Remarks by Secretary of Homeland Security Tom Ridge at the Urban Area Security Initiative Conference

Release Date: 09/13/04 00:00:00

Milwaukee, WI
September 13, 2004
(Remarks as Prepared)

Thank you, Josh.  It’s good to be here in the city of Milwaukee and the great state of Wisconsin.  I heard the locals got pretty excited when they heard a Cabinet Secretary and former governor who goes by the name Tom was speaking here today, until they found out his last name was Ridge and not Thompson.  I hear Tommy Thompson is still pretty popular around these parts.

Thank you for inviting me to participate in your conference.  I understand that you have had a busy and productive day, and I know that you have a packed schedule tomorrow.  I appreciate your participation as well – your commitment to bringing your knowledge and energy to share best practices, develop innovative solutions, and build upon partnerships in this important quest to combat terrorism and other emergencies.

On Saturday, we marked the anniversary of a sad day three years ago: September 11th, 2001, when we witnessed the unspeakable horror committed by ruthless killers – and realized the vast scope of plots and plans we would need to prepare ourselves for in the future.

But we don’t have to go back as far as September 11th to remind ourselves that we need to be prepared not only for terrorist attacks, but also other emergencies.  

We see what has happened down in Florida; three hurricanes.  You saw the horrible tragedies associated with the incident at the school in Beslan, Russia, and the list seems to go on and on and on.  I think it’s important at this juncture to thank all the men and women and organizations involved in the response and recovery effort in Florida and in Georgia and Alabama and everywhere else.   FEMA, the Red Cross, the Salvation Army, first responders, church groups and literally thousands and thousands of people have come from around the country to help their fellow citizens, particularly in Florida.  They’re working around the clock to help these communities, these families, and the state recover.

In facing new hardships, new enemies, new wars, and new challenges, Americans are not only all equal to the task -- as citizens we are all joined to it, united in a common effort for the common good.  I have said many times that the federal government does not have a monopoly on good ideas; nor can Washington, D.C. micromanage the protection of America.  When I say homeland security, I’m not speaking of a federal strategy; I’m speaking about the mission and the mandate of a nation.

We all share that mandate to prevent terrorist attacks, reduce our vulnerabilities and prepare to respond and recover should an attack occur.  Fire fighters, mayors, county officials, law enforcement, business leaders, emergency managers, freedom-loving citizens everywhere – we all must pledge ourselves to protect the freedom that so many before us have fought to preserve.  We are all freedom’s beneficiaries; therefore, we must all be its protector.

All of you, as representatives and protectors of large urban areas, are critical to this philosophy of shared responsibility, shared leadership, and shared accountability.  Together, we have accomplished much in the three years since 9-11.  And together we will continue to make America safer in the future.  That is why I’d like to talk today not just about the Department’s progress, but really, the nation’s progress.  For it is a strong record of accomplishment made stronger by ordinary, extraordinary citizens.

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; we've hardened cockpit doors on the aircraft, 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, the US-VISIT system, the student exchange program, special lanes for pre-cleared travelers and cargo that all welcome the free flow of trade and travelers, but keep terrorists out.

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 and Singapore and Hong Kong and 22 other international ports of trade, working alongside our allies to target and screen cargo.

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.

There is so much more to tell.  Before September 11th, employers and employees rarely took the time to prepare and exercise emergency plans. And yet, recently, the American National Standards Institute and the National Fire Prevention Association have created voluntary readiness standards that Homeland Security encourages businesses to adopt. It will be very much a part of our outreach campaign to the business community later this year.

Before September 11th, 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 $8.5 billion dollars for our state and local partners across the country.

We have and will continue to develop new standards for interoperable communications equipment and protective gear. All across the nation, this money is helping to fund much-needed equipment and training, critical assets that can help folks on the frontlines perform their duties quickly and safely at any emergency scene.

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 at the state and local level and around the world.

One of the ways we both give and receive this information is through the Homeland Security Information Network.  We launched it this spring.  This is a real-time collaboration system that is already being used by more than a thousand individuals who have access to it through our computers to report incidents, crimes, and potential terrorist acts to one another, but also to the Department of Homeland Security.

This information tool would not be an effective tool without the participation of our partners, state and local partners with whom we can and do communicate on a daily basis, sharing information at both the classified and the unclassified level to enhance security.  

This widens the communication channels that were so limited, in some places nonexistent, three years ago.  It's like an instant messenger system for law enforcement and other public safety officials across the country.  Already, we've reached full connectivity with all 50 states.  Remaining territories, counties, and others will be linked to the system by the end of this year.

Now, interestingly, the idea of this network and the plan was developed, not in Washington, but by officials in the state of California and the city of New York.  They brought us the idea, they helped us advance the concept and as a result, multiple jurisdictions, disciplines and emergency operation centers now receive and share the same intelligence and tactical information.  

They can all operate at the same situational awareness level. The connectivity is real-time, 24-hours-a-day, seven-days-a-week, into our Homeland Security Operations Center.

Before September 11th, fire department radios couldn't transmit to police department radios.  Firefighters rushing in from other cities and even neighborhoods were, in some cases, unable to assist because the couplings that attach hoses to hydrants simply wouldn't fit without an adaptor.  They were not compatible on their own.  

Now, there are immediate steps we are taking in the short term to improve connectivity in a crisis with the first priority being on communication.  Earlier this year, we identified technical specifications that will allow first-responders to communicate with one other during a crisis -- and this is interesting -- regardless of the frequency or the mode of communication.  

This system, quite simply, is a technology translator.  In other words, whether information comes in from a landline, radio or some form of wireless, it's interpreted and then goes back out in the same language in which it came.

But we also needed and are working together toward a permanent solution, one that will not only help us respond to terrorist incidents, but also a criminal event or a natural disaster.  And input from you – the people using the equipment -- will help us address everything from full spectrum communications to standards for equipment our first-responders use.

In addition, as you discussed earlier today, we now have a NIMS, a National Incident Management System, and a National Response Plan.

As a result, instead of 50 individual state plans, we now have one unified procedure that everyone has embraced, so that those with responsibility for protection at all levels of government and the private sector understand their roles and their responsibilities in the event of a crisis and have the tools they need to carry them out.

So, we have made progress.  But we know that to defend the homeland, we must start by defending the hometown.  We must defend our cities across America.  And the mission, the purpose of the Urban Areas Security Initiative is to build a sustainable and measurable increase in the capability of these critical urban areas so we can defend them.

President Bush is absolutely committed to providing urban areas, mass transit systems, and ports with the resources – the grant funding, planning, training, new equipment, and exercises – for these urban areas to achieve their missions.  

Nationwide, the Bush Administration has allocated more resources to homeland security than any prior administration.  The President’s 2005 budget request of $40.2 billion for homeland security is an increase of $20.4 billion, or 29 percent, over the 2001 level.

The Administration also recognizes the need to give more funds to urban areas that have greater security needs, such as yours.  That’s why the President’s fiscal year 2005 budget request reflects our priority to shift more funding resources to urban areas.  

The Urban Areas Security Initiative has thus far provided a total of $1.4 billion to address the unique equipment, training, planning and exercise needs of large, high-threat urban areas.   You have used these funds and resources wisely. And you have demonstrated leadership and innovation.

Chicago has planned a new Operations Center that will serve as a central command post for agency coordination and information sharing…to plan, manage and respond to major neighborhood and downtown events to ensure the safety and security of Chicago’s residents.  Mayor Daley announced last week that Chicago will also establish a unified camera network that will provide surveillance of critical infrastructure and high risk areas with 250 additional specialized cameras. Chicago’s 911 center will fully integrate this surveillance capacity into its call taking and dispatch operations.

Kansas City is a great example of our one team, one fight approach.  Its Mid-America Regional Council and its eight-county regional homeland security coordinating committee fosters a regional cooperation that integrates strategy and planning.  

And it not only extends that cooperation between towns, counties, and cities, but also between two states.   The Mid-America Regional Council has developed a regional compliment to the Homeland Security Information Network, the Metropolitan Emergency Information System.  This system, by providing an inventory of resources, capabilities and regional assets, helps first responders share information and respond to all hazards.  

The City of Dallas and Dallas County are modernizing their dispatch systems to allow seamless dispatching and receipt of information across the urban area.  Local law enforcement in Dallas also combined forces with a woman who had started a company that had software that, among other things, helped talent agencies conduct talent searches.  This software, this technology with a robust search capability, was the type of technology that the FBI desperately needed after September 11th.   So the Dallas urban area became the first pilot city for our Homeland Security Information Network – Critical Infrastructure.

And this network is another great tool because it is a cross-agency, cross-sector, cross discipline, public and private information-sharing and alert notification system.  It is locally governed and administered by knowledgeable, respected domain experts and decision makers from the private and public sectors.

The Houston urban area is hardening sites and providing surveillance systems at water plants, intrusion detection for Hobby Airport and Bush Intercontinental Airport, and blast protection at City Hall.

Cincinnati purchased personal protective equipment and mobile decontamination stations to place throughout the county, as well as outfitted the region’s hospitals with weapons of mass destruction response equipment.  Cincinnati has also planned the establishment of a joint regional operations center that will create a state of the art emergency operations center for both the city and the county.

The Columbus urban area is implementing a strategy to reach out to local businesses on homeland security issues and provide critical information on evacuations, sheltering in place, vehicular borne improvised explosive devices, and formulating emergency operations plans.

And here in the Milwaukee region, you and your leaders are designing a regional interoperable communication plan for all the surrounding counties – an area that would cover about half the population of Wisconsin.  The Milwaukee area is also converting from analog to digital communication – a critical leap in progress.

This is just a brief glimpse into many of the protective measures and innovative solutions that all of you, working together, have put in place, or will put in place.  Now, there may be some who would be tempted to say there is more we can do.  And they would be right.  

And yet, in every way possible, we've made a real difference in securing our people and our homeland, and there are certainly more changes ahead.  

Your participation and partnership in this conference, and your ideas and best practices that you share with each other are critical to keep our nation safe.  The successful integration of people and technology for a greater purpose has had a genuine result, and our continued teamwork will serve as a brick wall to those who seek to do us harm.  

There is more that we can do – and, you need only look at our progress in three years time to know that we will get it done – together.

Terrorists profoundly underestimated the character of our country – the resolve of our citizens.  Your efforts show the world that America will not shrink from the great challenge before us, but that we will come together and answer that challenge loudly and confidently – with common purpose, yet uncommon strength.

Thank you.

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This page was last modified on 09/13/04 00:00:00