LIEBERMAN,
SPECTER OFFER HOMELAND DEFENSE LEGISLATION
PROPOSALS WILL BE REVIEWED AT FRIDAY HEARING
October 11, 2001
WASHINGTON - Senators Joe Lieberman, D-Conn., and Arlen
Specter, R-Pa., Thursday proposed the creation of a
cabinet-level Department of Homeland Security with the authority
and resources to carry out its mission effectively, while still
being accountable to the public.
The move, spurred by the September 11 terrorist attacks on the
World Trade Center and the Pentagon, would reorganize the
activities of scores of federal agencies that now have a part in
combating terrorism.
“We need a robust, executive-level department to carry
out the core functions of homeland defense, which are
prevention, protection and preparation,” Lieberman said.
Added Specter, “Governor Ridge can handle the job if he
has sufficient authority. As
a practical matter, it is impossible for Governor Ridge to go to
the president every time there is a turf battle.
There is a need for governmental structure in regards to
homeland defense. That is the job of the Congress, and this
legislation provides that structure.”
The new department would consolidate the Federal
Emergency Management Agency, the Customs Service, the Border
Patrol, the Coast Guard and certain other agencies responsible
for critical infrastructure protection under one administrative
office that would
plan and coordinate government activities relating to homeland
security.
The Department would be divided into three directorates
responsible for the prevention, preparation and protection of
future attacks.
The Department Secretary would be appointed by the
President, but confirmed by the Senate and, therefore,
accountable to the Congress and the public.
The Secretary also would have full authority over the
Department’s budget and spending priorities and would be a
full member of the National Security Council.
Representatives William Thornberry, R-Texas, and Ellen
Tauscher, D-Calif., are sponsoring similar legislation in the
House. The
Governmental Affairs Committee will hold a hearing Friday at 10
a.m. in Dirksen 342 to review a number of legislative proposals
related to homeland defense.
The Lieberman-Specter bill is based largely on the
recommendations of the U.S. Commission on National Security/21st
Century, commonly known as the Hart-Rudman Commission.
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