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October 2001
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President Establishes Office of Homeland Security
Summary of the
President's Executive Order
The Office of Homeland Security & the Homeland Security Council
The Office of Homeland Security
Mission & Management
The President will establish the Office of Homeland Security that will be headed
by the Assistant to the President for Homeland Security -- Governor Tom Ridge.
The mission of the Office will be to develop and coordinate the implementation
of a comprehensive national strategy to secure the United States from terrorist
threats or attacks. The Office will coordinate the executive branch's efforts to
detect, prepare for, prevent, protect against, respond to, and recover from
terrorist attacks within the United States.
National Strategy
The Office will work with executive departments and agencies, state and local
governments, and private entities to ensure the adequacy of the national
strategy for detecting, preparing for, preventing, protecting against,
responding to, and recovering from terrorist threats or attacks within the
United States and will periodically review and coordinate revisions to that
strategy as necessary.
Detection
The Office will identify priorities and coordinate efforts for collection and
analysis of information within the United States regarding threats of terrorism
against the United States and activities of terrorists or terrorist groups
within the United States. The Office will also identify, in coordination with
the Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs, priorities for
collection of intelligence outside the United States regarding threats of
terrorism within the United States. The Office will work with federal, state,
and local agencies to:
Preparedness
The Office of Homeland Security will coordinate national efforts to prepare for
and mitigate the consequences of terrorist threats or attacks within the United
States. In performing this function, the Office will work with federal, state,
and local agencies, and private entities to:
Prevention
The Office will coordinate efforts to prevent terrorist attacks within the
United States. In performing this function, the Office shall work with federal,
state, and local agencies, and private entities to:
Protection
The Office will coordinate efforts to protect the United States and its critical
infrastructure from the consequences of terrorist attacks. In performing this
function, the Office shall work with federal, state, and local agencies, and
private entities to:
Response and Recovery
The Office will coordinate efforts to respond to and promote recovery from
terrorist threats or attacks within the United States. In performing this
function, the Office shall work with federal, state, and local agencies, and
private entities to:
Incident Management
The Assistant to the President for Homeland Security will be the individual
primarily responsible for coordinating the domestic response efforts of all
departments and agencies in the event of an imminent terrorist threat and during
and in the immediate aftermath of a terrorist attack within the United States
and shall be the principal point of contact for and to the President with
respect to coordination of such efforts. The Assistant to the President for
Homeland Security will coordinate with the Assistant to the President for
National Security Affairs, as appropriate.
Continuity of Government
The Assistant to the President for Homeland Security, in coordination with the
Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs, will review plans and
preparations for ensuring the continuity of the Federal Government in the event
of a terrorist attack that threatens the safety and security of the United
States Government or its leadership.
Public Affairs
The Office, subject to the direction of the White House Office of
Communications, shall coordinate the strategy of the executive branch for
communicating with the public in the event of a terrorist threat or attack
within the United States. The Office also will coordinate the development of
programs for educating the public about the nature of terrorist threats and
appropriate precautions and responses.
Review of Legal Authorities and Development of Legislative Proposals
The Office will coordinate a periodic review and assessment of the legal
authorities available to executive departments and agencies to permit them to
perform the functions described in this order. When the Office determines that
such legal authorities are inadequate, the Office will develop, in consultation
with executive departments and agencies, proposals for presidential action and
legislative proposals for submission to the
Office of Management and Budget to
enhance the ability of executive departments and agencies to perform those
functions. The Office will work with state and local governments in assessing
the adequacy of their legal authorities to permit them to detect, prepare for,
prevent, protect against, and recover from terrorist threats and attacks.
Budget Review
The Assistant to the President for Homeland Security, in consultation with the
Director of the Office of Management and Budget and the heads of executive
departments and agencies, will identify programs that contribute to the
Administration's strategy for homeland security and, in the development of the
President's annual budget submission, shall review and provide advice to the
heads of departments and agencies for such programs. The Assistant to the
President for Homeland Security will provide advice to the Director on the level
and use of funding in departments and agencies for homeland security-related
activities and, prior to the Director's forwarding of the proposed annual budget
submission to the President for transmittal to Congress, will certify to the
Director the funding levels that the Assistant to the President for Homeland
Security believes are necessary and appropriate for the homeland
security-related activities of the executive branch.
Administration
The Office of Homeland Security will be directed by the Assistant to the
President for Homeland Security. The Office of Administration within the
Executive Office of the President shall provide the Office of Homeland Security
with such personnel, funding, and administrative support, to the extent
permitted by law and subject to the availability of appropriations, as directed
by the Chief of Staff to carry out the provisions of this order.
Heads of executive departments and agencies are authorized, to the extent
permitted by law, to detail or assign personnel of such departments and agencies
to the Office of Homeland Security upon request of the Assistant to the
President for Homeland Security, subject to the approval of the Chief of Staff.
The Homeland Security Council
The President's Executive Order establishes a Homeland Security Council which
will be responsible for advising and assisting the President with respect to all
aspects of homeland security. The Council will serve as the mechanism for
ensuring coordination of homeland security-related activities of executive
departments and agencies and effective development and implementation of
homeland security policies.
The Council will have as its members the President, the Vice President, the
Secretary of the Treasury, the Secretary of
Defense, the Attorney General, the
Secretary of Health and Human Services, the Secretary of
Transportation, the
Director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Director of the
Federal
Bureau of Investigation, the Director of Central Intelligence, the Assistant to
the President for Homeland Security, and such other officers of the executive
branch as the President may from time to time designate. The Chief of Staff, the
Chief of Staff to the Vice President, the Assistant to the President for
National Security Affairs, the Counsel to the President, and the Director of the
Office of Management and Budget also are invited to attend any Council meeting.
The Secretary of State, the Secretary of
Agriculture, the Secretary of the
Interior, the Secretary of
Energy, the Secretary of
Labor, the Secretary of
Commerce, the Secretary of
Veterans Affairs, the Administrator of the
Environmental Protection Agency, the Assistant to the President for Economic
Policy, and the Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy shall be invited
to attend meetings pertaining to their responsibilities. The heads of other
executive departments and agencies and other senior officials shall be invited
to attend Council meetings when appropriate.
The Council will meet at the President's direction. When the President is absent
from a meeting of the Council, at the President's direction the Vice President
may preside. The Assistant to the President for Homeland Security will be
responsible, at the President's direction, for determining the agenda, ensuring
that necessary papers are prepared, and recording Council actions and
Presidential decisions.
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