[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.