REMARKS
FOR
THE HONORABLE NORMAN Y. MINETA
SECRETARY OF TRANSPORTATION|
ON THE OCCASION
OF THE APPOINTMENT OF THE UNDER SECRETARY OF TRANSPORTATION FOR SECURITY
WASHINGTON, D.C.
MONDAY, DECEMBER 10, 2001
1:30 PM
Thank you
all for being here.
Today, I
have the honor of announcing the selection of John W. Magaw as the individual
who President Bush intends to nominate as the Under Secretary for Transportation
Security, to lead the new Transportation Security Administration, or what we
have come to know it as, the TSA.
If I could
have designed an individual for this job, it would have been John Magaw.
In
today’s world of ever-present threats, John Magaw is a man whose unprecedented
career in law enforcement will ensure that the United States continues to
provide all Americans with the highest possible level of safety and security.
But John
Magaw brings something else to the TSA as well. He brings the quiet competence and steely determination of
someone who was once in charge of protecting the President and the First Family.
John has
been serving as Senior Advisor to the Director of the Federal Emergency
Management Agency (FEMA) for terrorism preparedness, and in a variety of other
roles at FEMA, including that of Acting Director.
Before
joining FEMA, John Magaw was Director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and
Firearms.
He began
his career with the U.S. Secret Service in 1967, rising to serve as deputy
special agent in charge of the Vice Presidential protective division, then
became head of the Washington Field Office, among other positions.
John
served in 14 assignments with the Secret Service before managing the unit
responsible for protecting the President and the First Family. He was appointed Director of the Secret Service in 1992.
In
1993, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms was in trouble – and the
president then turned to John Magaw. Today,
we face an even greater law enforcement challenge in creating this new law
enforcement agency from scratch. Again,
a president has turned to John Magaw.
The
American traveling public could not ask for a finer, more devoted public
servant, nor a more qualified background in law enforcement and security than
that which John Magaw brings to the nation during this challenging time.
Those skills will prove instrumental as he goes about the job of trying
to return public trust and confidence in our transportation systems.
So please
join me in welcoming a man I would call a first among equals in the Bush
Administration’s continuing work to return our skies, our roads and highways,
and our ports and waterways, to the American people, who own them.
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