    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2002, Book I)]
    [June 8, 2002]
    [Pages 947-948]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    The President's Radio Address
    June 8, 2002

        Good morning. Nearly 9 months have passed since September the 11th,
    and America is leading the world in a titanic struggle against terror.
    The first and best way to secure America's homeland is to attack the
    enemy where he hides and plans, and we are doing just that.
        We have also concluded that our Government must be reorganized to
    deal most effectively with the new threats of the 21st century. So I
    have asked the Congress to join me in creating a single, permanent
    Cabinet-level Department of Homeland Security, with an overriding and
    urgent mission, securing the American homeland and protecting the
    American people.
        The Department of Homeland Security will unite essential agencies
    that must work more closely together, among them the Coast Guard and the
    Border Patrol, the Customs Service, Immigration officials, the
    Transportation Security Administration, and the Federal Emergency
    Management Agency. Employees of this new agency will come to work every
    morning knowing that their most important job is to protect their fellow
    citizens.
        The Department of Homeland Security will be charged with four
    primary tasks: This new agency will control our borders and prevent
    terrorists and explosives from entering our country; it will work with
    State and local authorities to respond quickly and effectively to
    emergencies; it will bring together our best scientists to develop
    technologies that detect biological, chemical, and nuclear weapons, and
    to discover the drugs and treatments to best protect our citizens; and
    this new Department will review intelligence and law enforcement
    information from all agencies of Government and produce a single daily
    picture of threats against our homeland. Analysts will be responsible
    for imagining the worst and planning to counter it.
        What I am proposing is the most extensive reorganization of the
    Federal Government since the 1940s. During his Presidency, Harry Truman
    recognized that our Nation's fragmented defenses had to be reorganized
    to win the cold war. He proposed uniting our military forces under a
    single Department of Defense and creating the National Security Council
    to bring together

    [[Page 948]]

    defense, intelligence, and diplomacy. President Truman's reforms are
    still helping us to fight terror abroad, and now we need similar
    dramatic reforms to secure our people at home.
        Only the United States Congress can create a new department of
    Government, so I'm asking for your help in encouraging your
    Representatives to support my plan. We face an urgent need, and we must
    move quickly, this year, before the end of the congressional session.
        All in our Government have learned a great deal since September the
    11th, and we must act on every lesson. We are stronger and better
    prepared today than we were on that terrible morning. And with your help
    and the support of the Congress, we will be stronger still.
        Thank you for listening.

    Note: The address was recorded at 9:35 a.m. on June 7 in the Cabinet
    Room at the White House for broadcast at 10:06 a.m. on June 8. The
    transcript was made available by the Office of the Press Secretary on
    June 7 but was embargoed for release until the broadcast. The Office of
    the Press Secretary also released a Spanish language transcript of this
    address.