WASHINGTON, July 16 (UPI) -- President George W. Bush sent to Congress Tuesday an ambitious, comprehensive and long-term homeland security strategy that would require government, the private sector and citizens to work together to prevent acts of terrorism and respond to those that may occur.
The plan, called "National Strategy for Homeland Security," was about nine months in the making and focuses on six critical areas: intelligence and warning, border and transportation security, domestic counter-terrorism, critical infrastructure protection, defense against catastrophic terrorism and emergency preparedness and response.
"Right after the September the 11th attacks I established the Office of Homeland Security in the White House and gave it a critical mission, to produce a national strategy for homeland security," Bush said at a White House Rose Garden ceremony. "And today I'm sending to Congress our new national strategy for homeland security.
"This comprehensive plan lays out clear lines of authority and clear responsibilities; responsibilities for federal employees and for governors and mayors and community and business leaders and the American citizens. With a better picture of those responsibilities, all of us can direct money and manpower to meet them.
"In the war on terror, the American people are showing tremendous strength and great resolve." He added. "Our unity is a great weapon in this fight. And by acting together to create a new and single Department of Homeland Security, we'll be sending the world a signal that the Congress and the administration will work together to protect the American people, and to win this war on terror."
On Capitol Hill, Bush's proposal will face a gauntlet of lawmaker scrutiny and lobbying to protect the turf of departments and agencies that may lose some functions and personnel to a Cabinet Department to oversee security efforts.
In a Homeland Security Committee hearing, House Democrats Tuesday criticized White House proposals that would waive some union membership rights for the 170,000 employees that may work in the new department.
Leading Republicans in the House, meanwhile, have criticized major components of the president's plan, and balked at Bush's proposal to move the Coast Guard and the Federal Emergency Management Agency into the new department.
"Right after the September the 11th attacks I established the Office of Homeland Security in the White House and gave it a critical mission, to produce a national strategy for homeland security," Bush said at a White House Rose Garden ceremony.
"This comprehensive plan lays out clear lines of authority and clear responsibilities; responsibilities for federal employees and for governors and mayors and community and business leaders and the American citizens. With a better picture of those responsibilities, all of us can direct money and manpower to meet them.
"In the war on terror, the American people are showing tremendous strength and great resolve. Our unity is a great weapon in this fight. And by acting together to create a new and single Department of Homeland Security, we'll be sending the world a signal that the Congress and the administration will work together to protect the American people, and to win this war on terror," he said.
The national strategy, which highlights shared responsibility, was welcomed by the U.S. Conference of Mayors Tuesday. Its president, Boston Mayor Thomas Menino, said the strategy contains recommendations proposed by U.S. mayors.
"The federal-local relationship has been considerably strengthened since 9/11 and would only continue to improve under the President's plan," he said. However, he called on Congress to provide direct funding for cities to help cover their costs in preparing for and responding to security threats.
The United States -- including federal, state and local governments and emergency services -- spent about $100 billion a year on homeland security-type activities, not counting funding for the military services, prior to terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon last September, which took more 2,800 lives
The president is asking Congress for more than $30 billion annually specifically for homeland security matters.
The private sector, which owns and operates 85 percent of the nation's infrastructure -- from rail lines and power plants, to telecommunications systems and transportation systems -- also spends billions more to protect their assets.
"In many cases, sufficient incentives exist in the private market to supply protection," the report says. "Government should fund only those homeland security activities that are not supplied or are inadequately supplied, in the market."
Part of the plan is the president's proposal for creating the Department of Homeland Security to bring together the offices and duties of some 22 government agencies and departments that deal with homeland security -- such as the Coast Guard, Border Patrol, Customs and immigration.
It also involves trying to develop interconnected and complementary systems to reinforce homeland security from among the many federal, state and local government jurisdictions.
In guarding infrastructure, the strategy including the use of "red teams" to constantly -- from a terrorist's perspective -- probe the security of installations and systems and spot weaknesses in critical infrastructure sites, a method already employed at many nuclear facilities.
Other initiatives include a "complete FBI restructuring to emphasize prevention of terrorist, creation of smart borders and development of vaccines to fight chemical or biological contamination.
Changes to the Freedom of Information Act are also proposed, to keep threat assessments provided by the public sector under wraps.
Increased inspection of U.S.-bound international shipping containers before they leave foreign ports and cross U.S. borders is also called for.
The Posse Comitatus Act of 1878, which sharply restricts the military's role within the United States, will be reviewed.
"The threat of catastrophic terrorism requires a thorough review of the laws permitting the military to act within the United States to determine whether domestic preparedness and response efforts would benefit from greater involvement of military personnel, and if so how," the plan says.
Bush, who has already sent his proposal for creating the Department of Homeland Security to Congress, noted Tuesday "there are a lot of tough decisions that will be made as we develop and discuss and debate how to move forward."
But, he added, "I'm confident that members of both parties and members of both chambers know that the security of our nation is the goal."
