly and decisively, without
getting bogged down in endless disputes. When the department is
created, we've got to do it right. It is our chance to do it right.
And I will not give up national security authority at the price for
creating a department we badly need to secure America.
Fortunately, I'm encouraged by the ongoing discussions. I believe
we can get this done. I believe Congress can show the country that
they can finish their work on a high note of achievement. That's what
the people want. The people want us to come together and work together
and do what's right. And I think Congress can show that's possible to
do.
Securing our homeland means not only a great -- a new department
of homeland security, it means hunting these killers down one at a
time. It means staying on task. It means holding -- make sure that
the doctrines still exist. And there's one out there that says, if
you -- you're either with us or with the enemy. That was true right
after September the 11th, and it's very true today. We're calling on
all these nations that love freedom to join us in an international
manhunt. There's no cave deep enough for these people to hide in, as
far as I'm concerned. There's no shadow of the world dark enough for
them to kind of slither around in. We're after them, and it's going to
take a while. It can take a while. We're after them one person at a
time. We owe that to the American people. We owe that to our
children.
I can't imagine what was going through their mind when they hit
us. They must have thought we'd just file a lawsuit. They just don't
understand America, do they? They don't understand our love for
freedom. They don't understand that, when it comes to our freedoms, it
doesn't matter how long it takes, nor the cost, we will do our duty.
The world's going to be more peaceful as a result of America being
strong and resolved. Peace is going to happen. You see, the enemy hit
us and, out of the evil done to this country, is going to come some
incredible good -- a more secure America, a more peaceful world.
People will look back -- your kids and your grandkids will look
back and say, you know, my dad or my mother was involved, actively
involved in one of the most dramatic periods in our country's history.
And I'm confident they'll look back and say, I'm proud of their
service, because America became a better place as a result of their
sacrifices.
I'm honored you had me here. May God bless you and your families.
May God bless your work. And may God continue to bless America. Thank
you. (Applause.)