[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 23 (Wednesday, March 6, 2002)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1562-S1567]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       THE OLYMPIC GAMES IN UTAH

  Mr. BENNETT. Mr. President, I appreciate the opportunity of sharing 
with my colleagues a summary of what happened in the Salt Lake games 
that took place the first 2 weeks in February, where the world came to 
Utah and was received in the spirit of the Olympic flame.
  The Olympic Games are one of the few events, if indeed not the only 
event, where the world comes together in a non-political arena. There 
was substantial effort that went into these games, both on the part of 
the people of Utah and the Federal taxpayer. So I think it is 
appropriate that we have a summary and report to this body on that 
experience.
  If I may, I would like to begin with some numbers. I know that is 
usually not the way to begin a public speech that you want anybody to 
listen to, but there are some numbers that outline the scope of these 
Olympics that I think are irreplaceable as an example of what went on.
  These were the largest Winter Olympics in history, and Salt Lake City 
was the largest city to host a Winter Olympics. In the past, they have 
always been held in relatively small ski villages. This is the first 
time a major metropolitan area has been chosen as the host of the 
Winter Olympics. Some will argue with that and say Sarajevo was a major 
city, but Salt Lake City is the largest city that has ever been host to 
a Winter Olympics.
  It was the largest number of athletes who have ever come to a Winter 
Olympics--2,500. They came from the largest number of countries ever 
represented at the Winter Olympics, 78, and they competed in the 
largest number of events--also 78. We kept adding sports to the Winter 
Olympics for this experience.

  Three and one-half billion people watched the opening and closing 
ceremonies that were held in the Rice-Eccles football stadium at the 
University of Utah. Sixty-seven thousand people signed up to be 
volunteers--the largest volunteer pool ever created. Only 24,000 of 
them could be accommodated.
  One of the interesting statistics--I don't have the final number--but 
far into the games, I was told, that of those 24,000 volunteers, only 
77 were forced to withdraw for one reason or another: A health problem, 
a family emergency, what have you. The volunteers were a spectacular 
part of these Olympics.
  There were 9,000 credentialed media that showed up to cover the 
Olympics. It was, as I say, the largest Winter Olympics in history.
  In recognition of the size of the Olympics, it was declared for the 
first time as a National Special Security Event under Presidential 
Decision Directive 62. That directive, issued in the Clinton years, 
established national security events where the Secret Service would 
take the lead in managing the security. This is the first time the 
Olympics have ever been designated a National Special Security Event.
  The zone of security for the Olympics covered over 900 square miles 
from Provo to Ogden. That was the largest coordinated area the Secret 
Service and other law enforcement people have ever been asked to 
guard--perhaps with the exception of the District of Columbia as a 
whole. Even at the State of the Union Message, you don't have an area 
as large as the area covered by these Olympics.
  In order to meet the challenge of this security responsibility at 
these Olympics, we had 1,100 FBI agents, we had 2,000 Secret Service 
agents, and there were law enforcement officers from 48 different 
States.
  As I went through one venue, I noticed on the sleeve of one of the 
law enforcement officers the badge of the Police Department of Gallup, 
NM. Law enforcement officers from 48 States came to help their Utah 
colleagues provide security for the games. Over 2,400 Utah law 
enforcement officers gathered from all over the State. There were also 
2,400 military personnel--primarily National Guardsmen who came from 
six different States. And there were 2,200 fire and emergency response 
individuals. This was an incredible army of security personnel 
assembled to provide security for the athletes and spectators.
  What did they handle? There were over 3.5 million spectators who went 
through magnetometers during that 2-week period--3\1/2\ million people 
processed on a time-frame. There were some who didn't get to their 
events on time. But overwhelmingly the ticket holders got to their 
events, went through the magnetometers, and were properly screened. 
There were 80,000 spectators processed each day through the 
magnetometers at Olympic Square. There were over 1,000 trucks processed 
carrying 250,000 tons of material and product. They were processed. 
They were screened. They got where they needed to go on time. It was an 
incredible security and logistical performance.
  When the Attorney General was out there, I was with him, and we were

[[Page S1563]]

checking in advance the security preparations. At one of the venues, 
the officer briefing us summarized how good the security really was. As 
he said to the Attorney General, if you are going to get anywhere near 
this venue during the Olympics without a credential, you are going to 
have to be a moose.

  What happened in terms of the threat as a result of this security 
activity? By comparison--the Atlanta Olympics were the last that were 
held in the United States--in Atlanta, they routinely had between 100 
and 200 bomb threats every single day by people who felt confident 
enough to mount some kind of hoax, or threat, or attempt to disrupt--
100 to 200 every day. In the Salt Lake Olympics, there were a little 
over 100 of those threats through the entire 2-week period.
  Those are the statistics that give you the size and scope of what we 
were dealing with--the size and scope of the effort.
  In an effort to make sure we were getting our money's worth and that 
we were on top of things, I visited the venue. I went to the Olympic 
Village where the athletes were. That was a self-contained city of 
3,500 people--the 2,500 athletes plus 1,000 coaches and other team 
officials. It had its own badge, it had its own health clinic, it had 
its own dining hall and even its own movie theater. This village had 
its own post office, bank, dry cleaners and convenience store--it was 
self-contained.
  Then I went to the media center, which was another city. As I said, 
there were over 9,000 accredited journalists there. Here is a city with 
its own store and bank as well as facilities for getting on-line, 
filing stories, and all of the things necessary for the media.
  I visited the Public Safety Command Center where over 64 different 
agencies were located, coordinating all of their efforts.
  I went to the joint intelligence center where all of the intelligence 
agencies--not only from our country, the CIA, the NSA, the DEA but also 
from other countries--were gathered together sharing intelligence 
information about what kind of threat they might see.
  There was the joint information center where all of the information 
officers were gathered so that if there were any kind of an incident 
that came up, everyone would know about it instantly and be able to 
coordinate their responses.
  I visited the Olympic Square and the Medals Plaza and, of course, 
every one of the athletic venues.
  Out of all of this, the basic question that I think we should be 
addressing in the Congress is, What is the legacy of the Salt Lake City 
games? What is the lasting result of having held this event? I want to 
highlight a few of the items that came out of what I have described 
from all of the visitations I made.
  The first legacy that is the most obvious is the degree of security 
expertise that has come out of this experience. As I said, I went to 
the security center and saw these 64 agencies in a room not the size of 
this chamber. They were sitting at a computer roughly every four feet, 
side by side, watching the computer screens and manning their stations 
24 hours a day throughout the entire 17 days of the Olympics. That 
meant that anything that came up in the form of any sort of threat 
would be instantly known in real time and simultaneously to all 64 
agencies.
  I was interested to note the labels that were on the little cardboard 
folders on the top of each computer. Here was a computer with a label 
on it that read ``FEMA.'' It was reassuring to know that the Federal 
Emergency Management Administration was present. Next to it would be 
one that read ``FBI''--that was reassuring--and on through a number of 
other Federal agencies. In addition, there were various State 
agencies--the Utah Highway Patrol, the local police agencies, and 
county sheriffs departments; the Davis County Sheriff's Department.
  One label caught my eye which demonstrated to me just how significant 
an effort this was. There was a label that said ``U of U Police 
Department.'' The University of Utah security guards were in the same 
room with the Secret Service and FEMA, because if something happened at 
the University of Utah--the place where the athletic village was 
located--the University of Utah police would have to be the first 
responders. But they were in the same room and were getting the same 
information that FEMA was getting--FEMA if it was a major fire; that 
the FBI was getting if there was a major law enforcement challenge; and 
that the Secret Service was getting if there were some kind of a threat 
to the President. All were in the same room. All were coordinated. It 
was a seamless effort, from the Secret Service at the top, all the way 
down to the smallest--I will not say lowest; smallest--local law 
enforcement agency. Nothing like this has ever been accomplished before 
and, certainly, nothing on the scale like this has ever been 
accomplished before.

  The legacy that comes out of this is a degree of expertise and 
understanding of coordination in law enforcement that can be used as a 
template for homeland security and homeland defense.
  I have made reference of this to Governor Ridge, when he was here, 
and said, ``You need to look very carefully at the experience of the 
Salt Lake Olympic games. It will give you guidance that will be 
absolutely invaluable as you struggle with the problem of divided 
jurisdiction among law enforcement agencies.''
  While I was there, the man who was running the center turned to me 
and he said: Senator, this is boring. Nothing is happening. In the 
security business, boring is good. I smiled a little at that because it 
did look as if nobody was doing anything. Then he made an interesting 
comment. He said, ``Senator, we think that a number of groups that 
would otherwise have come to Salt Lake City in an attempt to disrupt 
the Olympics or do even more serious damage. These groups scoped out 
the security pattern we had here and decided to stay away.''
  Indeed, he cited one activist group that, on their Web site, 
instructed all of their supporters around the country: Stay away. 
They're ready for us in Salt Lake. If you show up, you will be 
immediately taken care of. There is no point in coming.
  So the games went on flawlessly from a security standpoint because of 
the incredible coordination that went on, from the Secret Service down 
to the smallest local law enforcement agency.
  That is the first legacy that will come out of the Salt Lake City 
games: that degree of expertise, that understanding of how things 
should be done.
  In connection with that legacy, I have to acknowledge the work of 
Brian Stafford, the Director of the United States Secret Service, who 
personally paid a significant amount of attention to these games. He 
was in Utah a number of times. Mark Camillo, the special agent in 
charge, practically became a citizen of Utah. He has been out in Utah 
for the last 24 months. The FBI, of course, under the leadership of 
Director Mueller, should be congratulated for an outstanding job. Bob 
Flowers, who is the head of the Utah Olympic Public Safety Command, was 
a very significant player in all of this. His right hand person, Dave 
Tubbs, Executive Director of the Utah Olympic Public Safety Command, 
deserves further commendation and congratulations.
  These are the people who created this legacy from which the nation 
will draw benefit for years to come.
  The second legacy that comes out of these Olympics are the facilities 
that were built. There were already ski facilities in many places in 
Salt Lake, but now we have built facilities that were not there before. 
For example, the ice skating oval in Kearns; the luge/bobsled/skelton 
track and the ski jump at Utah Olympic Park--those things were created 
and upgraded for the Olympics.
  I had lunch with the President of the U.S. Olympic Committee, Sandra 
Baldwin. She said to me, ``All of our speed skaters historically have 
come from Wisconsin.'' That is a little bit of an overstatement, but 
she backed down and said, ``All right, most of them have come from 
Wisconsin.'' Why? Because that is where the best training facilities 
are for speed skating. We expect now that many of our gold-medal-
winning speed skaters will start to come from not only Utah but the 
entire western United States.

  Then the comment made by some athletes at the lunch, and they were 
not necessarily Utahns, ``Salt Lake City is easy to get to. Salt Lake 
City is accessible by a majority airport. It is a

[[Page S1564]]

major city with hotel and places to stay. Athletes from all over 
America can come to Salt Lake City to train far more easily than they 
can in existing training facilities.''
  One of the legacies of these games will be better prepared, better 
trained American athletes. These games set the record for Americans 
winning medals at the Winter Olympics. I expect that record will be 
broken in the future because of the legacy of the Salt Lake Olympic 
Games.
  In the process of creating those facilities, we produced yet another 
legacy. I will talk about what was one of the more controversial 
aspects of the Olympic facilities: the creation of the men's and 
women's downhill at Snowbasin. In order for that to happen, there had 
to be a land exchange so that Earl Holding, who owned the Snowbasin 
facility, could get the land necessary to create the venue that worked 
so well in the Olympics and that everyone saw on television.
  The Forest Service owned most of the land Mr. Holding needed. The 
Forest Service said, ``We would be willing to deed that land to Earl 
Holding, but we don't want money in exchange. We want other lands.'' 
The Forest Service identified 11,000 acres of land in the State of Utah 
which, for management purposes, they wanted to acquire.
  An appraisal was done. The 1,300 acres they deeded to Earl Holding in 
financial terms was worth the same amount as the 11,000 acres the 
Forest Service acquired. So even though the Forest Service acquired 8 
or 9 times as many acres as it gave up, in financial terms the swap was 
equal. A careful appraisal was made by the Government to assure that 
the interest of the public was protected.
  Without going into the details, this was the legacy that the Forest 
Service has as a result of that land swap. In a report they filed in 
May of 2000, they summarize what they received as a result of the land 
swap that was stimulated by the Olympics: 15.3 miles of perennial 
streams, 21.5 miles of intermittent streams, a 23-mile reduction in the 
boundaries that they have to police, consolidation of ownership, and 
the elimination of the threat of development of these lands.
  They have acquired suitable habitat for threatened and endangered 
species--both plant and wildlife--as well as habitat for big game 
calving and fawning, in both summer and winter. They acquired three 
miles of existing road access that they did not have before, and there 
are 3.5 miles of existing four-wheel-drive road to be evaluated in Box 
Elder County, and 15.5 miles of existing trail access was acquired, 
along with a wide variety of dispersed recreation opportunities, again, 
for both winter and summer.
  I spoke with the Forest Service personnel as I did my visits to the 
Olympic venues, and they told me how delighted they were with the way 
the Snowbasin venue had been developed.
  They said it was the finest development they had seen and one which 
they would hope would be a model for other entities who would deal with 
Forest Service land. But they also described to me how delighted they 
were at the legacy of better management of Forest Service lands in Utah 
that comes as a by-product of the Olympics.
  Housing, another legacy from the Olympics is that there will be more 
low-income housing in Utah as a result of efforts necessary to provide 
housing for Olympic guests. Frankly, we did not get as much low-income 
housing in Utah as I would have liked. We did not get as much as we 
originally thought we would get when we embarked on this program. 
However, one aspect of the housing that needs to be talked about has to 
do with housing on Indian reservations. Housing was provided for the 
press in manufactured units. They came straight from the factory. They 
were assembled on the place, and they became the housing units for 
people in the press. They were also at a distant venue in Soldier 
Hollow, where they were used for housing Olympic athletes who needed to 
stay there rather than at the Olympic Village.
  The Olympics are over. What do you do with this housing? Because it 
is manufactured housing and can be shipped easily, these houses are now 
in the process of being dismantled and sent to Indian reservations in 
the State of Utah to provide affordable housing for Native 
Americans. That is another one of the legacies of these Olympics.

  We have a security legacy. We have an athletic facilities legacy. We 
have a land management legacy, and we have a housing legacy. We should 
all be proud of that and grateful for that.
  There is one more legacy that may be, while intangible, more 
important than those I have previously mentioned. Let me give an 
anecdote to illustrate my point. We, of course, were as warm with 
visitors from foreign countries. As they went around Salt Lake City, as 
they talked to the volunteers, they had an experience in America.
  One of them described it this way, ``After September 11 and then the 
war and the attacks in Afghanistan, we had the feeling that the 
Americans stood astride the world and we expected, when we were coming 
to America for the Olympics, that the Americans would be pretty cocky, 
that the Americans would be lording over the rest of us the fact that 
they were in charge, that the Americans could do whatever they wanted 
anywhere in the world, and now you are coming to our Olympics, and the 
Americans would be filled with overweening pride and a little bit of 
hubris.''
  They went on to say, ``We have come into this Olympic atmosphere and 
found nothing but warmth, graciousness, willingness to be helpful, to 
reach out, and to form relationships around the world. We have found 
none of the pride and haughtiness we expected. We go away from these 
Olympics with a different view of America and Americans than we had 
before we came. We will spread that view in our home countries.''
  In many ways, that is the most important legacy to come out of these 
Olympics. Coming against the backdrop of September 11th, it was the 
coming together of people from 78 nations, of 9,000 journalists, to a 
nonpolitical arena and to find the humanity, the friendship, the 
fellowship, and the open nature of human beings regardless of their 
country that will bless the world.
  After September 11, there were proposals to cancel the Olympics. I 
remember having a conversation with Mitt Romney, President of the 
Olympics, about that possibility.
  I said, ``What will happen if you cancel the Olympics?''
  He said, ``The first thing that would happen is we will go bankrupt. 
There will be hundreds and hundreds of millions of dollars of default 
because we can't pay our bills unless we get the revenue from actually 
putting on the games. We can't cancel the games. More importantly, we 
must not cancel the games because that would send a signal to the 
terrorists that they truly had won.''
  Nonetheless, there was the shadow of what would happen if the games 
went forward hanging over it. A number of my colleagues in the Senate 
expressed their concern about that.
  We went forward with the games. Not only did we provide safe games in 
the way I have described, we provided warm, gathering, closing-of-
wounds, reassuring kinds of games that told the world we are all still 
one family.
  Enormous thanks belong to a number of people for producing that 
legacy. Mitt Romney, of course, stands first as the CEO who took over a 
situation that was challenging and produced the result I have 
described, along with his chief operating officer, Frazier Bullock.
  I want to thank the American people for their contributions and the 
sense of total American participation. Driving around Salt Lake City, I 
saw a lot of strange buses from a lot of places I did not recognize. 
Finally, I saw a familiar bus. I thought: Oh, this is a hometown bus. 
Then I realized it was a Washington metrobus, not a Salt Lake City UTA 
bus. The buses came from all over the country.

  On our light rail in Salt Lake, the cars are all white. Suddenly, 
there were a bunch of yellow cars. I wondered from where they came. The 
answer was, Dallas, Texas. The folks in Dallas, Texas, sent us their 
railroad cars to supplement ours for our light rail system.
  This was truly an American effort that produced the legacy of 
goodwill and good feelings around the world.
  I thank the American people for their help. I want to thank Governor 
Leavitt, the Governor of Utah; Bob Garff, chairman of the Olympics--
they all deserve special thanks.

[[Page S1565]]

  One individual I will single out, whom many of you have met, is Cindy 
Gillespie. She was vice president of the Salt Lake organizing committee 
who handled governmental relations. She was superb at it. She also 
represented a source that we all found valuable. She did the same job 
for the Atlanta games. She brought an institutional memory of what the 
challenges had been in Atlanta that helped us do things a little 
differently in Salt Lake.
  Finally, among my colleagues, I must acknowledge the Senate's leading 
supporter of the Olympic movement, Ted Stevens of Alaska, who put his 
full energy in backing these games. I am sure he had some residual 
regret that the games did not go to Fairbanks but came to Salt Lake 
City, but he threw himself into support of the Olympics in a manner 
that was truly heroic. And other Senators: Senator Inouye, who took 
over chairmanship of the defense subcommittee when there was a change 
in leadership, was every bit as supportive as Senator Stevens. I want 
to thank Senator Byrd the chairman of the Appropriations Committee for 
his help. Also Senators Gregg and Hollings, who had the responsibility 
of funding the requests that came from the President with respect to 
the Justice Department and the FBI. Senators Campbell and Dorgan for 
their help in providing adequate funding for the Secret Service. I want 
to also thank all of my Senate colleagues for their great support. The 
support for the Olympics was very broad based.
  Finally, while I am thanking, I must acknowledge that the Clinton 
administration could not have been more supportive, and could not have 
done a better job in seeing to it that these were in fact America's 
Olympic Games. When the Clinton administration left office and the Bush 
administration came into power, the transition was seamless. The same 
support that came out of the White House and all aspects of the 
administration made a very significant difference.
  It is that final legacy, that the support of America has been 
recognized around the world, and that the goodwill of America will 
radiate from these games around the world, that is the legacy for which 
I am the most grateful. It was summarized at the closing ceremonies by 
Jacques Rogge, the new president of the International Olympic 
Committee. You may know that in the past it has been the habit of the 
president of the International Olympic Committee to give a scorecard, a 
report card of how well the Olympics has done. The comment that has 
always been looked for at every Olympics before is when the president 
of the IOC stands up and says, ``You have given us the finest Olympics 
ever.'' That is what all of us in Salt Lake were hoping we would get, 
that accolade.
  Jacques Rogge said, three or four days before the closing ceremony, 
he would not say that. He said, ``I am going to remove that tradition 
from the IOC. Every Olympics is different. I am not going to create 
that expectation, and I tell you in advance, don't be expecting 
that.'' So he came and he gave his formal closing remarks. They were 
written in the program and they were wonderful. But he ad-libbed, as he 
was caught up in the same spirit of good will throughout the world that 
I have described as the Olympic's most important legacy. And off of his 
prepared remarks, he turned to all of us and he said:

       People of America, Utah, and Salt Lake City, you have given 
     the world superb games. That is a legacy of which all 
     Americans can be proud.

  I yield the floor.
  Mr. HATCH. Mr. President, I rise to pay tribute to all the men and 
women in the State of Utah and this nation whose hard work and 
diligence made the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Olympics the best in the 
history of the Games.
  I want to pay special tribute to the efforts of my Utah partner, 
Senator Bob Bennett. We owe him a great deal of gratitude for his 
leadership and guidance to ensure that the 2002 Winter Olympic Games 
had the resources and manpower necessary to be successful.
  The 2002 Olympics proved that we as a nation can conduct national 
events where the need for security is balanced with the spirit of the 
event. In this new age, where terrorism is a constant threat, securing 
the Olympics was a joint effort. It involved private citizens, Utah 
businesses, and federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies. The 
result was a security operation that provided a blueprint for the 
future.
  The 2002 Winter Games were a showcase of American determination, 
resiliency, creativity, and resourcefulness. The challenge of planning 
for and executing an event of this magnitude was daunting even prior to 
the tragedy of September 11th. Following the September 11th tragedy, 
however, the security of the Winter Olympics became the subject of 
intense scrutiny in this country and throughout the International 
Olympic community. Frequently asked questions included: Can the United 
States still produce a first-rate event given the new security 
environment? Should the Games be cancelled? Should the Games be scaled 
back? Would the event become an armed camp?
  There was never a question, however, among the organizers and 
planners of the Games as to whether the Olympics would go forward. They 
rolled up their sleeves and set out, determined to ensure that these 
Games were the best and safest Games ever. Law enforcement officials 
were confident that they already had an excellent security plan in 
place. Federal, state, local and private agencies developed and 
strengthened partnerships so the spirit of the Olympic Games could 
thrive.
  The nation and, indeed, the entire international Olympic community 
were blessed that people of courage and conviction were already in 
place and prepared to carry out their tasks. I would like to take a 
moment to thank these wonderful men and women for what they did. I am 
very proud of all of them.
  First, I want to thank all the strong, brave, and gifted Olympic 
athletes who participated in the Winter Games. I am especially proud of 
the United States' athletes who performed so magnificently and brought 
home 34 medals--more than double the bronze, silver and gold the United 
States brought home from the 1998 Nagano Winter Games. This was 28 more 
than were won in the 1988 Winter Games in Calgary.
  I also want to thank Utah Governor Mike Leavitt and Salt Lake City 
Mayor Rocky Anderson, U.S. Attorney Paul Warner, Assistant U.S. 
Attorney Dave Schwendiman, as well as, the many other local city and 
county officials, and their staffs, who hosted the Games and marshaled 
the resources which made the Olympics such a success. They represent 
the great character of the people of Utah.
  Utahns work very hard to preserve the beautiful natural backdrop that 
the world admired and enjoyed so much throughout the Games. They also 
worked very hard to build the modern, state-of-the-art infrastructure 
that made the Games possible. It was Utahns who provided the 
indomitable pioneer spirit which inspired the Games to reach new 
heights. Without the tens of thousand of Utah volunteers, the Games 
would not have been possible at all, let alone the unqualified success 
they turned out to be.
  But this is only part of the success story. The 2002 Winter Olympic 
Games were possible because of well-conceived and well-executed 
partnerships among Federal, state, local, and private organizations. 
Not enough can be said about the way private enterprises partnered 
with government at all levels. Mitt Romney, President and CEO of the 
Salt Lake Organizing Committee, and Fraser Bullock, the Chief Financial 
Officer and Chief Operations Officer, are great Americans and heroes of 
the 2002 Olympic Games. Their collective business acumen, indomitable 
spirit, and eye for beauty and passion brought about a splendid 
production from start to finish--that was enjoyed immensely by the 
whole world. I want to personally thank the entire Salt Lake City 
Organizing Committee for 17 days of magic!

  For many years, the Salt Lake Organizing Committee Board of Trustees 
was the backbone of planning the Games. These dedicated men and women 
provided critical guidance and support in developing the overall 
architecture and operations for the Games. We all owe a great deal of 
thanks to the able leadership of Frank Joklik, who was also the former 
CEO and President of the Salt Lake Organizing Committee, as well as 
former Chairman of the Board of Trustees. Under

[[Page S1566]]

the direction and care of Bob Garff, current Chairman of the Board of 
Trustees, the Board has been second to none in keeping the Games on 
track over the years. We are very proud of every member who has ever 
served on the Board of Trustees.
  The current Board of Trustees have every right to be proud of their 
accomplishments. We salute: Mr. Spence Eccles, Mr. James Beardall, Ms. 
Sandy Baldwin, Ms. Teresa Beck, Mr. J. Dwight Bell, Mayor Lewis K. 
Billings, Mr. Luke Bodensteiner, Mr. Kenneth Bullock, Ms. Camille Cain, 
Mr. Joseph A. Cannon, Mr. Don Cash, Mr. Keith Christensen, Mr. Forrest 
Cuch, Ms. Kathaleen K. Cutone, Ms. Anita Defrantz, Ms. Maria Dennis, 
Mr. Randy Dryer, Mr. James L. Easton, Mr. Ed Eyestone, Mr. Rocky 
Fluhart, Ms. Maria J. Garciaz, Mr. George Garwood, Mr. Paul George, Ms. 
Rachel Mayer Godino, Ms. Joan Guetschow, Mr. Jim Holland, Mr. Tom Hori, 
Mr. William Hybl, Mr. Nolan Karras, Mr. Karlos Kirby, Mr. Don J. 
Leonard, Ms. Hilary Lindh, Dr. Bernard Machen, Mr. Bill Malone, Mr. 
Larry Mankin, Mr. Al Mansell, Mr. Henry Marsh, Mr. Jim Morris, Ms. 
Carol Mushett, Mayor Brad Olch, Ms. Grethe B. Peterson, Ms. Margaret 
Peterson, Mr. Dave Pimm, Mr. John Price, Mr. Early Reese, Mr. Chris 
Robinson, Mr. Mike P. Schlappi, Dr. Gerald R. Sherratt, Mr. Bill 
Shiebler, Mr. William J. Stapleton, Mr. Marty R. Stephens, Mr. Gordon 
Strachan, Ms. Picabo Street, Mr. James R. Swartz, Ms. Lillian Taylor, 
Ms. Diana Thomas, Mr. Richard Velez, Mr. Lloyd Ward, Ms. Ann Wechsler, 
Mr. Winston A. Wilkinson, Mr. Marion Willey, Mr. C.J Young, Mr. Ed T. 
Eynon, Mr. Kelly J. Flint, Mr. Grant C. Thomas, Mr. Brett Hopkins, Mr. 
James S. Jardine, and Mr. Lane Beattie.
  I want to give special thanks not only to the current board but to 
past board members who have also given so much to these Olympics. They 
include: Verl Tophan, Earl Holding, Alan Layton, Scott Nelson, Tom 
Welch, Dave Johnson, Fred Ball, Jack Gallivan, former Utah Governors 
Calvin Rampton and Norm Bangerter, former Salt Lake City Mayor, Dee Dee 
Corradini, Palmer DePaulis, Jake Garn and many others.
  The members of the Utah Olympic Public Safety Command, known as 
USOPSC also deserve special recognition. I am especially proud of its 
Commander Robert Flowers, Vice Commander Rick Dinse, and Executive 
Director David Tubbs. This 20-member interagency and intergovernmental 
body developed and implemented all the public safety and security 
measures for the Games. I also want to express my appreciation to Earl 
Morris and former USOPSC member Craig Dearden for their tireless 
efforts. This unique cooperation between the public sector and the 
private sector, between federal agencies and state agencies should get 
an Olympic gold medal. Within the UOPSC structure, all these 
organizations focused on the task of making the Games safe and 
enjoyable while leaving organizational biases and petty preferences at 
the doorstep. I believe that this approach is the blueprint for all 
future National Special Security Events and the UOPSC structure may 
even be a model for other states as they continue to implement their 
plans to combat terrorism.
  When the Olympics were designated a National Special Security Event, 
three federal agencies were primarily responsible for creating the 
security network for the Games. They were: the Secret Service, the FBI, 
and the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Attorney General John 
Ashcroft, FBI Director Robert Mueller, FBI Special Agent in Charge Don 
Johnson, Secretary of Treasury Paul O'Neill, Secret Service Director 
Brian Stafford, Secret Service Olympic Coordinator Mark Camillo, FEMA 
Director Joe Allbaugh, and the Secretary of Health and Human Services 
Tommy Thompson.

  I also want to take this opportunity to recognize other critically 
important members of the Olympic Games partnership. These are the men 
and women, many of whom are unsung heroes, who ensured the safety, 
security, and welfare of the Games participants and spectators. Among 
these are: the active duty and reserve military personnel who stood in 
the cold for hours inspecting cars and manning security checkpoints; 
the military pilots who flew a lonely vigil over Utah venues; and those 
uniformed personnel who manned cold, remote radar sites.
  The legions of personnel from every level of federal, state, and 
local law enforcement who worked 24 hours a day, seven days a week 
vigilantly watching, inspecting, and protecting the Games also need 
special recognition. I think about the fire and emergency medical 
personnel who, like their law enforcement brothers and sisters, were on 
duty around the clock, planning for the worst while praying for the 
best. Finally, let us not forget the private non-profit organizations 
such as the American Red Cross and the AmeriCorps who cared for those 
that might have been forgotten in the excitement of the Games.
  We also need to acknowledge the other everyday heroes whose stories 
often did not make the press. It is amazing that in a state as sparsely 
populated as Utah, there were well over 60,000 applicants for the 
30,000 volunteer positions.
  And we all have to pay special tribute to the inspirational 
performances by The Mormon Tabernacle Choir, for their presence at so 
many events lifted our spirits and touched our hearts. The Church of 
Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints provided the security for these 
events, as well as, security at Temple Square. The Church's efforts 
were lauded by local and federal law enforcement officials alike.
  I would like to spend a few minutes discussing the preparation and 
execution of security for the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympic Games. There 
is a great story here. I hope the lessons learned in Utah from the 
efforts of the many men and women in the security community will help 
others charged with protecting their communities.
  The most important lesson learned, and one which I can not emphasize 
enough, is that security success depends on the open and willing 
cooperation among agencies at all levels of government and in the 
private sector. If I had to point to a one thing that spelled the 
difference between success and failure for the Olympic Games, I would 
have to say that is was the open lines of communications among all law 
enforcement agencies, fire and emergency medical services, hospitals 
and universities, and private and non-profit organizations at all 
levels.
  More than 60 federal, local, and state law enforcement agencies 
contributed to the public safety of the 2002 Winter Olympics. Let me 
tell in detail why this experience in Salt Lake City is so unique.
  In August 1999, the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City was 
designated as a National Special Security Event. Once this designation 
was made, the Secret Service became the lead federal agency for 
designing, coordinating and implementing security at the event. With 
responsibility for protecting over 2,300 athletes from 77 nations, 
scores of foreign officials and dignitaries, and over one million 
spectators, the Secret Service's Major Events Division collaborated 
with dozens of other federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies 
and public safety officials to design a multi-faceted and comprehensive 
security plan. They worked for nearly 16 months to establish a safe and 
protected environment at an assortment of venues in the Salt Lake City 
area.
  The tragic events of September 11, 2001, ushered in a new era of 
heightened security, with even more emphasis on precaution and 
prevention. After the terrorist attacks, efforts intensified to enhance 
existing security plans designed and tailored to the requirements of 
each of the many individual venues at the Winter Olympics.
  In the end, the 2002 Winter Olympics were a rousing success story for 
not only the United States athletes, who established a new record for 
American success at the Winter Games with 34 medals, but also for the 
thousands of athletes and hundreds of thousands of spectators who were 
able to compete and attend events in the safest and most secure 
environment possible.

  The 2002 Winter Olympics represented the largest coordinated security 
effort in our Nation's history. While most security plans for a 
sporting event may typically include a large stadium and the 
surrounding area, the Secret Service was responsible for coordinating 
security at 15 different venues consisting of: the Delta Center, Medals 
Plaza, Main Media Center,

[[Page S1567]]

Rice-Eccles Olympic Stadium, Olympic Village, Ice Sheet at Ogden, IOC 
Hotel, Snow Basin Resort, Park City Mountain Resort, Deer Valley 
resort, Utah Olympic Park, Soldier's Hollow, Peaks Ice Arena, E-Center 
Ice Arena, and Ice Oval at Kearns. There also were special security 
requirements implemented at the Salt Lake International Airport and 
Salt Lake City's downtown Washington Square.
  Compounding the difficulty of securing such a large and diverse 
number of venues was the sprawling geographical coverage of the Winter 
Games. The zone of security stretched for 900 square miles, from Provo 
to Ogden, providing numerous operational and logistical challenges for 
the Secret Service.
  The security plan was designed and developed to provide the most 
secure environment for athletes, spectators, and protected venues. 
There was an airspace security plan to restrict certain aircraft from 
approaching any protected venue. There was a cyberspace security plan 
to ensure that no electronic intrusions could disrupt communications 
and operations. In addition, there was a physical security plan, 
including remote poststanders, magnetometers, state-of-the-art security 
cameras, chain-link fences, and electronic sensors.
  Notwithstanding all of the technology and electronic monitoring, the 
foundation of any security plan is the law enforcement personnel 
implementing it. At the Winter Olympics, over 10,000 federal, state and 
local law enforcement and public safety officers stood watch around the 
clock, working in a collective and collaborative effort toward one 
single goal: to prevent any incidents that could cause harm to athletes 
or spectators, or create significant disruptions of the Games 
themselves.
  The result of this comprehensive and sweeping security plan was 
secure surroundings that allowed athletes and spectators alike to enjoy 
the atmosphere of this international gathering without having to 
navigate any overly burdensome or time-consuming security checkpoints.
  While there were occasional evacuations or disturbances, none of 
these matters were deemed serious, and there were only a handful of 
minor arrests during the course of the 17 days of the Games. Although 
at the close of the Olympics, there were no medals for the Secret 
Service and its partners in law enforcement and the military, the 
thousands of men and women who participated in the execution of perhaps 
the most sophisticated and successful security plan in the Secret 
Service's 137-year history deserve recognition and gratitude for their 
tireless efforts and dedication to their critical jobs.
  In sum, the Salt Lake City Olympics provided the opportunity to 
develop and execute a plan to protect a 900 square mile part of this 
country. I urge that we capture the lessons learned from this 
experience and incorporate these lesson into our national security 
planning process.
  Following the great traditions of this country, the success of the 
2002 Salt Lake City Winter Olympics was not due to any one individual, 
but to all who participated. From the spectators at the venues who 
showed patience, to the athletes who demonstrated the power of sport, 
to the organizers and protectors who gave us outstanding Games, and 
finally to the American people, including this Congress, who 
overwhelmingly supported the Games, we proved to the World that the 
events of September 11 will not deter this great Nation.
  Finally, I want to take this opportunity to thank the staff who 
worked tirelessly with me on the Olympics: Kristine Iverson, Patricia 
Knight, Roslyn Trojan, Christopher Campbell, Scott Simpson, Melanie 
Bowen, Heather Barney, and Christopher Rosche. I also owe a special 
thanks to Brandon Burgon who made sure I was always where I was 
supposed to be, and that I was on time. I appreciate everything they 
did, and am very proud of them.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Reed). Under the previous order, the 
Senator from Vermont is recognized for up to 30 minutes.

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