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Release Date: 04/24/03 00:00:00
For Immediate release
As Prepared
Office of the Press Secretary
April 24, 2003
First of all I want to thank Sheriff Lee Baca for hosting this great event. I am happy to be out in Los Angeles.
I am also pleased to share the stage with:
It is a privilege for me to share the stage with you and other distinguished guests who are working to secure the State of California. I am especially pleased that we are joined today by so many Police and Fire Chiefs. It is an honor to be with you here today.
If interest in homeland security can be gauged by the size of the audience then I'd say the interest is running pretty high!
I want to thank those of you who participated in the roundtable. I look forward to addressing your concerns.
In Southern California you can clearly see the entire homeland security panorama. Begin with the challenges at our border. This morning I began the day with Secretary Creel of Mexico at the California - Mexico border.
As you head north, you pass nuclear power plants, oil and gas refineries and other guarded, yet highly visible critical infrastructure. Farther northwest are the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, the busiest and 2nd-busiest in the nation. Add several airports, including LAX, to the mix.
Finally, there's Los Angeles County itself, home to 10 million people, with 88 independent cities and 94 school districts; larger than 42 states.
It's an enormous -- and enormously complex -- challenge.
But let me begin by saying that whether you stand in Los Angeles or in Washington, D.C., you can see that America is meeting that challenge. America is far safer and more secure as a nation than we were on September 11th, 2001. We have traveled a long way, in a very short period of time.
Some of the credit belongs to the new structure we've put in place at the Department of Homeland Security.
Some of the credit belongs to our efforts to educate communities and citizens about the threat.
Some of the credit goes to new resources provided by Federal, state, and local governments to pay for equipment, training, and overtime. There are continuing needs and millions of additional federal dollars more are on the way.
Much of the credit goes to men and women such as you - people who go to work everyday to keep America safe - the law enforcement professionals and first responders.
Since 9-11 you've improved communication, cooperation and information-sharing -- three qualities essential to homeland security.
And you've integrated traditional functions in new ways, enabling you to "organize to mobilize" for any threat.
Now we must take the next step.
Homeland security affects everybody; and that's exactly who must be involved. We are all stakeholders.
Businesses, schools and communities are seamlessly integrated in peacetime. We cannot allow them to be isolated from one another in a crisis.
Our challenge is to ensure that stakeholders are committed to prevention before a crisis -- and that our response is seamless and well-coordinated during a crisis.
This isn’t "civil defense" - this is civil offense. We want to take back the initiative from terrorists. And I believe we've made a great start. And together we can make this vision a reality.
Let's start with the Department itself - which is now a reality due in large part to the sustained support it received from people like you. Your collective voice was heard in Washington, and the President and I thank you for it.
Unifying 22 federal agencies into one Department, under one chain of command, was one reason Homeland Security was created. Another was the advantage of having a single point of contact to communicate with states and localities, and the private sector and to educate the public at large.
One of the ways that we communicate to homeland security professionals at the state and local level when there is a change in the threat level is through the Homeland Security Advisory System. This system is designed to help homeland security decision-makers at all levels determine the right protective measures for their critical targets and communities.
When we raised the threat level in March, with your help we launched Operation Liberty Shield - our first unified, national operation to protect Americans and our critical resources.
The State of California and Los Angeles city and County were ready to act - having put in place protocols for each threat level, protocols that were communicated to every city and jurisdiction.
Your officers and first responders worked longer days, increased your presence and visibility at airports and transportation hubs, conducted more random searches and educated the public.
Additional law enforcement and the National Guard were deployed at LAX and other critical sites around the state and nation.
The Coast Guard increased the number of security patrols and vessel escorts nationwide. We enhanced security in and around critical infrastructure sites and at key ports.
Together, we initiated these additional protections not only to increase national security, but to ensure that commerce, travel and our way of life would continue as always. For all of us engaged in Operation Liberty Shield, protecting our liberties was an essential part of the mission. After all, it's called Operation "Liberty Shield" - the "liberty" is just as important as the "shield".
We know that mobilizing at a high level of readiness presents a financial burden to communities. That's why the President signed an emergency supplemental appropriations bill that allocates more than $2.2 billion to help reimburse state and local governments.
This includes:
$1.3 billion in state formula grants
$200 million for critical infrastructure protection
and $700 million to be distributed to high threat areas for critical infrastructure protection.
In addition to the billions of dollars for state and local governments in the FY 03 supplemental, $45 million in grants for First Responders has already been made available to California.
Another $12.5 million will go to the City of Los Angeles as part of our Urban Area Security Initiative.
You told us that high-visibility, high-density urban areas may be at extra risk for terrorism, and therefore deserve extra protection. We listened, and we agreed.
This is just the start. Other funding is in the pipeline or awaits approval by Congress.
First, last week the Department of Homeland Security announced the availability of $165 million in Emergency Management Performance grants. These can be used by states to develop, maintain and improve state and local emergency management capabilities.
We've also made available $750 million in fire grants for direct use by fire departments. It is the largest amount ever for firefighters' grants, twice as much as the previous year’s amount.
And the President’s '04 Budget requests $3.5 billion for grants for first responders. I invite you to talk to Chris Cox and Jane Harman about this number!
The more resources we provide, the more important it is to make sure the money is spent to fight terrorism. Investments must always lead to outcomes that better protect our country.
That points to the importance of planning - seeing the big picture. We must train as we fight.
As Constance Perett of the LA County Office of Emergency Management puts it, "emergency management is the 'hub'" of the wheel.
Los Angeles County has long known the importance of comprehensive emergency planning and management. You operate under an "all-hazards" approach, based on lessons learned from mobilizing for natural disasters such as earthquakes, fires and floods. That's the right approach.
Sheriff Baca and Chief Freeman help lead the Standardized Emergency Management System, a statewide system that takes a regional approach, in which mutual aid is legally defined and routine.
Your cities get regular emergency management training and participate in countywide exercises.
Let me also say a word about your Terrorism Early Warning Group. It is a model for other cities and states. I am really looking forward to seeing the operation up close later today.
And you've involved the public through education and training campaigns for students as well as adults.
LAPD Chief Bill Bratton often speaks about "tipping point" leadership - meaning that once the minds and energies of a critical mass of people are engaged behind an idea, fundamental change will come swiftly. Our job is to engage this "critical mass" of people in their own protection.
It's still early. But based on the progress we've made together, I believe we're well on our way to finding that "tipping" point where we start going on offense instead of only playing defense. Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for helping us attain that level.
This page was last modified on 04/24/03 00:00:00