Mr. Bush Calls for Major U.S. Security Reorganization

Mr. Bush said during a 15-minute address televised Thursday night, ”I ask the Congress to join me in creating a single permanent department with an overriding and urgent mission: securing the American homeland and protecting the American people.”

The new agency, which must be approved by Congress, would inherit nearly 170,000 employees and a $37.4 billion budget from other services and agencies that would be folded into it. Among these groups are the Immigration and Naturalization Service, which has come under intense scrutiny for its handling of student visas, and the Customs Service.

According to press reports, the new department will consist of four divisions: border security and transportation; intelligence analysis and the protection of infrastructure; emergency preparedness and response; and a group focused on protecting Americans from weapons of mass destruction.

These new divisions will draw staff and resources largely from current Cabinet departments. Once enacted the agency will include the INS and Customs; the Coast Guard; departments from the CIA and FBI; the Federal Emergency Management Agency; the Secret Service; and the Lawrence Livermore National Lab.

Under the current proposal, the FBI and CIA, two agencies that have come under fire for perhaps not doing enough to prevent the attacks on Sept. 11, would remain independent agencies.

If passed, the change would be “the biggest restructuring of the federal government since 1947,” when President Harry Truman reorganized federal agencies to face emerging Cold War threats, White House Spokesman Ari Fleischer told reporters earlier in the day.

Former Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge currently serves as the president’s homeland security director, but some in Congress have been pushing Mr. Bush to elevate the position to Cabinet-level to allow for Congressional oversight of the office. As a presidential adviser and not a Cabinet official, Ridge has been able to turn down requests to appear before Congressional committees.

Mr. Bush also rallied the nation to continue its efforts to combat international terrorist groups.

“America is leading the civilized world in a titanic struggle against terror. Freedom and fear are at war — and freedom is winning,” the president said.