Homeland security reorganization reflects longstanding concerns

In proposing to create a new Cabinet-level Department of Homeland Security, the White House has backed the conclusions of former Virginia Gov. James Gilmore and former Sens. Gary Hart and Warren Rudman. Long before Sept. 11, they concluded that the federal government was poorly structured to deal with terrorism at home.

Gilmore, who presided over the congressionally-created Advisory Panel to Assess the Capabilities for Domestic Response to Terrorism Involving Weapons of Mass Destruction, recommended there be a strong coordinator in the White House to marshal federal resources to prevent and respond to acts of terrorism.

Hart and Rudman, who co-chaired the bipartisan Commission on National Security in the 21st Century, concluded that a new Cabinet-level Department of Homeland Security should be created from existing agencies that play a role in homeland security.

The Bush administration seems to support both of those conclusions, advocating keeping the current White House Office of Homeland Security and merging seven different agencies into the new Cabinet department.

In an interview with Government Executive and other National Journal Group publications last week, Tom Ridge, director of the White House Office of Homeland Security, said the president "always would be well served having an adviser coordinating the actions among [the] multiple agencies charged with protecting homeland security." Nonetheless, he said it was critical to reorganize agencies to align responsibility with accountability.

"When you reorganize [agencies], you have an opportunity to bring greater control, greater leadership, a better use of the resources and ultimately you enhance your ability to prevent or respond to a terrorist attack," Ridge said.

"This is in essence an almost complete endorsement of Hart-Rudman," says Frank Hoffman, a former commission staff member. "It shores up the protection and the response in a much more organized way, and in a way that I think Congress can provide some oversight. It matches accountability and authority, and holds somebody accountable, which we haven't been able to do."

The momentum for creating a new department has been building in Congress for a long time. Rep. Mac Thornberry, R-Texas, and Sen. Joe Lieberman, D-Conn., both have sponsored legislation to create a new homeland security department, and both have said they support the White House proposal.

Thornberry, who first introduced legislation creating a new homeland security agency in March 2001, six months before the Sept. 11 attacks, said at the time "It's an issue we can't ignore and shouldn't wait to address."