James Sensenbrenner, November 15, 2002

On November 13, with my strong support, the House passed a bill to establish a national Department of Homeland Security (DHS), by a vote of 299 to 121. It is fitting that this long deliberated and overdue piece of legislation came to pass on the week America observed Veterans Day. As veterans have historically defended our nation in its time of need, this bill will now help to protect our nation in its present time of need.

When the House passed the original Homeland Security Act in July, it was in response to the events of September 11, 2001. The President and Congress realized that with so many different agencies in charge of security in the US, there were areas where these agencies’ jurisdictions often overlapped, leading to confusing circumstances where it was difficult to determine which agency had authority over certain situations. This confusion was made worse by the lack of communication between these agencies, so important information collected by them often didn’t get shared.

This issue over lack of communication was addressed in a different circumstance earlier this year when the President signed into law the USA-PATRIOT Act. This legislation improves information sharing between agencies such as the CIA and FBI in their efforts to combat terrorism. The Department of Homeland Security will do the same for many of the other agencies such as the Coast Guard, Customs Service, Secret Service and INS. Led by one Secretary, the main goal of the DHS will be to protect our nation’s borders, airports and seaports from terrorists’ attacks. The Secretary of the DHS will be tasked with the mission of consolidating the functions of all the different agencies under the DHS umbrella, and creating a clear and coherent plan on how to best get the job done so that we don’t experience another 9/11.

The Homeland Security Act incorporates many of my suggestions and legislation I have worked on this Congress. I am particularly pleased to see that under this new department, the INS will be overhauled, and its enforcement and services functions will be split. This is similar to a bill I introduced several months ago, which passed the House by a vote of 405 to 9, in response to years of frustration at the way the agency has operated -- or not operated.

As anticipated, once the Senate passes the bill and the President signs it into law, it will put into motion a mechanism that is comparable to a home security system. When an unwanted intruder attempts to enter our country or cause damage, the alarm will sound a little sooner, and the response to the threat will be swifter and more efficient.

That will enable many of us to sleep a little better at night.

Congressman John Boehner represents the 8th Congressional District of Ohio in the U.S. House of Representatives.