*EPF310 01/22/2003
U.S. Senate Confirms Ridge to be Secretary of Homeland Security
(Congressional Report, January 22: New agency to Combat Terrorism) (660)

The U.S. Senate overwhelmingly confirmed President Bush's nomination of Tom Ridge to be the first secretary of the new Department of Homeland Security, which pulls together 22 federal agencies and 170,000 employees to bolster the nation's security against potential terrorist attacks and other national emergencies.

By a vote of 94 to 0, the Senate confirmed the Ridge nomination January 22. The action clears the way for Ridge to be sworn in and ready to lead the cabinet-level department, which opens January 24 in temporary transition headquarters in Washington.

Ridge, a decorated Vietnam Veteran, is the former governor of Pennsylvania, served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1983-95, and was an assistant district attorney. He was named by President Bush on October 8, 2001 to be director of the White House's Office of Homeland Security to help direct federal measures to protect the United States from any further terrorist attacks, and to help the country recover from the September 11th attacks on the World Trade Center in New York and the Pentagon in Washington.

Ridge, testifying at his confirmation hearing before the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee January 17, said the United States is undoubtedly safer now than before September 11th, but he added that far more needs to be done to protect against "a hate-filled, remorseless enemy that takes many forms and has many places to hide."

He testified that under the current organizational plan for the department, the Immigration and Naturalization Service will be separated into enforcement and services functions. "If we are to remain the land of freedom and opportunity, we must retain complete control over who enters our country and maintain the integrity of our immigration system so that we always know who is in our country and for what purpose," he said.

President Bush, in a prepared statement issued January 22, said: "I applaud the Senate for acting quickly and in a strong, bipartisan manner to confirm the first Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security. With today's historic vote, the Senate has demonstrated our shared commitment to doing everything we can to secure our homeland. Secretary Ridge is an outstanding and dedicated public servant who understands my administration's top priority always will be the protection of the American people."

Senate Governmental Affairs Chairwoman Susan Collins, a Maine Republican, said Ridge is assuming "a cabinet post that may well be the most challenging position created by Congress during the last 50 years."

Veteran Senator Robert Byrd, a West Virginia Democrat, warned the Senate that Ridge must "understand that he will be responsible not only for defending the homeland, but also for defending against the abuse of power within the new department."

In related action, the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee held a confirmation hearing January 22 on the nomination of Asa Hutchinson, the current director of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, to become under secretary of Homeland Security for border and transportation security. On January 24, the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee will hold hearings to examine the nomination of Navy Secretary Gordon England to be the deputy secretary of Homeland Security.

President Bush, on November 25, 2002, signed into law the "Homeland Security Act of 2002," which created the Department of Homeland Security. The act restructures and strengthens the executive branch of the federal government to meet the threat posed by terrorism, according to the White House.

Congress and the White House have already begun the process of writing an organizational plan and a budget for the new department, and it is expected to take most of 2003 to make the department operational. The department will contain four primary divisions: border and transportation security; emergency preparedness and response; science and technology; and information analysis and infrastructure protection.

(Distributed by the Office of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)

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