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Release Date: 04/26/05 00:00:00
Secretary Chertoff at New York University. (DHS Photo/Bahler)
New York, New York
New York University
Center for Catastrophic Preparedness and Response and the International Center for Enterprise Preparedness
April 26, 2005
(Remarks as Prepared)
Thank you, President Sexton. I’d like to thank the Center for Catastrophic Preparedness and Response (CCPR) and the International Center for Enterprise Preparedness for hosting today’s discussion here at New York University. NYU has been a true pioneer in leveraging the expertise of the academic community to strengthen private sector emergency planning and preparedness after 9/11. And you have been an important partner to the Department of Homeland Security, most recently by supporting TOPOFF 3 – the most comprehensive test ever of our nation’s preparedness and response capabilities. This is my first opportunity to speak in New York City since being confirmed as Secretary of Homeland Security.
Perhaps there isn’t a better place to talk about preparedness with business leaders and the business community than in the financial capital of the world. We still miss the presence of the Twin Towers. I don’t think it was an accident the terrorists chose those icons of our nation as their target. To this day, the sheer determination of New Yorkers to reclaim their city from terrorism, to implement protective measures, and to get the city up and running again is a source of inspiration and pride to all Americans and to people across the world.
Winning the war on terror is the great calling of our generation. And in ways large and small, we have enlisted in a cause greater than ourselves – of responding against a dangerous and merciless evil with courage and determination and an unyielding defense of the values to which this nation has long subscribed.
We must lay out a vision of homeland security that is sustainable over the long run – a vision that balances durable and comprehensive security with the American way of life, the values we cherish, and the uninterrupted flow of lawful commerce across our borders.
How do we reconcile these visions? It means that we must calibrate an approach to security that incorporates prevention and protection into our lives in a way that respects our liberty and our privacy, and fosters our prosperity.
Our ultimate goal is a time when security measures are a comfortable, convenient part of our routine; a time when people go about their daily lives mindful of risks but not encumbered by fear; unwavering in our resolve and full participants in our own protection.
What it does not and cannot mean is that we shut down, board up, wall in or become a fortress. Because what we are trying to protect – and at the same time, preserve – is not only our lives, but also our way of life. That's why we need to adopt a risk-based approach in both our operations and our philosophy. Our operations, our philosophy and our policies.
Risk management is fundamental to managing the threat, while retaining our quality of life and living in freedom. Risk management can guide our decision-making as we examine how we can best organize to prevent, protect against, respond and recover from an attack.
For that reason, the Department of Homeland Security is working with state, local, and private sector partners on a National Preparedness Plan to target resources where the risk is greatest. In business, you also manage risk and take precautions. You weigh the risks of a particular action, you conduct a cost-benefit analysis, and you factor these into your considerations.
Risk-management means developing plans and allocating resources in a way that balances security and freedom when calculating risks and implementing protections. The most effective way, I believe, to apply this risk-based approach is by using the trio of threat, vulnerability and consequence as a general model for assessing risk and deciding on the protective measures we undertake.
Each threat must be weighed, therefore, along with consequence and vulnerabilities. As consequence increases, we respond according to the nature and credibility of the threat and any existing state of vulnerabilities. Our strategy is to manage risk in terms of these three variables – threat, vulnerability, consequence. We seek to prioritize according to these variables, and to fashion a series of preventive and protective steps that increase security at multiple levels.
So how do we implement this strategy?
An important first step is to examine the mission and the work of all elements of the Department to measure our effectiveness thus far, where we have fallen short, and where we need to improve. That is why last month I initiated a comprehensive review of the Department. We want to develop a strategy for how we can better integrate our functions at the federal level, and work more effectively with our partners in government, the private sector, and the international community to achieve our common security objectives.
Homeland security does not simply rest upon federal action; it requires collective national and even international action. When it comes to the protection of our people, our infrastructure, our companies, our communities, our country, we all have a role to play.
Let me ask you – how would you measure the net worth of the Department of Homeland Security? Would you look at all of our physical assets – our buildings, our computer networks, our operations centers, our aviation and maritime assets? Would you try to figure out the value of our 180,000 person workforce?
Even if you could assign a value to all of these elements, what you’d realize is that the Department’s full value lies not in its individual assets, but in the vast network of contacts and partners that we have across the country helping us secure America – from our state and local government officials, to the private sector, to the first responder and emergency management community, to our academic institutions, all the way down to the individual citizen that goes to Ready.gov and prepares a family emergency kit.
It’s certainly true that the federal government has unique access to intelligence, powerful investigative tools, and strong resources. But the federal government cannot and should not fund or address all of the risks involved with terrorism on its own. That is why we must and do count heavily on partnerships with many of you. And this is especially important given the private sector owns about 85 percent of our nation’s critical infrastructure. The kind of true partnership that protecting the homeland requires means that we not only share information but also responsibility. It means that we not only exchange expertise but also expect accountability.
It means that our partners must bear a part of the security burden as well as become part of the security solution. We want to create a security environment that works with the grain commerce and business, and not against it. And we have built a solid foundation that has already withstood a number of tests. I’m sure many of you recall the period of heightened alert last August in the financial sectors in the New York, New Jersey and Washington, D.C. Immediately after discovering al-Qaeda had conducted extensive surveillance and casing operations of specific buildings in these cities, we contacted our state and local officials and private sector leaders to share information and quickly devise a plan to ramp-up security to protect employees and secure the buildings.
It was a good example of how far we’ve come since 9/11 in terms of information sharing and cooperation and targeting our security measures when we had very specific threat information. But it also illustrates just how connected we are and how our decisions can have a profound impact on your companies and your employees. That is why we must be active partners in sharing information, thinking through appropriate courses of action when we face similar situations, and assessing the potential impact.
We can do many things on the federal level to help our private sector partners meet this shared responsibility. We can provide you information and intelligence about certain kinds of threats; we can help you identify vulnerabilities and develop security plans; we can set standards and share best practices; and we can provide some level of funding. And when necessary, we can require a set of specific security steps if voluntary measures fail to achieve their needed result.
Let me describe some of the ways we can work with the private sector to enhance security. First, we can offer choices that expedite and reinforce security. Programs such as Free and Secure Trade (FAST) keep commerce flowing smoothly and efficiently across our land borders by allowing pre-screened, low-risk cargo to enter our country through expedited travel lanes.
Take, as another example, the Customs Trade Partnership Against Terrorism. Companies that enroll in this program voluntarily agree to tighten security in exchange for expedited processing and inspection at our ports and border crossings. These programs are based on a trade off. Many companies have realized cost savings as a result of faster in-transit times and reduced fuel consumption, in addition to secondary security benefits such as a reduction in theft and piracy. We can also offer options for passengers: If people want the shorter line at the airport or expedited processing at our borders, they can achieve it by agreeing to provide limited personal information that helps us assess risk. That trade-off will be their choice.
Second, we can remove barriers to participation in our homeland security efforts. For example, one of the key elements in protecting our borders, our critical infrastructure, and our information networks is developing and implementing technology that allows us to identify potential dangers and take appropriate action. Throughout our nation’s history, the private sector has been a primary source for these technology solutions, and we need your help more than ever.
But we have to be candid in recognizing that fear of the transaction costs of litigation has inhibited full deployment of our private ingenuity. That is why Congress passed the “Support Anti-Terrorism by Fostering Effective Technologies” or SAFETY Act. That law provides limited liability protection to companies and manufacturers that develop qualified homeland security technology and processes.
Through this Act, we can encourage companies to do what you do best and at the same time help us meet our homeland security needs. And, by the same token, we will provide some protections in the event that you are sued in connection with a terrorist attack. The reality is that we cannot let the transaction costs overwhelm the benefits of technology that may save lives. Third, we should take advantage of market-based incentives and business self-interests.
All of us remember when the New York Stock Exchange was forced to halt trading for four days following the September 11th attack. This was because there was no plan of action to cope with the horrible events of that day. Since that time, Exchange officials have created a private fiber-optic network that links trading firms with data at multiple sites, so that if the system fails at any one point, the data can be automatically rerouted so that trading can continue. They also set up a backup trading floor that can be activated should anything happen to the Wall Street site.
In other words, they recognized based on their own interests, that the consequence of another terrorist incident would far outweigh the cost of investing in back-up systems, alternative operating locations, and additional protective measures. Taking these common-sense, proactive steps means that both our security and our prosperity are better protected in the event of another crisis, wrought by disaster or design.
In the same way, I believe that it’s imperative that members of the business community put security in a position of prominence. We want to make sure you have the tools, resources, and guidance necessary to make security a priority. And we need to make sure that the business community makes that commitment.
In the end, maintaining a strong economy is directly tied to sustaining our freedoms and our nation. Those freedoms allow us to create and pursue opportunity, to build a business from nothing, and to look to a horizon of limitless possibility.
As members of the private sector, you are more than a partner in the war on terror. You are an essential building block in the foundation of America. And we need you to continue to fight alongside us with the same steadfast determination that you have shown so far.
We need the benefit of your knowledge and experience, best business practices, your crisis management skills and your commitment to emergency preparedness. That’s the mission of the Centers here at NYU – to tap into your vast knowledge to increase preparedness and planning in New York City and across the country.
Preparedness is an area that you know well. We have a lot to learn from you and a lot to gain by working together. We are grateful for your partnership and your contributions to the security of our country. Our vision is not a fortress state; rather, it is a vision where security and prosperity go hand in hand with each other.
Thank you.
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This page was last reviewed/modified on 04/26/05 00:00:00.
