    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2002, Book II)]
    [September 21, 2002]
    [Pages 1629-1630]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    [[Page 1629]]

    The President's Radio Address
    September 21, 2002

        Good morning. In the past week, U.S. officials in Pakistan took
    custody of five Al Qaida 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 Qaida terrorist camps in
    Afghanistan.
        These arrests remind us that we are engaged in a new kind of war,
    fought on many fronts, including the homefront. 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 3 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 5 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.

    Note: The address was recorded at 2:15 p.m. on September 20 in the
    Cabinet Room at the White House for broadcast at 10:06 a.m. on September
    21. The transcript was made available by the Office of the Press
    Secretary

    [[Page 1630]]

    on September 20 but was embargoed for release until the broadcast. In
    his remarks, the President referred to Ramzi bin al-Shibh, an Al Qaida
    operative suspected of helping to plan the September 11, 2001, terrorist
    attacks, who was captured in Karachi, Pakistan; suspected terrorists
    Sahim A. Alwan, Yahya A. Goba, Yasein A. Taher, and Shafal A. Mosed,
    arrested on September 13, and Faysal Galab, arrested on September 14 in
    Lackawanna, NY; and suspected terrorist Mukhtar Ali Albakri, who had
    also been living in Lackawanna and whose arrest was announced on
    September 16. The Office of the Press Secretary also released a Spanish
    language transcript of this address.