[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 39, Number 40 (Monday, October 6, 2003)]
[Pages 1290-1292]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Remarks on Signing the Department of Homeland Security Appropriations 
Act, 2004

October 1, 2003

    Thank you for the warm welcome. Please be seated, unless you don't 
have a seat. [Laughter] I'm proud to be with the men and women of the 
newest agency of our Government. And today I'm honored to sign the first 
appropriations bill for this Department.
    Many of you have served your country for years, in agencies with 
proud histories and honored traditions. Some of you are new to the 
Federal service. All of us share a great responsibility. Our job is to 
secure the American homeland, to protect the American people. And we're 
meeting that duty together.
    On September the 11th, 2001, enemies of freedom made our country a 
battleground. Their method is the mass murder of the innocent, and their 
goal is to make all Americans live in fear. Yet our Nation refuses to 
live in fear. And the best way to overcome fear and to frustrate the 
plans of our enemies is to be prepared and resolute at home and to take 
the offensive abroad.
    The danger to America gives all of you an essential role in the war 
on terror. You've done fine work under difficult and urgent 
circumstances, and on behalf of a grateful nation, I thank you all for 
what you do for the security and safety of our fellow citizens.
    I appreciate Tom Ridge agreeing to lead this important Department. 
I'm honored to call him friend, and I'm proud of the job he

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is doing. I appreciate General John Gordon, who is the Homeland Security 
Adviser in the White House. I want to thank the very capable Department 
of Homeland Security leadership who are with us today.
    I'm also honored to share this bill signing with Members of the 
United States Senate and the United States House of Representative who 
did an excellent job of getting this bill through. I appreciate so very 
much the Senator from Mississippi, Thad Cochran, the chairman of the 
Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Homeland Security. I'm also 
honored that three Members of the House are up here to join in the bill 
signing ceremony, starting with the chairman of the House Appropriations 
Committee, Bill Young of Florida; Hal Rogers of Kentucky, the chairman 
of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Homeland Security; 
Congressman Martin Sabo from Minnesota, the ranking member of the House 
Appropriations Subcommittee on Homeland Security. I want to thank you 
all for a job well done.
    I'm also so pleased that Members in the Senate and the House of both 
political parties are with us today. The stage wasn't big enough to hold 
you. Thank you for coming. Thanks for your hard work, and thanks for 
working together to do what's right for America.
    This time 2 years ago, America was still in the midst of a national 
emergency. Smoke was rising from Ground Zero; recovery teams were 
carefully sifting through debris; and chaplains were comforting families 
and blessing the dead. Our Nation does not live in the past; yet we do 
not forget the past and the grief of that time. We do not forget the men 
and women and children who were lost that day. We do not forget the 
enemies who rejoiced as America suffered or those who seek to inflict 
more pain and grief on our country.
    September the 11th, America accepted a great mission, and that 
mission continues to this hour. We will do everything in our power to 
prevent another attack on the American people. And wherever America's 
enemies plot and plan, we'll find them, and we will bring them to 
justice.
    The war on terror has set urgent priorities for America abroad. We 
are not waiting while dangers gather. Along with fine allies, we are 
waging a global campaign against terrorist networks, disrupting their 
operations, cutting off their funding, and we are hunting down their 
leaders one by one. We're enforcing a clear doctrine: If you harbor a 
terrorist, if you feed a terrorist, if you support a terrorist, you're 
just as guilty as the terrorists, and you can expect to share their 
fate.
    We're determined to prevent terror networks from gaining weapons of 
mass destruction. We're committed to spreading democracy and tolerance. 
As we hunt down the terrorists, we're committed to spending--spreading 
freedom in all parts of the world, including the Middle East. By 
removing the tyrants in Iraq and Afghanistan who supported terror and by 
ending the hopelessness that feeds terror, we're helping the people of 
that region, and we're strengthening the security of America.
    The war on terror has also set urgent priorities here at home. 
Oceans no longer protect us from danger. And we're taking unprecedented 
measures to prevent terrorist attacks, reduce our vulnerabilities, and 
to prepare for any emergency. That's what you're doing. Each of you 
plays a vital role in this strategy to better secure America. Agencies 
that once worked separately to safeguard our country are now working 
together in a single Department, and that's good for America. You have 
the authority to quickly put the right people in place as we respond to 
danger. You've got good leadership. Every member of this Department has 
an important calling, and you need to know, when you come to work every 
day, your fellow citizens are counting on you.
    Those in Customs and Immigration are performing essential work in 
controlling our borders and, at the same time, in reducing the backlog 
of immigrant applicants as we move toward a standard of 6-month 
processing time for all applications. At the Transportation Security 
Administration and the Coast Guard, you protect the vast road, rail, and 
sea and air networks that are critical to the American economy. DHS 
scientists and engineers work to detect deadly chemical, biological, and 
nuclear weapons. DHS experts help the public and private sectors to 
identify and address vulnerabilities in our power

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grids, chemical plants, communications systems, and transportation 
networks. At FEMA, you joined forces with State and local authorities to 
respond quickly and effectively to any emergency.
    All of you have been given a hard job, and you're rising to the 
challenge. The American people understand the importance of your work, 
and so does the United States Congress. The Homeland Security bill I 
will sign today commits $31 billion to securing our Nation, over $14 
billion more than pre-September 11th levels. The bill increases funding 
for the key responsibilities at the Department of Homeland Security and 
supports important new initiatives across the Department.
    We're providing $5.6 billion over the next decade to fund Project 
BioShield. Under this program, DHS will work with the Department of 
Health and Human Services to accelerate the development and procurement 
of advanced vaccines and treatments to protect Americans against 
biological or chemical or radiological threats.
    We're providing $4 billion in grants for our Nation's first-
responders. We're focusing $725 million on major urban areas where it is 
most needed. We're also providing $40 million for Citizen Corps Councils 
through which volunteers work with first-responders to prepare their 
communities for emergencies. We're ensuring that America's firefighters 
and police officers and emergency medical personnel have the best 
possible training and equipment and help they need to do their job.
    We're better securing our borders and transportation systems while 
facilitating the flow of legitimate commerce. Our Container Security 
Initiative will allow for the screening of high-risk cargo at the 
world's largest ports and intercept dangerous materials before they 
reach our shores, supporting the efforts to strengthen our air cargo 
security system for passenger aircraft, to expand research on cargo 
screening technologies. We're making sure the Coast Guard has the 
resources to deploy additional maritime safety and security teams and 
patrol boats and sea marshals to protect our ports and waterways.
    More than $900 million in this bill will go to science and 
technology projects, including a major effort to anticipate and counter 
the use of biological weapons. With more than $800 million, we will 
assess the vulnerabilities in our critical infrastructures; we'll take 
action to protect them.
    We're doing a lot here. And we're expecting a lot of you. When the 
terrorist enemies came into our country and took thousands of innocent 
lives, we made a decision in this country: We will not wait for enemies 
to strike again. We'll take action to stop them. We're not going to 
stand by while terrorists and their state sponsors plot, plan, and grow 
in strength. By the actions that we continue to take abroad, we are 
going to remove grave threats to America and the world. History has 
given us that charge, and that is a charge we will keep.
    We have been charged to protect our homeland as well. And that's why 
we're taking actions to strengthen our defenses and to make our Nation 
more secure. This bill is a major step forward in our ongoing effort, 
and I'm pleased to sign into law the Department of Homeland Security 
Appropriations Act of 2004.
    May God bless you all.

Note: The President spoke at 2:07 p.m. at the Department of Homeland 
Security. H.R. 2555, approved October 1, was assigned Public Law No. 
108-90. The Office of the Press Secretary also released a Spanish 
language transcript of these remarks.