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Release Date: 05/01/03 00:00:00
U.S. Department of Homeland Security
Office of the Press Secretary
May 1, 2003
For Immediate Release
*Prepared Remarks*
*Secretary Ridge may sometimes deviate from the text*
Good morning Chairman Collins, Senator Lieberman, distinguished members of the committee. It is a pleasure and privilege to be with you for my first appearance before the Governmental Affairs Committee as Secretary of Homeland Security. This is, after all, the committee principally responsible for the creation of the Department of Homeland Security. And I thank you for your historic efforts in that undertaking and for your continued interest and support.
I particularly appreciate the opportunity to come here today to discuss possible ways to improve the Department's homeland security grant programs.
We, as Americans, have an appropriately deep sense of gratitude, respect and admiration for our dedicated and courageous first responder community. They are the ones we turn to first in time of need, and they never let us down. The diligence and professionalism that first responders recently involved with Operation Liberty Shield demonstrated typify the way these selfless Americans approach their duties.
It is a priority of this administration and the Department of Homeland Security to effectively and efficiently meet our responsibility to support first responders as they play their critical role in counter-terrorism efforts. I am pleased to be working with leaders at the state and local level to ensure that this support is properly organized, properly focused and properly funded.
Today, we operate in both a fiscal and homeland security environment where we must ensure maximum benefit is derived from every security dollar. To do that, we must have the courage to question the way we do business, and the will to make changes if we can find a better way.
Two questions I would like to address today are:
First: Can we improve the way that the Department of Homeland Security's first responder grant programs are organized?
And second: Can we improve the way that these grants are distributed?
I believe the answer to both questions is YES.
Currently within the Department, the Office for Domestic Preparedness issues formula grants to state and local first responders from its placement within the Directorate of Border and Transportation Security.
At the same time, the Directorate of Emergency Preparedness and Response issues fire grants to state and local firefighters. There is an Office of State and Local Government Coordination, which serves as our principle liaison to state and local entities, but they administer no grant programs at all.
All three of these entities are doing a superb job with their respective programs. Without a doubt, the degree of coordination is far greater than before the Department was created. And yet, there are steps available to us that would streamline and improve the important work they do in supporting our state and local partners in the war on terrorism.
The President's budget request for Fiscal Year 2004 proposes that all monies for both ODP and fire grant programs be administered through the Office for Domestic Preparedness.
The request is a $3.5 billion commitment to support first responders, and it is a major step toward simplifying the administration and dissemination of first responder grants. It would also move state and local governments toward the much-needed "one-stop shop" they have been seeking, consolidate related functions within the Department of Homeland Security, and improve coordination between the programs.
S796, a bill co-sponsored by Chairman Collins and Senators Lieberman and Durbin, takes a second and equally important step. It would move the Office for Domestic Preparedness from its current placement within the Directorate of Border and Transportation Security and place it within the Office of State and Local Government Coordination.
It would also strategically place funding programs for state and local first responders within the office directly responsible for maintaining communications, and coordinating DHS efforts with state and local governments. The Administration supports the move of ODP as proposed in this legislation and I pledge to continue working with you in a bi-partisan fashion on the particulars of the bill.
Both of the above-mentioned steps will substantially increase the efficiency with which these programs operate. There are additional changes, though, that are needed to reap similar improvements to increase the effectiveness of the grants.
We have learned much about securing our homeland since September 11th, 2001. One lesson that has become clear is that we can improve upon the formula currently being used for distribution of ODP grants, and partially defined within the Patriot Act. The concept behind the Patriot Act formula is valid; security needs to be improved everywhere, and more protection is usually needed where more people are.
But the current formula fails to recognize that linear population increases do not always equate to linear threat increases. Concentrations of people, critical infrastructure and politically attractive targets can tend to increase threat levels exponentially.
The need to separate out funds for high-threat urban areas was first recognized and addressed in the Fiscal Year 2003 Omnibus. That need was again addressed in the Fiscal Year 2003 Wartime Supplemental. While the steps taken in these bills are effective in the short term, I believe we need to address the cause behind the need for them as well.
In that spirit, DHS is currently working to develop an updated formula that better takes into account threats, population density and the presence of critical infrastructure. We look forward to working closely with Congress, our nation's state and local first responders and stakeholder communities throughout this process to ensure that effective and equitable funding is provided.
Let me close with a reaffirmation of the Administration's, the Department's and my own personal commitment to our nation's heroic first responders. I salute them for their patriotism and thank them for their service.
The people of the Department of Homeland Security are committed to doing all within our power and purview to see that the first responder community, and all those involved in protecting our homeland, are part of a well- organized, properly resourced and focused team.
I thank the committee for the opportunity to share my thoughts on this most important topic and welcome any questions you might have.
This page was last modified on 05/01/03 00:00:00