Secretary Tom Ridge Speaks at the Tennessee Valley Corridor Technology Summit

Release Date: 06/01/04 00:00:00

Knoxville, Tenn.
Tennessee Valley Corridor Technology Summit
June 1, 2004
(Remarks as Prepared)

I am pleased to be here with all of you today, especially in this wonderful convention center. I guess what is true in Washington, is also true in Knoxville – it’s good to know the appropriators.

You have some incredible members of Congress in this area. They are not only doing great work for Tennessee, they are doing great work for homeland security and our entire country. Many thanks to all of you.

This region has been so important to our country’s growth and success in the 20th century, it’s only fitting that you are continuing to push the limits of technological development in the 21st century.

The Tennessee Valley Corridor – and this summit – are the recent heirs to a long and storied history of ingenuity, innovation and hard work in this area.

When the stock market crashed in 1929 and the Great Depression darkened our Nation, Americans were presented with a new reality virtually overnight.  The Great Depression did not discriminate amongst its victims; they were from all regions of the country and all walks of life.  

The impact was devastating and far-reaching. The response required new and innovative solutions, not to mention bold leadership from President Roosevelt to create jobs and trust, and restore stability.    

One of these solutions was the Tennessee Valley Authority.  It was a different kind of agency.  As Roosevelt described it; “a corporation clothed with the power of government, but possessed of the flexibility and initiative of a private enterprise.”

TVA succeeded in the short term by providing jobs and power. But even more important, in the long term, it helped create a base for industry and technology for the economy of this region, and America, long after the affects of the Depression had subsided.  

Some 70 years later when the Twin Towers fell, and the Pentagon burned, and the passengers of Flight 93 made their heroic goodbyes, Americans were again faced with a new reality.

We saw in those moments – and again in Bali, Baghdad, Moscow and Madrid – that international terrorism knows no bounds and chooses victims from all ethnicities, races, and religions.  The threat is wide in scope, and requires bold and it too requires innovative solutions.

In the days and weeks following September 11th, the President knew, and Congress knew, and I knew – and most Americans knew – that we would have to make the full protection of our citizens, the highest charge of our Nation.

That is why the President and Congress created the Department of Homeland Security – to coordinate and develop a new, nationwide capability for prevention and response.

However, securing our homeland – just like recovering from the Great Depression – is not about one Department or Agency. It is about the integration of a nation, the integration of people and technology to make us smarter, more sophisticated, and more secure.

DHS serves as the lynchpin for this integration, but it requires the efforts of everyone in our great country. Much like the people of Tennessee did after the TVA was created, we went to work.  

We called on the best and brightest minds.  We sought out the most advanced technologies.  We began to build and bolster security protections throughout the country.

We worked to reduce the vulnerabilities that were exploited on September 11th, and think analytically about those that could be exploited in the future.

We examined our critical infrastructure, our transportation systems, our borders, our ports, and – of course – the skies overhead.  Nothing was beyond our scope of analysis.

Many of the people who made this possible are here today – homeland security directors, first responders, leaders from the community, and many more who have contributed to the protection of our homeland.

They took the challenge head-on, working together with a common vision and purpose. You can see and feel the difference they have made in ways large and small.

Before September 11th, ticket agents asked who packed a traveler’s bags, but little else was done in the airport or the aircraft to provide security.

Today, we have deployed newly trained screeners and thousands of Federal air marshals, hardened cockpit doors on aircraft, and introduced state-of-the-art technologies, which, from the curb to the cockpit, have made airline travel safer.

Before September 11th, visitors at our borders faced an inspection process with distinct and disparate purposes.

Today, we have unified that process to present “one face” at the border and have deployed advanced technologies like US-VISIT, our student exchange system, and Free and Secure Trade Lanes that welcome the free flow of trade and travelers, but keep terrorists out.

US-VISIT, in particular, is using the smart technology of biometrics to speed the entry of travelers – 4 million passengers have been processed to date – and stop criminals – more than 400 have been apprehended or prevented from entering the country.

Before September 11th, we never looked in a container of cargo until it reached our shores, though nearly 20,000 containers arrive in our ports every single day.

Now, as I speak, there are U.S. inspectors in Rotterdam, in Singapore, in Hong Kong, and 14 other international ports of trade, working alongside our allies to target and screen cargo and ensure the safety of world commerce.

Before September 11th, our national stockpile of medications to protect Americans against a bioterrorist attack was drastically undersupplied.

Today, we have stockpiled a billion doses of antibiotics and vaccines, including enough smallpox vaccine for every man, woman, and child in America.

Before September 11th – as many here today understand – our first preventers and first responders lacked the financial resources and equipment they needed to respond together to a crisis.

And yet, today, we have allocated or awarded more than $8 billion dollars for our state and local partners across the country and have developed new standards for interoperable communications equipment and protective gear.

Lastly, before September 11th, agencies in the Federal government saw very little need to share information and intelligence between themselves, let alone with state and local officials.

And yet, today secure communications technologies and expanded clearances, along with the shared language of the Homeland Security Advisory System, create a powerful and constant two-way flow of threat information between the Federal government and our partners across the country and around the world.

In almost every imaginable way possible, we have made a real difference in securing our people and our homeland, and there are more changes ahead.  

The successful integration of people and technology for a greater purpose has had a genuine result.   Thanks to new layered protections on air, land, and sea, our Nation is better protected and more secure today than we’ve ever been. But there is still work left. And we are going to need everyone’s help to get it done.

One of the things, of course, that we are focused on at the Department is prevention. While we ready ourselves to deal with a possible attack, we will also work to develop new means to prevent one from happening at all.

One of the ways we can do that is by harnessing the creativity and ingenuity that has defined our Nation for more than two centuries, the kind you find every day here in the Tennessee Valley Corridor. In laboratories and factories, classrooms and board rooms, experts are bringing the future of research and technology to bear on the homeland security challenges we face today.

Within the Department of Homeland Security, our Office for Science and Technology is specifically tasked with marshalling the intellectual capital of the academic, engineering, scientific, and private sector communities to develop fresh and effective approaches to safeguarding the American public.

S&T is the primary research and development arm of the Department. Our experts are looking to partner with both the public and private sectors – including companies and research facilities such as the Oak Ridge National Laboratory – to find solutions to meet our most pressing needs.

Some of you might be familiar with the Homeland Security Advanced Research Projects Agency (HSARPA) – which is part of our S&T division. They are developing the most innovative technologies to help us meet our mission.

Specifically, two research projects currently underway through HSARPA are biological sensors that can either “detect-to-treat” or “detect-to-protect.” The first analyzes biological agents on location across a large area – and would give medical first responders important information within three hours to help quickly treat patients.

The second system has a trigger sensor that makes it possible to accurately identify a biological attack on a building in less than two minutes – and automatically shift or stop air flows to limit inhalation.

The projects we are exploring through HSARPA comprise just one part of our overall strategy to make industry and academic contributions an important part of homeland security.

In every area of human endeavor, research and development is the engine that drives our nation to a better and brighter future. R&D at NASA brought us incredible pictures of the surface of Mars. R&D at the Department of Energy is helping to bring hydrogen-powered cars to our roadways.

And R&D at the Department of Homeland Security will bring new protections – those unimagined even today – to our shores and seaports, borders and buildings.

But government can’t do it alone. Contrary to what some believe, all knowledge does not reside in Washington, D.C. That is why your congressmen come back here to their districts whenever possible.

In so many cases, the government collaborates with academics, businesses, and scientists to produce together what would be impossible individually.

The Mars rovers Spirit and Opportunity could not have landed without the Jet Propulsion Lab at California Institute of Technology.

Hydrogen powered cars will not clean our air without the participation – in fact the leadership – of auto manufacturers and consumers.

And our Department is relying on the Tennessee Valley Corridor – and the entire research and development community – to bring the latest technologies to market and to develop an enduring national research capability in homeland protection.

Already, you have proven yourselves up to the task. The Oak Ridge National Laboratory is one of the premier places for radiological and nuclear research and development.

They are designing ultra-sensitive detectors that provide important information to first responders about necessary response measures and medical treatments.

ORNL is an important player – along with local companies such as iPIX, ORTEC, NucSafe, REMOTEC, and AquaSentinel – in our effort to build a vast R&D infrastructure to protect the homeland.

These companies are already helping to make America more secure. They are examples of what can happen when we bring people and technology together.

You have great people in this region – from your Senators and Congressmen, to your state and local officials, to first responders across the State of Tennessee. And you are developing great technologies right here in the Tennessee Valley Corridor. Together, you are making a difference for our Nation.

The British political thinker Edmund Burke once noted that “the only thing necessary for the triumph of evil…is for good men to do nothing.”

You have taken this to heart, and you are taking action.

There is plenty for all Americans to do to prevent the triumph of evil terrorists. And we have.  We have made progress in securing our country, and we will continue to work hard every day to improve our protections.

Homeland security is about the integration of a nation.  Everyone pledged to freedom’s cause, everyone its protector and everyone its beneficiary.

It’s about the integration of people and technology to make us smarter, safer, more sophisticated, and better protected.

It’s about the integration of our national efforts.  Not one department or one organization, but everyone tasked with our country’s protection.

Every day, we work to make America more secure. Every day, the memories of September 11th inspire us to live our vision of preserving our freedoms, enjoying our liberties, protecting America, and securing the homeland.

Thank you for your contributions. And thank you for having me here today.

This page was last modified on 06/01/04 00:00:00