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BUSH: Homeland Security Is Government's 'Permanent Duty'
Friday, July 26, 2002
By Linda D. Kozaryn
American Forces Press Service

“... I'm not going to accept legislation that limits or weakens the president's well-established authorities ... to exempt parts of government from federal labor management relations statute when it serves our national interests. Every president since Jimmy Carter has used ... this statutory authority, and a time of war is the wrong time to weaken the president's ability to protect the American people ..."

WASHINGTON -- AFIS
"America needs a group of dedicated professionals who wake up each morning with the overriding duty of protecting the American people," President Bush said today at the White House.

That's why he's creating a Cabinet-level Department of Homeland Security to unite the efforts of about 100 government entities whose responsibilities include some aspect of homeland security.

"For the first time, this new department will merge under one roof the capability to identify and assess threats to the homeland, to map those threats against vulnerabilities, and then to act to secure America," the president said.

The agencies within the new department will have other duties, he noted, but no higher responsibility than homeland security. "Protecting American citizens from harm is the first priority, and it must be the ruling priority of all of our government," he said.

The Homeland Security Department must prepare the American people for the "permanent duty" of defending the homeland, he said. "The No. 1 priority of this government and of future governments will be to protect the American people against terrorist attack."

The Homeland Security Department will control U.S. borders, preventing terrorists and weapons from entering the country. "We need to know who's coming in and why they're coming in and what they're bringing in with them, and whether or not they're leaving when they say they're going to leave," the president said.
(More: DoD News Source)
2002 © The United States Department of Defense.

Dan