[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2002, Book I)]
[June 18, 2002]
[Pages 1006-1011]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



Message to the Congress Transmitting Proposed Legislation To Create the 
Department of Homeland Security
June 18, 2002

To the Congress of the United States:
    I hereby transmit to the Congress proposed legislation to create a 
new Cabinet Department of Homeland Security.
    Our Nation faces a new and changing threat unlike any we have faced 
before--the global threat of terrorism. No nation is immune, and all 
nations must act decisively to protect against this constantly evolving 
threat.
    We must recognize that the threat of terrorism is a permanent 
condition, and we must take action to protect America against the 
terrorists that seek to kill the innocent.
    Since September 11, 2001, all levels of government and leaders from 
across the political spectrum have cooperated like never before. We have 
strengthened our aviation security and tightened our borders. We have 
stockpiled medicines to defend against bioterrorism and improved our 
ability to combat weapons of mass destruction. We have dramatically 
improved information sharing among our intelligence agencies, and we 
have taken new steps to protect our critical infrastructure.
    Our Nation is stronger and better prepared today than it was on 
September 11. Yet, we can do better. I propose the most extensive 
reorganization of the Federal Government since the 1940s by creating a 
new Department of Homeland Security. For the first time we would have a 
single Department whose primary mission is to secure our homeland. Soon 
after the Second World War, President Harry Truman recognized that our 
Nation's fragmented military defenses needed reorganization to help win 
the Cold War. President Truman proposed uniting our military forces 
under a single entity, now the Department of Defense, and creating the 
National Security Council to bring together defense, intelligence, and 
diplomacy. President Truman's reforms are still helping us to fight 
terror abroad, and today we need similar dramatic reforms to secure our 
people at home.
    President Truman and Congress reorganized our Government to meet a 
very visible enemy in the Cold War. Today our Nation must once again 
reorganize our Government to protect against an often-invisible enemy, 
an enemy that hides in the shadows and an enemy that can strike with 
many different types of weapons. Our enemies seek to obtain the most 
dangerous and deadly weapons of mass destruction and use them against 
the innocent. While we are winning the war on terrorism, Al Qaeda and 
other terrorist organizations still have thousands of trained killers 
spread across the globe plotting attacks against America and the other 
nations of the civilized world.

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    Immediately after last fall's attack, I used my legal authority to 
establish the White House Office of Homeland Security and the Homeland 
Security Council to help ensure that our Federal response and protection 
efforts were coordinated and effective. I also directed Homeland 
Security Advisor Tom Ridge to study the Federal Government as a whole to 
determine if the current structure allows us to meet the threats of 
today while preparing for the unknown threats of tomorrow. After careful 
study of the current structure, coupled with the experience gained since 
September 11 and new information we have learned about our enemies while 
fighting a war, I have concluded that our Nation needs a more unified 
homeland security structure.
    I propose to create a new Department of Homeland Security by 
substantially transforming the current confusing patchwork of government 
activities into a single department whose primary mission is to secure 
our homeland. My proposal builds on the strong bipartisan work on the 
issue of homeland security that has been conducted by Members of 
Congress. In designing the new Department, my Administration considered 
a number of homeland security organizational proposals that have emerged 
from outside studies, commissions, and Members of Congress.

The Need for a Department of Homeland Security

    Today no Federal Government agency has homeland security as its 
primary mission. Responsibilities for homeland security are dispersed 
among more than 100 different entities of the Federal Government. 
America needs a unified homeland security structure that will improve 
protection against today's threats and be flexible enough to help meet 
the unknown threats of the future.
    The mission of the new Department would be to prevent terrorist 
attacks within the United States, to reduce America's vulnerability to 
terrorism, and to minimize the damage and recover from attacks that may 
occur. The Department of Homeland Security would mobilize and focus the 
resources of the Federal Government, State and local governments, the 
private sector, and the American people to accomplish its mission.
    The Department of Homeland Security would make Americans safer 
because for the first time we would have one department dedicated to 
securing the homeland. One department would secure our borders, 
transportation sector, ports, and critical infrastructure. One 
department would analyze homeland security intelligence from multiple 
sources, synthesize it with a comprehensive assessment of America's 
vulnerabilities, and take action to secure our highest risk facilities 
and systems. One department would coordinate communications with State 
and local governments, private industry, and the American people about 
threats and preparedness. One department would coordinate our efforts to 
secure the American people against bioterrorism and other weapons of 
mass destruction. One department would help train and equip our first 
responders. One department would manage Federal emergency response 
activities.
    Our goal is not to expand Government, but to create an agile 
organization that takes advantage of modern technology and management 
techniques to meet a new and constantly evolving threat. We can improve 
our homeland security by minimizing the duplication of efforts, 
improving coordination, and combining functions that are currently 
fragmented and inefficient. The new Department would allow us to have 
more security officers in the field working to stop terrorists and fewer 
resources in Washington managing duplicative activities that drain 
critical homeland security resources.
    The Department of Homeland Security would have a clear and efficient 
organizational structure with four main divisions: Border and 
Transportation Security; Emergency Preparedness and Response; Chemical, 
Biological, Radiological and Nuclear

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Countermeasures; and Information Analysis and Infrastructure Protection.

Border and Transportation Security

    Terrorism is a global threat and we must improve our border security 
to help keep out those who mean to do us harm. We must closely monitor 
who is coming into and out of our country to help prevent foreign 
terrorists from entering our country and bringing in their instruments 
of terror. At the same time, we must expedite the legal flow of people 
and goods on which our economy depends. Securing our borders and 
controlling entry to the United States has always been the 
responsibility of the Federal Government. Yet, this responsibility and 
the security of our transportation systems is now dispersed among 
several major Government organizations. Under my proposed legislation, 
the Department of Homeland Security would unify authority over major 
Federal security operations related to our borders, territorial waters, 
and transportation systems.
    The Department would assume responsibility for the United States 
Coast Guard, the United States Customs Service, the Immigration and 
Naturalization Service (including the Border Patrol), the Animal and 
Plant Health Inspection Service, and the Transportation Security 
Administration. The Secretary of Homeland Security would have the 
authority to administer and enforce all immigration and nationality 
laws, including the visa issuance functions of consular officers. As a 
result, the Department would have sole responsibility for managing entry 
into the United States and protecting our transportation infrastructure. 
It would ensure that all aspects of border control, including the 
issuing of visas, are informed by a central information-sharing 
clearinghouse and compatible databases.

Emergency Preparedness and Response

    Although our top priority is preventing future attacks, we must also 
prepare to minimize the damage and recover from attacks that may occur.
    My legislative proposal requires the Department of Homeland Security 
to ensure the preparedness of our Nation's emergency response 
professionals, provide the Federal Government's response, and aid 
America's recovery from terrorist attacks and natural disasters. To 
fulfill these missions, the Department of Homeland Security would 
incorporate the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) as one of its 
key components. The Department would administer the domestic disaster 
preparedness grant programs for firefighters, police, and emergency 
personnel currently managed by FEMA, the Department of Justice, and the 
Department of Health and Human Services. In responding to an incident, 
the Department would manage such critical response assets as the Nuclear 
Emergency Search Team (from the Department of Energy) and the National 
Pharmaceutical Stockpile (from the Department of Health and Human 
Services). Finally, the Department of Homeland Security would integrate 
the Federal interagency emergency response plans into a single, 
comprehensive, Government-wide plan, and would work to ensure that all 
response personnel have the equipment and capability to communicate with 
each other as necessary.

Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear Countermeasures

    Our enemies today seek to acquire and use the most deadly weapons 
known to mankind--chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear 
weapons.
    The new Department of Homeland Security would lead the Federal 
Government's efforts in preparing for and responding to the full range 
of terrorist threats involving weapons of mass destruction. The 
Department would set national policy and establish guidelines for State 
and local governments. The Department would direct exercises for 
Federal, State, and local

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chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear attack response teams 
and plans. The Department would consolidate and synchronize the 
disparate efforts of multiple Federal agencies now scattered across 
several departments. This would create a single office whose primary 
mission is the critical task of securing the United States from 
catastrophic terrorism.
    The Department would improve America's ability to develop 
diagnostics, vaccines, antibodies, antidotes, and other countermeasures 
against new weapons. It would consolidate and prioritize the disparate 
homeland security-related research and development programs currently 
scattered throughout the executive branch, and the Department would 
assist State and local public safety agencies by evaluating equipment 
and setting standards.

Information Analysis and Infrastructure Protection

    For the first time the Government would have under one roof the 
capability to identify and assess threats to the homeland, map those 
threats against our vulnerabilities, issue timely warnings, and take 
action to help secure the homeland.
    The Information Analysis and Infrastructure Protection division of 
the new Department of Homeland Security would complement the reforms on 
intelligence-gathering and information-sharing already underway at the 
FBI and the CIA. The Department would analyze information and 
intelligence from the FBI, CIA, and many other Federal agencies to 
better understand the terrorist threat to the American homeland.
    The Department would comprehensively assess the vulnerability of 
America's key assets and critical infrastructures, including food and 
water systems, agriculture, health systems and emergency services, 
information and telecommunications, banking and finance, energy, 
transportation, the chemical and defense industries, postal and shipping 
entities, and national monuments and icons. The Department would 
integrate its own and others' threat analyses with its comprehensive 
vulnerability assessment to identify protective priorities and support 
protective steps to be taken by the Department, other Federal 
departments and agencies, State and local agencies, and the private 
sector. Working closely with State and local officials, other Federal 
agencies, and the private sector, the Department would help ensure that 
proper steps are taken to protect high-risk potential targets.

Other Components

    In addition to these four core divisions, the submitted legislation 
would also transfer responsibility for the Secret Service to the 
Department of Homeland Security. The Secret Service, which would report 
directly to the Secretary of Homeland Security, would retain its primary 
mission to protect the President and other Government leaders. The 
Secret Service would, however, contribute its specialized protective 
expertise to the fulfillment of the Department's core mission.
    Finally, under my legislation, the Department of Homeland Security 
would consolidate and streamline relations with the Federal Government 
for America's State and local governments. The new Department would 
contain an intergovernmental affairs office to coordinate Federal 
homeland security programs with State and local officials. It would give 
State and local officials one primary contact instead of many when it 
comes to matters related to training, equipment, planning, and other 
critical needs such as emergency response.
    The consolidation of the Government's homeland security efforts as 
outlined in my proposed legislation can achieve great efficiencies that 
further enhance our security. Yet, to achieve these efficiencies, the 
new Secretary of Homeland Security would require considerable 
flexibility in procurement, integration of information technology 
systems, and personnel issues. My proposed

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legislation provides the Secretary of Homeland Security with just such 
flexibility and managerial authorities. I call upon the Congress to 
implement these measures in order to ensure that we are maximizing our 
ability to secure our homeland.

Continued Interagency Coordination at the White House

    Even with the creation of the new Department, there will remain a 
strong need for a White House Office of Homeland Security. Protecting 
America from terrorism will remain a multidepartmental issue and will 
continue to require interagency coordination. Presidents will continue 
to require the confidential advice of a Homeland Security Advisor, and I 
intend for the White House Office of Homeland Security and the Homeland 
Security Council to maintain a strong role in coordinating our 
government-wide efforts to secure the homeland.

The Lessons of History

    History teaches us that new challenges require new organizational 
structures. History also teaches us that critical security challenges 
require clear lines of responsibility and the unified effort of the U.S. 
Government.
    President Truman said, looking at the lessons of the Second World 
War: ``It is now time to discard obsolete organizational forms, and to 
provide for the future the soundest, the most effective, and the most 
economical kind of structure for our armed forces.'' When skeptics told 
President Truman that this proposed reorganization was too ambitious to 
be enacted, he simply replied that it had to be. In the years to follow, 
the Congress acted upon President Truman's recommendation, eventually 
laying a sound organizational foundation that enabled the United States 
to win the Cold War. All Americans today enjoy the inheritance of this 
landmark organizational reform: a unified Department of Defense that has 
become the most powerful force for freedom the world has ever seen.
    Today America faces a threat that is wholly different from the 
threat we faced during the Cold War. Our terrorist enemies hide in 
shadows and attack civilians with whatever means of destruction they can 
access. But as in the Cold War, meeting this threat requires clear lines 
of responsibility and the unified efforts of government at all levels--
Federal, State, local, and tribal--the private sector, and all 
Americans. America needs a homeland security establishment that can help 
prevent catastrophic attacks and mobilize national resources for an 
enduring conflict while protecting our Nation's values and liberties.
    Years from today, our world will still be fighting the threat of 
terrorism. It is my hope that future generations will be able to look 
back on the Homeland Security Act of 2002--as we now remember the 
National Security Act of 1947--as the solid organizational foundation 
for America's triumph in a long and difficult struggle against a 
formidable enemy.
    History has given our Nation new challenges--and important new 
assignments. Only the United States Congress can create a new department 
of Government. We face an urgent need, and I am pleased that Congress 
has responded to my call to act before the end of the current 
congressional session with the same bipartisan spirit that allowed us to 
act expeditiously on legislation after September 11.
    These are times that demand bipartisan action and bipartisan 
solutions to meet the new and changing threats we face as a Nation. I 
urge the Congress to join me in creating a single, permanent department 
with an overriding and urgent mission--securing the homeland of America 
and protecting the American people. Together we can meet this ambitious 
deadline and help ensure that the American homeland is secure against 
the terrorist threat.

                                                          George W. Bush

 The White House,

 June 18, 2002.

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Note: The Office of the Press Secretary also released an ``Analysis for 
the Homeland Security Act of 2002'' and made available the text of the 
proposed legislation.