NOTE: Under Committee Rules, Mr. Young, as Chairman of the Full Committee, and Mr. Obey, as Ranking Minority Member of the Full Committee, are authorized to sit as Members of all Subcommittees. MICHELLE MRDEZA, JEANNE WILSON, STEPHANIE GUPTA, JEFF ASHFORD, APPROPRIATIONS FOR 2004 HEARINGS BEFORE A SUBCOMMITTEE OF THE COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS ONE HUNDRED EIGHTH CONGRESS NOTE: Under Committee Rules, Mr. Young, as Chairman of the Full Committee, and Mr. Obey, as Ranking MICHELLE MRDEZA, JEANNE WILSON, STEPHANIE GUPTA, JEFF ASHFORD, COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS C. W. BILL YOUNG, Florida, Chairman RALPH REGULA, Ohio JIM KOLBE, Arizona JAMES T. WALSH, New York CHARLES H. TAYLOR, North Carolina DAVID L. HOBSON, Ohio ERNEST J. ISTOOK, JR., Oklahoma HENRY BONILLA, Texas JOE KNOLLENBERG, Michigan RODNEY P. FRELINGHUYSEN, New Jersey ROGER F. WICKER, Mississippi GEORGE R. NETHERCUTT, JR., Washington RANDY "DUKE" CUNNINGHAM, California TODD TIAHRT, Kansas ZACH WAMP, Tennessee ANNE M. NORTHUP, Kentucky JOHN E. PETERSON, Pennsylvania JOHN E. SWEENEY, New York JOHN ABNEY CULBERSON, Texas ANDER CRENSHAW, Florida DAVID R. OBEY, Wisconsin ALAN B. MOLLOHAN, West Virginia PETER J. VISCLOSKY, Indiana NITA M. LOWEY, New York JOHN W. OLVER, Massachusetts DAVID E. PRICE, North Carolina CHET EDWARDS, Texas ROBERT E. "BUD" CRAMER, JR., Alabama JAMES E. CLYBURN, South Carolina LUCILLE ROYBAL-ALLARD, California JESSE L. JACKSON, JR., Illinois CHAKA FATTAH, Pennsylvania STEVEN R. ROTHMAN, New Jersey JAMES W. DYER, Clerk and Staff Director (ID) DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY APPROPRIATIONS FOR 2004 THURSDAY, MARCH 20, 2003. DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY WITNESS TOM RIDGE, SECRETARY, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY OPENING STATEMENT OF CHAIRMAN ROGERS Mr. ROGERS. The committee will be in order. Mr. Secretary, we are pleased to welcome you here today, this being your first official appearance before the House Appropriations Committee and the newly-established Subcommittee on Homeland Security. It is a momentous day for many reasons, that perhaps being one of the least of those, but we are delighted to have you here and to gavel together the very first official meeting of this subcommittee, a new creature of the Committee on Appropriations and a new creature of the U.S. Congress, the most significant reorganization of the government, we are told, since 1947. We have been following your progress as you organize the Department. Clearly, you both have challenges and opportunities as you merge the disparate cultures, missions and management structures of 22 separate agencies. We congratulate you on the standup of the Department on March 1. That was an important milestone and only one of hundreds that you face in the upcoming months, particularly during this period of high alert and war now in Iraq. Mr. Secretary, protecting our fellow citizens from harm is the very first duty and most elevated duty of the Federal Government. You are now the custodian of that very daunting task, and we want to wish you well and state that we will assist you in every way that we can in that respect. The mission of the Department is clear, but the work that must be done is complex. It is as varied as protecting our Nation's infrastructure, to supporting first responders, from preventing contraband from entering our borders, to developing communications, interoperability among law enforcement. As Secretary, of course, you will shape the direction that the Department takes. The broad goals are easily described: Protect our Nation from acts of terror, reduce our vulnerability to terrorism, minimize damage in the event of an attack, and ensure full recovery after an attack. Yes, easily described, but extremely complex to achieve, especially in an open, democratic, freedom-loving republic |