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Release Date: 04/05/04 00:00:00
Portland, Oregon
Port of Portland
April 5, 2004
Remarks as Prepared
Thank you for that introduction. It is a pleasure to be here at one of America's busiest ports. It would be easy to assume that this fine city got its name because of this important gateway to the oceans, so I was a little disappointed to hear that it was only because of a fortuitous coin-toss that we aren't standing today at the Port of Boston.
Thank goodness for the "Portland Penny" that landed just right to import the name from Francis Pettygrove's home in Maine. That may have been the first import for this city, but it was far from the last. Now, this port is visited by more than 800 vessels per year, handling nearly 2 million tons of cargo.
That is equivalent to all of the steel you would need to build 200 Rose Gardens. That would make tickets to a Blazers game a bit cheaper! The traffic through this port is an indication of how important the entire maritime industry is to the health of our nation's economy--contributing more than one trillion dollars to the annual GDP.
Of course, that also means port security must be one of our highest priorities--as it has been since the tragic attacks we suffered on September 11th.
Several times throughout our history, the American people have been asked to meet the challenge of challenging times. Whether to defeat a monarchy, preserve our union, or hold back the scourge of genocide--the responsibilities of freedom have weighed heavily on our nation.
But we have learned that freedom's greatest companion is fellowship, unity, the integration of nation in which everyone is pledged to freedom's cause. It's this fellowship that has allowed us to meet great challenges with combined strength and, ultimately, success.
On September 11th, 2001, moments after the Twin Towers fell, and the Pentagon burned, and the passengers of Flight 93 made their heroic goodbyes, we knew that another challenge was upon us, and that a unified effort was key to our security. And so, fear and frustration from that day turned quickly to resolve and resolve turned into action. The protection of our people became the highest charge of our Nation. We moved quickly to shore up vulnerabilities that were uncovered on that tragic day--and to prevent others from being uncovered in the future.
I am pleased to report that just one year after President Bush and Congress created the Department of Homeland Security; we have made significant strides in evaluating and securing these areas of greatest vulnerability. In short, we are safer today than ever before. We took immediate and extensive measures to enhance aviation security. In less than a year, we deployed newly trained screeners, thousands of federal air marshals and state-of-the-art technologies, which, from the curb to the cockpit, have made airline travel safer.
We also strengthened security at our borders--welcoming the free flow of trade and travelers, but keeping terrorists out. We unified the inspection process--presenting "one face" at the border--and in doing so, nurtured better morale, improved service, and shorter delays. We launched the US-VISIT program at 115 airports and 14 seaports across the country. Now, the "smart technology" of biometrics are speeding the entry of millions of travelers, and stopping criminals before they enter our country.
We also launched the Ready Campaign and expanded Citizen Corps to 900 communities. This one-two punch for engaging individual Americans is the most widespread citizen preparedness effort ever undertaken.
In addition, thanks to secure communications, expanded security clearances for our partners, and the shared language of the Homeland Security Advisory system, we created a powerful and constant two-way flow of information between the federal government and our partners at the state and local level.
Most importantly, we allocated or awarded a record $8 billion to states, regions and cities to help train and equip our nation's dedicated first responders--those on the front lines of homeland security in our hometowns and neighborhoods.
As part of these grants, I recently announced that the Department of Homeland Security will award $2.2 billion from the State Homeland Security Grant Program and $725 million from the Urban Area Security Initiative to state and local governments to help first responders across the nation better protect their communities.
In the coming weeks, $32 million will be awarded to the State of Oregon and more than $8 million will arrive here in Portland to enhance preparedness and deliver resources to first responders in this and surrounding areas.
In addition, it is my pleasure to announce today a $2.8 million dollar Pre-Disaster Mitigation Grant to the Oregon University System and the Oregon Department of Geology and Mineral Industries. This money will be used to reinforce buildings on the campuses of Portland State and Oregon Institute of Technology in order to prevent damage that could happen in an earthquake or similar disaster.
After all, the most important thing we can do is to prevent injuries and loss of life. Should the forces of nature exert themselves on this area--these buildings would be the most vulnerable. With this grant, they will undergo "seismic rehabilitation" so that the students and faculty at these institutions can go about their business safe from harm.
As I mentioned earlier--and as everyone here knows so well--security in and around our ports has been an area of great concern, as well as great accomplishment.
Our efforts to enhance maritime security continue to be led by the Coast Guard. After September 11th, we refocused its mission to make homeland security its top priority, and gave it its largest budget since World War II. We mobilized an additional 4,000 Coast Guard reservists, and created 13 rapid response Maritime Safety and Security Teams, deployed at ports on both coasts and the Gulf of Mexico.
This was accomplished without neglecting the Coast Guard's core duties: marine safety, search and rescue, drug and migrant interdiction, environmental protection--and, for some, deployment overseas in the war on terrorism.
The Coast Guard protects more than 360 ports and 95,000 miles of coastline in the United States. Last year alone, they conducted more than 36,000 port security patrols, 8,000 security related boardings, and escorted more than 7,000 vessels.
In addition, the Coast Guard has been vital to the development--and implementation--of the Maritime Transportation Security Act. As you know, the final rules for the act were published and announced last fall, requiring port officials, ships' captains and facility operators to submit individualized security plans to the Department for approval.
Already, the Coast Guard has received more than 99% of the required vessel and facility security plans, and I want to commend such swift action and cooperation.
We realize that when it comes to these plans, one size does not fit all. They allow for flexibility, so that individual facilities can ratchet protective measures up or down, based on the threat.
They utilize technology, such as the new Automatic Identification System, which will help us quickly separate law-abiding vessels from suspect ones. And they must meet or exceed basic national and international standards so our response to a terrorist threat or attack is coordinated, not chaotic.
The implementation of these plans--due by July 1st--will complement our Department's already strong response to the need for port security. Our posture is one of "layered security"--pushing our borders continuously outward from American shores.
It starts with our landmark Container Security Initiative. As you know, under CSI, U.S. Customs and Border Protection inspectors are placed at the world's top seaports, where they work with their foreign counterparts to screen and label cargo as "higher-risk" or "low-risk" long before it reaches the U.S.
This process is aided immeasurably by the new "24-hour rule," which requires electronic transmission of advance cargo manifests from U.S.-bound sea carriers a day in advance of loading. Early reports from industry show that the 24-hour rule is aiding not just security, but productivity.
The information is run through our Automated Targeting System, which compares it against law enforcement data, the latest threat intelligence and the ships' history.
Finally, the higher-risk shipments are physically inspected for terrorist weapons and contraband prior to being released from the port of entry.
A great example of the effectiveness of our programs occurred right here in Portland last summer. Customs and Border Patrol Agents--using the electronic information they were provided about a ship transiting from China to El Salvador--seized a cache of weapons worth more than $421,000. The ship was traveling without a permit and was mismarked as frozen trout! Problem was, that frozen trout was making the long trip across the Pacific in an un-refrigerated cargo container.
The confluence of information, ingenuity, and initiatives like CSI will together help us achieve "Maritime Domain Awareness"--knowledge of the area, of conditions and of our capabilities. The more we work to achieve MDA, the more terrorists we stop in their tracks--and the more we deter from attempting to penetrate our ports.
The concept of MDA can be applied to the entire country--we must be aware of both the terrorists' capabilities and our own--on land, sea, and air. We were reminded of this three weeks ago when our friends and allies in Spain fell victim to devastating rail bombings.
The terrorists again proved to be undiscerning in their choice of methods and targets, and the recent events in Madrid reminded us that we must continue to stay ahead of them. We must understand the lessons of 3-11, much as we have worked diligently to tend to the lessons of 9-11.
First, the terrorists in part targeted the free and democratic elections in Spain – again striking at the elements of our society that they hate the most. As we enter a season dominated by these symbols--the Olympics, political conventions, and our own presidential election--we must remain on heightened alert so that these very foundations of our freedom do not become targets for the enemy.
Second, we must evaluate the security throughout our nation's vast system of railways and add to our efforts where necessary. While there are no indications that terrorists are planning similar attacks in the United States in the near term, we have asked transit and rail operators around the country to be on a heightened state of alert and deploy additional security personnel and surveillance equipment.
I also recently announced several new initiatives to enhance the federal government's ongoing efforts over the past two years to bolster security along the country's thousands of miles of railroad. These new initiatives will target three specific areas: threat response support capability, public awareness and participation, and future technological innovations.
They include the development of a rapid deployment Mass Transit K-9 program, a pilot program to test the feasibility of screening luggage and carry-on bags for explosives at rail stations and aboard trains, and advanced research into bomb interdiction for truck and suicide threats.
Already, DHS screens high-risk rail cargo entering the U.S. through the National Targeting Center (NTC) and border inspection workforce to help prevent rail lines from being used as instruments of terrorism.
Along with the Department of Transportation's Federal Railroad Administration and Federal Transit Administration, DHS' Information Analysis and Infrastructure Protection division has conducted comprehensive vulnerability assessments of rail and transit networks that operate in high-density urban areas.
These risk-based assessments have provided information on where current and future security resources must be directed and have helped transit systems produce robust security and emergency preparedness plans.
DHS also coordinates information and threat sharing through the Surface Transportation ISAC, has held security exercises that bring together rail carriers, federal and local first responders, and security experts, and has hosted key rail personnel at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center to receive antiterrorism training.
As March Madness reaches its ultimate game, I thought it would be appropriate to share some wisdom from arguably the greatest NCAA basketball coach of all time--John Wooden, who coached UCLA to ten NCAA basketball titles. He said that "the most important key to achieving great success is to decide upon your goal and launch, get started, take action, move."
We've done that as a nation since 9-11 and as a Department over the course of the past year--we've taken actions to make our ports, our borders, our airways and railways-- in fact our entire country--safer from terrorism.
There is the old maxim: strength in numbers. And perhaps, if there is anything we gained from 9-11 and 3-11 and many attacks in between, it is the collective understanding of the most basic of principles: again, that freedom's greatest companion is fellowship, unity, the integration of a nation--and nations.
Our responsibilities to one another must reach from a national crisis to an individual need. They must extend from community to community, neighbor to neighbor, citizen to citizen.
I'm quite grateful for the resolve and responsibility shown by all Americans--especially those of you here today who work hard to protect this country and its citizens. And I ask that we continue to work together as we have time and again to achieve our dreams and goals--and preserve America as the world's greatest home for freedom.
Thank you.
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This page was last reviewed/modified on 04/05/04 00:00:00.
