[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 40, Number 10 (Monday, March 8, 2004)]
[Pages 313-317]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Remarks on the Anniversary of the United States Department of Homeland 
Security

March 2, 2004

    Thank you all. Please be seated. Please be seated--unless, of 
course, you don't have a seat. [Laughter] Thanks for the warm welcome. 
I'm honored to join the proud men and women of the Department of 
Homeland Security in celebrating this agency's first anniversary.
    Many of you were here from day one. Others have come aboard in the 
days since. Yet, from the President to the Secretary to the newest 
employee, all of us here are tasked with a single, vital mission, to 
secure the American homeland and to protect the American people. There 
is no duty more important. We're meeting that duty together, and on 
behalf of a grateful nation, I thank you all for what you do to defend 
our country.
    I appreciate Secretary Ridge's leadership. I plucked him out of the 
ranks of the Governors because I knew he knew how to manage and to set 
an agenda. He has not let me down. Along with the other leaders here, he 
and the team are doing a fantastic job of leading this Department. I 
appreciate Deputy Secretary Jim Loy as well for his outstanding 
leadership. I want to thank all the officials who are here.
    I appreciate the Members of the United States Congress who have 
come. Two Texans, Mac Thornberry and Jim Turner, I appreciate you all 
being here. I appreciate Jennifer Dunn from the great State of 
Washington and Chris Cox from the State of California. Thanks for taking 
time to honor these employees today.
    I appreciate all the employees who are here. I appreciate you 
working hard for the American people. I'm sure people don't thank you 
enough. Well, I'm here to thank you as much as an individual possibly 
can, for working the long hours, for taking the risks on behalf of the 
security of this country.
    Today I had the honor of meeting the family of Agent Jimmy Epling. 
Jimmy was the

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first Department of Homeland Security employee to be killed in the line 
of duty. He did so rescuing an individual. He risked his life to save a 
life. And on behalf of our Nation, Monica and Seth and Shaine and Sean 
and James, and his loving parents, Ken and Amy, thank you for raising 
such a good son and thank you for having such a good husband. Boys, you 
need to be proud of your daddy. Thanks for coming.
    Two-and-a-half years ago, our Nation saw war and grief arrive on a 
quiet September morning. From that day to this, we have pursued a clear 
strategy. We are taking the offensive against the terrorists abroad. 
We're taking unprecedented measures to protect the American people here 
at home. The goal of the terrorists is to kill our citizens--that's 
their goal--and to make Americans live in fear. This Nation refuses to 
live in fear. We will stand together until this threat to our Nation and 
to the civilized world is ended.
    We have been called to service. We've been called to action, and we 
accept that responsibility. With fine allies, we are winning the war 
against the terrorists. We're disrupting terrorist operations. We're 
cutting off their funding. We are chasing down their leaders one person 
at a time. We are relentless. We are strong. We refuse to yield. Some 
two-thirds of Al Qaida's key leaders have been captured or killed. The 
rest of them hear us breathing down their neck. We're after them. We 
will not relent. We will bring these killers to justice.
    It is vital our Nation speak with a clear voice, and when we speak, 
we mean what we say. It's essential that this Nation not be a nation of 
empty words but a nation that is determined to do our duty. I laid out a 
doctrine a while ago, and it said, ``If you harbor a terrorist, if you 
feed a terrorist, you're just as guilty as the terrorists.'' I meant 
what I said, and so did our Nation. And the Taliban, the brutal 
dictators, the barbarians that ran Afghanistan now fully understand, 
America will keep its commitments and means what it says.
    We delivered an ultimatum to Mr. Saddam Hussein that he listen to 
the world, disclose and disarm his weapons and weapons programs. It's 
what the world had said time and time again. The United States said the 
same thing. We saw a threat. It was time to deal with that threat. Mr. 
Saddam Hussein had the choice to make. He chose defiance. He now sits in 
a prison cell, and the Iraqi people are free and America is more secure.
    We have said we will deal with weapons of mass destruction. We have 
shown the world we mean what we say. With our allies, we're taking 
action to stop the spread of chemical and biological, radiological or 
nuclear weapons. We're working together with our friends to prevent 
terror networks from gaining the means to match their hatred. We're 
confronting states that develop deadly weapons. We're shutting down 
networks that trade in the means to produce the technologies of mass 
murder.
    Nations like Libya have gotten the message and renounced their 
weapons programs. The proliferation network of A.Q. Khan, which sold 
nuclear secrets to Iran and North Korea, is being dismantled. Its top 
leaders are out of business forever. America will not allow terrorists 
and outlaw regimes to threaten our Nation and the world with the world's 
most dangerous technologies.
    As we work to make this Nation more secure, we're also working with 
a broad coalition of nations to spread freedom. America believes that 
freedom is the Almighty's gift to each and every person who lives in 
this world. That's what we believe. We have liberated more than 50 
million people in Iraq and Afghanistan. Those people have our help and 
the help of many nations to build free and democratic nations.
    We seek to spread the benefits of democracy and tolerance and 
freedom throughout the greater Middle East. By opposing the stagnation 
and bitterness that feed terror, this great Nation and our friends are 
bringing hope to millions, thereby strengthening the long-term security 
of America and making the world a more peaceful place.
    We will stay on the offensive. We will not relent, and as we wage 
this war abroad, we must remember where it began, here in our homeland. 
Life in America, in many ways, has returned to normal, and that's 
positive. It means we're doing our jobs. But life will really never 
return to normal so long as there's an enemy that lurks in the shadows, 
that aims to destroy and kill. The enemies

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are wounded, but they're not broken. They still have desires to strike 
America again. That's the reality with which we live. The reality is, 
vast oceans can no longer protect us, and therefore we must have--and we 
do have--a clear strategy to defend our homeland. Oh, we'll do 
everything we can to prevent attacks on America. As we do so, we'll 
reduce our vulnerabilities and prepare for any attack that might come. 
That's our duty. That is our collective mission.
    To meet the goals, we have tripled Federal funding for homeland 
security since 2001, to some $30.5 billion. I want to thank the Congress 
for working with the administration to make sure these good folks have 
got the ability to implement the strategy to protect our country.
    We've undertaken the most sweeping reorganization of the Federal 
Government since the beginning of the cold war. The FBI has transformed 
itself into an agency dedicated primarily to the prevention of future 
terrorist attacks. The Department of Defense has established a new top 
level command whose priority is to protect the American homeland. We 
established the Terrorist Threat Integration Center to merge and analyze 
in a single place all vital intelligence on global terror. We created 
the Homeland Security Council within the White House--John Gordon is 
here with us today--to help coordinate all homeland security activities 
across our Government.
    We'll face the terrorist threat for years to come. Our Government is 
prepared to meet that threat. One of the most important steps we've 
taken is creating the Department of Homeland Security, combining under 
one roof, with a clear chain of command, many agencies responsible for 
protecting our Nation. All of you go to work every day with a single, 
overriding responsibility, to make this Nation more secure.
    Creating the newest Department of our Federal Government was a tough 
task. It required a lot of hard work, changing some old habits, in order 
to merge into a new strategy and a new Department. You've accomplished 
an historic task. In just 12 months, under the leadership of your 
President, you have made air travel safer; you've strengthened the 
security of our borders and infrastructure; you've taken steps to 
protect the American people from dangerous weapons; and you helped 
prepare our first-responders for any emergency. You faced the challenge 
in standing up this new Department, and you get a--and a gold star for a 
job well done.
    Since September the 11th attacks, we've taken significant steps to 
ensure the safety of air travel. DHS is completing a massive overhaul of 
security at our Nation's airports. Federal air marshals are flying on 
hundreds of commercial flights every day. We are determined to protect 
Americans who travel by plane. We're determined to prevent those planes 
from being used as weapons against us.
    The Department of Homeland Security is strengthening control of all 
our borders and ports of entry, to keep out terrorists and criminals and 
dangerous materials. We're using technology to allow law-abiding 
travelers to cross the border quickly and easily, while our officials 
concentrate on stopping possible threats. We've increased the number of 
border inspectors and improved access to sophisticated databases.
    DHS personnel are checking ships and analyzing manifests to prevent 
high risk cargo from entering our Nation by sea. DHS officials are also 
posted at foreign ports, working with other governments to inspect 
shipments before they're loaded and shipped to America. America welcomes 
tourists and students and businesspeople, legitimate cargo. Yet, we're 
working hard--you're working hard--to make sure our border is closed to 
terrorists and criminals and weapons and illegal drugs.
    Third, we've worked with State and local governments and the private 
sector to strengthen the defenses of our key infrastructure, 
communication systems and power grids and transportation networks. DHS 
is helping the operators of chemical facilities improve security.
    We're working with Congress on new legislation that establishes 
uniform standards for security at chemical sites and gives DHS the power 
to enforce those standards. We've established the National Cyber 
Security Division to examine cybersecurity incidents and track attacks 
and coordinate nationwide responses. America's infrastructure drives our

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economy and serves our people. We're determined to provide the 
infrastructure with the best possible protection.
    Fourth, we're bringing the best technologies to bear against the 
threat of chemical and biological weapons. We've placed sophisticated 
equipment to detect biological agents in many metropolitan areas. We've 
greatly expanded the strategic national stockpile for drugs and vaccines 
and medical supplies. We now have on hand, for instance, enough smallpox 
vaccine to immunize every American in the case of an emergency.
    Last year, I proposed Project BioShield, which will speed the 
development of new vaccines and treatments for biological agents that 
could be used in a terrorist attack. Congress needs to send this vital 
legislation to my desk. Attacks from a chemical or biological weapon is 
one of the gravest threats our country has ever faced. We're doing what 
is necessary to protect this country.
    Even with all these measures, there's no such thing as perfect 
security in a vast and free country, so as a fifth step, we've worked to 
improve the ability of State and local authorities to respond quickly 
and effectively to emergencies. My administration has provided over $13 
billion to equip and train local officials, such as firefighters and 
police officers and EMS workers and health professionals. I thank the 
Congress for their work on this important measure.
    The new budget proposes additional money, $5 billion, to continue to 
help the first-responders. We're focusing more of our resources on the 
areas of greatest risk. It's essential we set priorities with the 
taxpayers' money, to better protect the American people. And so DHS is 
creating a national incident management plan, a strategy to make sure 
taxpayers' money is wisely spent. Under this plan, first-responders at 
all levels of government will know their responsibilities, will follow a 
clear chain of command, and will be able to work with each other 
effectively in a time of crisis.
    Your hard work is already paying off. The system has proven its 
worth in coordinating responses to such emergencies as Hurricane Isabel 
and the California wildfires. America's first-responders are the first 
on the scene of danger. They need a strategy. They need coordination. 
They need training, and they will get our help.
    This administration has also worked to ensure that those charged 
with defending America from the threat of terror have all the tools 
necessary to fight the terrorists. One of those essential tools is the 
PATRIOT Act, which enables Federal law enforcement officials to track 
terrorists, to disrupt their cells, and to seize their assets. For 
years, we've used similar provisions to catch embezzlers or drug 
traffickers. My attitude is pretty simple on this matter: If these 
methods are good enough for hunting criminals, they're even more 
important for hunting terrorists.
    The PATRIOT Act made other important changes official to the success 
of this new Department. It tore down the walls that blocked the FBI and 
the CIA from sharing intelligence. It's hard to track terrorists if we 
can't share information. It was essential that all elements of law 
enforcement be able to work together to secure this homeland. The 
PATRIOT Act imposed tough new penalties on terrorists and those who 
support them. We want to make it abundantly clear to anybody who wants 
to hurt America: There will be significant penalty. These are 
responsible measures, fully consistent with the United States 
Constitution.
    Key provisions of the PATRIOT Act are set to expire next year. The 
terrorist threat will not expire on that schedule. You and others in law 
enforcement need this vital legislation to protect our citizens. We 
cannot afford to let down our guard. Congress must renew the PATRIOT 
Act.
    For the men and women of the Department of Homeland Security, the 
past year has been one of progress and achievement. You have risen to 
confront a new threat and to meet unprecedented challenges. You have 
responded to hurricanes and tornadoes and wildfires with incredible 
skill and speed. You've worked hard to protect our borders. You've saved 
lives. You're prepared for greater dangers. You've passed every single 
test. You should be proud of all you've accomplished, and you need to 
know America is proud of you.
    You have done a lot in a year. It's been an incredible year of 
accomplishment, but

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none of us charged with defending this Nation can rest. We must never 
forget the day when the terrorists left their mark of murder on our 
Nation. We must never forget that day. We will remember the sorrow and 
the anger. We'll also remember the resolve we felt that day. All of us 
have a responsibility that goes on. We will protect this country, 
whatever it takes.
    God bless your work, and may God continue to bless our country.

Note: The President spoke at 10:06 a.m. at the Ronald Reagan Building 
and International Trade Center. In his remarks, he referred to former 
President Saddam Hussein of Iraq; A.Q. Khan, former head of Pakistan's 
nuclear weapons program; and Gen. John A. Gordon, USAF (Ret.), Assistant 
to the President and Homeland Security Adviser. The Office of the Press 
Secretary also released a Spanish language transcript of these remarks.