PROTECTING THE HOMELAND Together, we will confront the threat of terrorism. We will take strong precautions aimed at preventing terrorist attacks and prepare to respond effectively if they might come again. We will defend our country; and while we do so, we will not sacrifice the freedoms that make our land unique. President George W. Bush October 8, 2001 Overview Our nation learned a terrible lesson on September 11th-America has evil, cold-blooded enemies capable of unprecedented acts of mass murder and terror. The characteristics of American society that we cherish-our freedom, our openness, our great cities, our modern transportation systems make us vulnerable to terrorism of catastrophic proportions. This vulnerability will exist even after we bring justice to those responsible for the events of September 11th. Indeed, the threat of mass-destruction terrorism has become a reality of life in the 21st Century. It is a permanent condition to which not just America, but the entire world must adjust. The federal government has an absolute obligation to secure the homeland from future terrorist attacks. This will involve major new programs and significant reforms by the federal government, several of which are described in this budget. But it will also involve new or expanded efforts by state and local governments, private industry, non-governmental organizations, and ordinary citizens. The higher priority we all now attach to homeland security has already begun to ripple through the land. Homeland security is a challenge of monumental scale and complexity. It will not be cheap, easy, or quick. Achieving our homeland security objectives will require vast sums of money, strenuous labor, and many years. Our work has already begun, and it will continue. The American people should have no doubt that ultimately we will succeed in weaving a proper and permanent level of security into the fabric of America. This budget reflects not just our absolute commitment to achieving a much more secure homeland, but also our determination to do so in a manner that preserves liberty and strengthens our economy. September 11th and Our Response The September 11th terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon have presented an unprecedented challenge to our nation. The response has been, and must continue to be, equal to that challenge. The President's Budget devotes a total of $38 billion to a host of federal agencies that will develop a new level of security to protect Americans at home. Throughout this volume, this Minuteman appears at the bottom of pages where a discussion on homeland security begins. 15 In the immediate aftermath of the attacks, Congress swiftly appropriated $40 billion to aid reconstruction, wage war against terrorism, and strengthen our defenses at home. In the months since September 11th, the $10.6 billion of the $40 billion dedicated to homeland security purposes has helped to: ⚫ dramatically increase the number of sky support the largest criminal investigation in ⚫ acquire enough medicine to treat up to 10 investigate the sources of terrorist funding, and • deploy hundreds of Coast Guard cutters, acquire equipment for certain major mail Aftermath of terrorist attack on the World Trade Center. station 8,000 National Guards troops at baggage-screening checkpoints at 420 major airports. Now we will take the next step. When the President established a new Office of Homeland Security, under the leadership of Governor Tom Ridge, he directed the Office "to develop and coordinate the implementation of a comprehensive national strategy to secure the United States from terrorist threats or attacks." This strategy will meet four key tests: • The strategy for homeland security will be comprehensive and will integrate the full range of homeland security activities into a single, mutually supporting plan. • The strategy will be a national strategy, not a federal government strategy. The threat posed by terrorism does not fall neatly within the jurisdiction of the federal government. To defeat terrorism, the federal government must work with states and localities and the private sector. • The strategy will commit the federal government to a long-term plan and a long-term budget to improve homeland security. • Finally, the strategy will include benchmarks and other performance measures by which we can evaluate progress and allocate resources. These objectives will set the goals for federal departments and agencies. They will also give guidance to state and local governments and the private sector. At the same time as we craft our national strategy, we will begin work immediately on four urgent and essential missions for the defense of our homeland: ⚫ ensuring state and local first responders (firemen, police, and rescue workers) are prepared for terrorism; • enhancing our defenses against biological attacks; securing our borders; and ⚫ sharing information and using information technology to secure the homeland. The President's Budget for 2003, including Department of Defense spending, provides $21 billion to fulfill these four missions. Including other programs, total spending for homeland security would rise to $38 billion in 2003-an $18 billion increase over 2002, a virtual doubling of the pre-September 11th levels. The task of homeland security, however, is extraordinarily broad. The national strategy, therefore, will go well beyond these four initiatives. The nation's response to the terrorist attacks, although impressive in many respects, revealed substantial shortcomings in our ability to prevent, mitigate, and investigate such events. The sheer size and wealth of America means that we present many targets to terrorists. Similarly, our freedom and openness makes our society vulnerable. Terrorists can strike at any place, at any time, with virtually any weapon. But America's free and open society has been challenged before and we can meet this new threat without abandoning these fundamental American principles. Local fire, police, and rescue workers are the first to arrive at catastrophes, such as the September 11th attacks. In this war on terrorism against our homeland, first responders are the infantry, protecting our lives and freedoms 24 hours a day. What they do in the first minutes after an attack can mean the difference between life and death for the terrorist's victims. We ask much from them, and they always deliver. Now it's time to come through for them. The President's Budget provides $3.5 billion to support first responders, a more than twelvefold increase over 2002. The funds would be used to buy personal protective equipment, emergency medical equipment, biological and chemical detection equipment, communications, and other items that local first responders tell us they need. It would help first responders acquire the latest technology and training that can shave critical minutes or hours off of response time, but due to the cost may have been out of reach for many localities. For example, this funding could be used to acquire diagnostic test equipment that can reduce the time required to test for anthrax from 40 hours to a matter of minutes. In the hours and days that followed the terrorist The funds will also be used to conduct more frequent regional terrorism drills and rehearsals, enabling first responders to work together and identify gaps in their responses. The funds would be used to upgrade emergency communications systems throughout the nation, enabling more first responders and their agencies to talk with one another in "real time." Finally, a portion of this funding will be dedicated to a new Homeland Security Corps that will be coordinated by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and be a key component of the USA Freedom Corps. The role of first responders, who are largely under state or local control, is a reminder that our war on terrorism is a national, not a federal, effort. Under the budget, first responders will have increased freedom to determine their own needs and how best to meet them. FEMA will work closely with state and local officials to ensure their planning, training, and equipment needs are addressed. FEMA will also be charged with improving the federal government's coordination with state and local governments and reducing duplication within federal agencies. Mission Two: Enhancing Our Defense Against Biological Attacks On October 4, 2001, a Florida man named Robert Stevens was diagnosed with inhalation anthrax. The source of the anthrax attacks is still unknown. But the effects of the attacks are clear: five people murdered; hundreds treated; thousands tested; and a new American vulnerability laid bare. The consequences of new, larger, more sophisticated attacks could be much worse. We must have no illusions about the threat of germ terror. We learned that we must strengthen effective means to detect and react quickly to bioterrorism-and that a failure to do so endangers our people and our nation. So the President's 2003 Budget requests $5.9 billion to enhance our defenses against bioterrorism, principally in the following four major areas: be First, the President proposes spending $1.2 billion in 2003 to increase the capacity of state and local health delivery systems to respond to bioterrorism attacks. The largest share of this funding, $591 million, would provided to hospitals for infrastructure improvements such as communications systems and decontamination facilities, comprehensive planning on a regional basis to maximize coordination and mutual aid, and training exercises that will help the public health and emergency response communities work together better. The budget also includes Disease has long been the deadliest enemy President George W. Bush $210 million for states to assess their existing ability to respond to such attacks, and then strengthen their capacity to do so. An additional $200 million would be used to increase state laboratory capacity and related systems to permit rapid collection and identification of potential biological agents. • Second, the President's Budget includes an aggressive $2.4 billion research and development program to develop technologies that will strengthen our bioterrorism response capabilities in the mid- and long-term. Almost $1.7 billion would be provided to the National Institutes of Health to perform fundamental research leading to the development of vaccines, therapeutics, diagnostic tests, and reliable biological agent collection, rapid identification and monitoring technologies, and to create a safe and reliable anthrax vaccine. Another $420 million is proposed for the Department of Defense (DoD) to study the technology and tactics of bioterrorists and devise countermeasures to the use of biological agents as weapons. The budget also includes $100 million to improve security at the nation's biological research laboratories and $75 million for the Environmental Protection Agency to develop improved techniques and procedures to cope with future biological or chemical incidents. Third, the President's bioterrorism initiative includes $851 million to improve federal capabilities to respond to bioterrorist events. The National Pharmaceutical Stockpile will contain a sufficient amount of antibiotics to provide treatment for 20 million people by the end of 2002. The budget includes $300 million to manage this stockpile, increase the supply of chemical antidotes, and conduct the proper planning and training to ensure that states can effectively receive and distribute stockpile allotments. It also includes $100 million to improve our ability to distribute and effectively use the nation's supply of smallpox vaccine and $99 million for the Food and Drug Administration to enhance the safety of the nation's food supply. • Fourth, the budget proposes spending $392 million to strengthen our ability to detect and react quickly through improved communications to a biological attack. A key component of this ability is information management and exchange. The budget includes $202 million to create a national information management system that links emergency medical responders with public health officials, enables early warning information to be distributed quickly, and permits emergency medical care and public health care providers to share diagnostic and treatment information and facilities. The budget also includes $175 million to assist state |