Transition from the Office to the Department

As the readings from Governor Ridge’s book outline, the White House Office that he was leading, having only 120 employees and what was derided as a prohibitively small budget in light of the gravity of the events the nation had just witnessed, began to be seen by many as just another government bureaucracy. President Bush, following the growing discontent facing the nation and the increasing list of congressional supporters for a new cabinet-level department, came to the realization that additional resources (both financial and personnel) had to be enacted to defeat the growing terrorist threats confronting the country.

The legislation to establish the Department of Homeland Security was first introduced and debated in the U.S. House of Representatives in June 2002. Known as the Homeland Security Act, the legislation provided the organizational changes to the federal government in response to the 9/11 attacks. In addition, the bill outlined a new mandate to solve the government inefficiencies and vulnerabilities and provide additional resources to prevent another terrorist attack. The Act established DHS within the executive branch of the federal government with the DHS secretary reporting directly to the president.

Creating DHS, it was believed, would provide the United States with a huge law enforcement capability that would deter, prepare, and prevent any future September 11 type events. Agencies such as the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) became part of DHS because it was responsible for the consequences to state and local communities for natural disasters. In future lessons, we will study the various components of DHS and their respective mission responsibilities.