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Bush's
Homeland Department Outline Delivered to Congress
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Tom Ridge
formally hands to Congress plans for creating Homeland Department.
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WASHINGTON,
June 18 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - U.S. President George W.
Bush's homeland security advisor Tuesday handed the President's
blueprint for a new Homeland Security Department over to lawmakers,
some of whom hope to approve the legislation on the first anniversary
of the September 11 attacks.
"All
of us have been given an awesome responsibility - the responsibility
to protect Americans and the American way of life," Homeland
Security Advisor Tom Ridge said as he handed lawmakers copies of the
proposal.
"As
history has shown, when the Congress of the United States and the
President of the United States unite, no challenge is too great, no
cause is out of reach, no dream is impossible, whether it's winning a
world war, a Cold War or the war on terrorism," said Ridge,
flanked by House Speaker Dennis Hastert, Senate Majority Leader Tom
Daschle and other leaders, news agencies reported.
Bush,
stung by criticism that his government mishandled clues to the
September 11 strikes that killed some 3,000 people, proposed the
creation of the new Cabinet-level department to oversee intelligence
on terrorism and marshal efforts to prevent future attacks.
Bush,
for his part, planned to meet later Tuesday at the White House with
congressional leaders as aides fanned out across the Capitol to press
for support, reports news agencies.
Described
as the biggest change in the U.S. federal government since the Cold
War, the future Department of Homeland Security would employ some
170,000 people and command an annual budget of $37 billion, drawing
its resources from roughly 100 government agencies and eight
departments.
Ridge
said the department would rest on four "main pillars":
research and development; weapons of mass destruction countermeasures,
intelligence analysis integration and infrastructure protection;
border security; and domestic preparedness and response.
He
also underscored the potential for public-private sector partnerships
to achieve those goals.
"As
much as 80 to 90 percent of the critical infrastructure in this
country is owned by the private sector, and they want to help and just
need a partner who will find ways to see to it that these partnerships
are created," he said.
Accompanying
legislative leaders threw their support behind the creation of the new
super agency, but emphasized they would not rush to pass any laws
without careful consideration.
Daschle
added it would take "strong and real bipartisanship" to get
the bill passed, but added a precautionary note saying that the
creation of the new department by itself "doesn't do the
job" and that Congress and the administration will have to do
much more to safeguard Americans at home, news agencies reported.
"This
is a means to that end - not the end," he said.
"This
is not a Republican issue. This is not a Democrat issue. This is an
American issue," chimed in Senate Minority Leader Trent Lott.
Despite
the show of bipartisan unity, lawmakers have admitted that trying to
get legislation passed will be a struggle, as the new agency will cut
into many of their committee jurisdictions.
"We're
not going to put haste in the way of doing this right," Hastert
cautioned.
Lawmakers
have also raised concerns around how enhanced border security would
affect commercial interaction, and how intelligence is gathered and
processed, particularly since neither the Federal Bureau of
Investigation (FBI) nor the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) have
been pegged to be folded into the department.
The
legislation calls for little change in the FBI and CIA, requiring only
that the two agencies submit intelligence information to the new
department for analysis, reports news agencies.
Asked
if he thought the two intelligence agencies could be made part of the
Homeland Security Department given the rush to get legislation passed,
Hastert said: "We want to wait and see the recommendations of our
intelligence committees and what they're looking at. And, you know,
we'll consider this as the bill goes forward."
But
the administration wants to keep the FBI within the Justice
Department.
Ridge,
in a reversal from the White House's initial position, has said he
will testify before Congress if asked, reports CNN. Ridge is expected
to be questioned by lawmakers on why Bush did not include the FBI and
CIA in his proposed new department.
In
a preview of the argument to come, homeland security office spokesman
Gordon Johndroe said Monday, "The president was not looking to
create a mammoth internal security division.”
A
joint House-Senate Intelligence committee is currently investigating
the government's intelligence agencies alleged mishandling of clues
that might have foiled the September 11 hijacker attacks by the
al-Qaeda network.
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