Homeland Security

The Concept, the Organization

What You Will Learn

• What the history behind the establishment of homeland security was

• How events have altered the concept of homeland security

• What the homeland security enterprise (HSE) is

• How other agencies and entities besides DHS contribute to the homeland security enterprise

Introduction

In the immediate aftermath of the September 11, 2001, attacks, as search and rescue teams were still sifting through the debris and wreckage for survivors in New York, Pennsylvania, and Virginia, the federal government was analyzing what had just happened and what it could quickly do to begin the process of ensuring such attacks could not be repeated. It was recognized that nothing too substantial could take place without longer-term study and congressional review, but the circumstances mandated that real changes begin without delay.

The idea of homeland security was primarily the result of the White House's, the federal government's, and the US Congress' reactions to the September 11 events. However, the movement to establish such broad-sweeping measures was initiated long before those attacks took place. Domestic and international terrorists have been striking Americans, American facilities, and American interests, both within and outside the nation's borders, for decades—though only fleeting interest was garnered in the aftermath of these events. Support for counterterrorism programs and legislation was, therefore, rather weak, and measures that did pass rarely warranted front-page status. Furthermore, the institutional cultures that characterized many of the agencies affected by this emerging threat served as a resilient barrier to the fulfillment of goals. Only the spectacular nature of the September 11 terrorist attacks was sufficient to boost the issue of terrorism to primary standing on all three social agendas: the public, the political, and the media.

Out of the tragic events of September 11, an enormous opportunity for improving the social and economic sustainability of our communities from all threats, but primarily terrorism, was envisioned and identified as homeland security. Public safety officials and emergency managers championed the concept of an all-hazards approach, and despite some unique characteristics, they felt terrorism could be incorporated into that approach as well (Figure 1-1).

However, in the immediate aftermath of 9/11, the single issue of preventing a future terrorist attack was foremost in the minds of federal officials and legislators. On September 20, 2001, just 9 days after the attacks, President George W. Bush announced that an Office of Homeland Security would be established within the White House by executive order. Directing this office would be Pennsylvania Governor Tom Ridge. Ridge was given no real staff to manage, and the funding he would have at his disposal was minimal. The actual order, cataloged as Executive Order 13228, was given on October 8, 2001. In addition to creating the Office of Homeland Security, this order created the Homeland Security Council, “to develop and coordinate the implementation of a comprehensive national strategy to secure the United States from terrorist threats or attacks.”

Four days later, on September 24, 2001, President Bush announced that he would be seeking passage of an act entitled “Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism,” which would become better known as the PATRIOT Act of 2001. This act, which introduced a large number of controversial legislative changes in order to significantly increase the surveillance and investigative powers of law enforcement agencies in the United States (as it states) to “…deter and punish terrorist acts in the United States and around the world,” was signed into law by the president on October 26 after very little deliberation in Congress.

On October 29, 2001, President Bush issued the first of many homeland security presidential directives (HSPDs), which were specifically designed to “record and communicate presidential decisions about the homeland security policies of the United States” (HSPD-1, 2001). The sidebar “Homeland Security Presidential Directives” lists the HSPDs and their stated purposes.

The legislation to establish a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) was first introduced in the US House of Representatives by Texas Representative Richard K. Armey on June 24, 2002. A similar legislation was introduced into the Senate soon after. After the differences between the two bills were quickly ironed out, the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (Public Law 107-296) was passed by both houses and signed into law by President Bush on November 25, 2002.