[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 41, Number 9 (Monday, March 7, 2005)]
[Pages 353-355]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Remarks at a Swearing-In Ceremony for Michael Chertoff as Secretary of 
Homeland Security

March 3, 2005

    I'm pleased to be here at the Department of Homeland Security with 
our new Secretary, Michael Chertoff. And I'm honored to share this 
moment with Meryl and their children.
    This is the third time, not the first or second but the third time 
that I've asked Mike to serve our Nation. I keep asking him back for a 
reason: He is a talented public servant, with an outstanding record of 
achievement and a deep commitment to the cause of justice. As a Federal 
court of appeals judge, Assistant Attorney General, U.S. Attorney, and 
Federal prosecutor, Mike has worked tirelessly to make our people safer 
and our Nation more secure. And now he will carry on that vital work as 
the Secretary of Homeland Security.
    I appreciate Michael's in-laws for being here. Always a good thing, 
Mike--[laughter]--to listen to your mother-in-law. [Laughter]
    I thank Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, not only for being here to 
administer the oath of office but for serving our Nation with such class 
and such dignity. I want to thank the

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Members of the United States Senate, Senator Lautenberg and Senator 
Corzine from New Jersey, for being here, and thank you for helping 
shepherd this good man's nomination through the Senate. I want to thank 
all the Members of the House of Representatives who are here, and there 
is a lot from New Jersey that have joined us. I want to thank the 
members of my Cabinet who are here, and former members of my Cabinet. 
And I want to thank the employees of the Department of Homeland 
Security. You have got a great boss.
    Since September the 11th, 2001, we have taken unprecedented steps to 
protect the American people. We have assembled a strong coalition of 
nations to secure our respective countries. We have closed down 
terrorists' networks and chased down their leaders in mountains and 
deserts around the world. We've removed two dangerous regimes that 
harbored terrorists and threatened the peace. We convinced a third to 
voluntarily abandon its nuclear and chemical weapons programs. We have 
broken up the world's most dangerous nuclear trading network and busted 
up terrorist cells around the globe.
    We have been relentless and we will continue to be relentless in our 
mission to secure the people of this country. From Florida to California 
to Massachusetts, we have arrested and prosecuted terrorist operatives 
and their supporters. By our actions, we are sending the world a clear 
message that terrorists will not be permitted sanctuary or safe haven or 
the tools of mass murder.
    As we have taken the battle to the enemy, we have also taken 
extraordinary measures to better protect the homeland. We've carried out 
the largest reorganization of Government in a half century, merging 
180,000 people from 22 Government organizations into a single Department 
with a single mission, protecting America from attack. The success of 
the men and women of the Department of Homeland Security do not always 
make the headlines. But I understand what you've done, and I appreciate 
your hard work. By your tireless efforts behind the scenes, you have 
helped protect our citizens and secure our Nation, and this country is 
grateful for all you do.
    In the last 2 years, this Department has implemented a vigorous new 
strategy to guard our borders, posting Homeland Security personnel at 
foreign ports, strengthening airport and seaport security, and 
instituting better visa screening for those entering the United States. 
We've taken important steps to protect our Nation's critical 
infrastructure, our bridges and tunnels and nuclear powerplants and 
water treatment facilities and the cyber networks that keep our 
Government and our economy running.
    This Department has also taken action to strengthen the hand of our 
partners in State and local law enforcement. Local police and other 
authorities are those most likely to encounter terrorists, and we're 
giving them the tools and information they need to do their jobs. We've 
established secure connections to emergency operations centers in every 
State and every Governor's office to ensure that they get threat 
information on a real-time basis. We've helped States establish mutual 
aid agreements and reasonable response plans, so that when first-
responders need help from their neighbors, they can be sure the right 
assistance will get to the right people at the right time.
    We've provided more than $14 billion over the last 4 years to train 
and equip State and local first-responders across America, funds for 
mobile command centers, communications equipment, mobile decontamination 
equipment, HAZMAT trucks, mobile WMD detection equipment, and other 
capabilities they need to protect our citizens and our communities. 
Since 2001, we've trained more than 600,000 first-responders and more 
than tripled spending on homeland security. And all of you in this 
Department and the Members of the Congress can be proud of the 
accomplishments and the progress we have made.
    You have done all this and more under the skilled leadership of Tom 
Ridge. Tom is a longtime friend, and I thank him for his leadership and 
his dedicated service to our country.
    And I have found an able successor in Mike Chertoff. As the 9/11 
Commission said in its report, America is safer because of your efforts, 
but we are not yet safe. Mike Chertoff knows we cannot afford to become

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complacent. He understands that as we adapt our defenses, the terrorists 
will adapt their tactics in response. He understands they continue to 
pose a great threat to the American people.
    Recently, we learned that Usama bin Laden has urged the terrorist 
Zarqawi to form a group to conduct attacks outside Iraq, including here 
in the United States. We're on a constant hunt for bin Laden. We're 
keeping the pressure on him, keeping him in hiding. And today, Zarqawi 
understands that coalition and Iraqi troops are on a constant hunt for 
him as well. Coalition and Iraqi forces have caught and killed several 
of his key lieutenants. We're working every day and night to dismantle 
his network and to bring him to justice.
    Bin Laden's message is a telling reminder that Al Qaida still hopes 
to attack us on our own soil. Stopping them is the greatest challenge of 
our day. And under Mike's leadership, we will do everything in our power 
to meet that challenge. Mike is wise, and he is tough--in a good way. 
[Laughter] And he knows the nature of the enemy. As head of the Criminal 
Division at the Department of Justice, Mike helped trace the September 
11th attacks to the Al Qaida network. And it didn't take him very long 
to do so. He understands that the terrorists are brutal and determined 
and that to stop them, all our agencies must work more closely together 
using every resource and technological advantage we have.
    I have given Mike an ambitious agenda to carry out. We will continue 
to work to fully integrate the agencies within the Homeland Security 
Department. We will build on the progress that has been made. We will 
continue working to reduce our Nation's vulnerabilities and prepare 
effective responses for any future attack. We will speed the development 
of new 21st century vaccines and treatments to protect Americans against 
biological, chemical, nuclear, and radiological attacks. We will 
continue our historic investments in homeland security to match the 
threats facing our country. We will protect the American people from new 
dangers while protecting their civil liberties.
    Mike understands that we need to work closely with State and local 
officials because he has shared their vantage point. Like men and women 
who wear our Nation's uniform on distant battlefields, those who wear 
the uniform here at home risk their lives every day to protect our 
people. By their service and sacrifice, our police, our firefighters, 
and emergency rescue personnel are making the homeland safer. And our 
Nation must constantly thank them for their work.
    Mike is the right person to lead this Department in this vital work. 
He knows that to win the war on terror abroad, we always must remember 
where it began, here in the homeland. He will be an outstanding 
Secretary of Homeland Security. Mike, thank you for willing--for your 
willingness to serve our Nation once again. God bless.

Note: The President spoke at 9:25 a.m. at the Ronald Reagan Building and 
International Trade Center. In his remarks, he referred to Meryl 
Chertoff, wife of Secretary Chertoff; Usama bin Laden, leader of the Al 
Qaida terrorist organization; and senior Al Qaida associate Abu Musab Al 
Zarqawi. He also referred to the National Commission on Terrorist 
Attacks Upon the United States (9/11 Commission). The transcript 
released by the Office of the Press Secretary also included the remarks 
of Secretary Chertoff.