HOMELAND SECURITY REORGANIZATION PROPOSED

FEATURES WHITE HOUSE OFFICE AND CABINET-LEVEL DEPARTMENT

ACCOUNTABILITY, TRANSPARENCY ARE KEY

May 2, 2002

                WASHINGTON - A bipartisan group of lawmakers introduced legislation Thursday calling for a major restructuring of government to better protect the American public from terrorist threats made against them within U.S. borders.

                Senators Joe Lieberman, D-Conn., Arlen Specter, R-Pa., and Bob Graham, D-Fla., joined with Representatives Mac Thornberry, R-Texas, Jane Harman, D-Calif., Ellen Tauscher, D-Calif., and James Gibbons, R-Nev., in introducing the National Homeland Security and Combating Terrorism Act of 2002, which would focus federal attention and resources on securing our borders and protecting the critical infrastructure.

                The proposal calls for a Department of National Homeland Security, at cabinet level, to plan and coordinate federal activities relating to homeland security, including border security and emergency preparedness.  It would also act as a central coordinator for natural and manmade crises and emergency planning.  The legislation also creates a White House Office of Combating Terrorism to oversee a unified, government-wide, anti-terrorism policy.  The office would coordinate threat assessments, craft and oversee a National Strategy to Combat Terrorism, and exercise budget certification authority over spending to combat terrorism.

                “It seems that nearly every day, new cracks in America's homeland defense foundation are exposed – at our borders, our airports, our federal buildings, and our ports,” Lieberman said.  “That's why we must mobilize government so that it can quickly and effectively reduce terrorist threats here at home and react without hesitation should the worst occur.  Without a government that is permanently reoriented to meet these unexpected challenges, new vulnerabilities will constantly emerge.”

                “The threat to our homeland and border security is so serious that the United States needs more than a presidential advisor and coordinator to perform this important mission,” said Senator Specter.  “We require a cabinet-level secretary with the appropriate resources to further institutionalize the position and guarantee that the person holding the position has the legal authority to act.”

                “The bill being introduced today incorporates the principles originally embodied in S.1449, which would give statutory authority to the White House counterterrorism coordinator, and fuses them with a new Department of Homeland Security,” said Senator Graham, chairman of the Select Committee on Intelligence.  “The new department will ensure that the preventive mission of the National Office for Combating Terrorism fits within a larger strategy of border security, infrastructure prevention, and disaster response.”

                The department would be composed of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the U.S. Customs Service, Border Patrol and INS enforcement, the Coast Guard, Agriculture quarantine inspectors, and two smaller infrastructure protection offices.

                The secretary of the department would be nominated by the president, confirmed by the Senate, and would be a member of the National Security Council.  His or her duties would include developing policies to promote homeland security, working with state and local governments, conducting exercising and training programs, and developing a response plan.

                The director of the White House office - who also would be appointed by the president, confirmed by the Senate, and an advisor to the National Security Council - would review an  assessment of terrorist threats, and develop and execute, with the secretary, a strategy to combat terrorism.

 The director  would work with the department secretary on the annual budget, and would exercise budget review and certification authority.