Pete Domenici: “As we are all aware, the events of September 11 have changed how we perceive our country and our own safety. For over a…”

“As we are all aware, the events of September 11 have changed how we perceive our country and our own safety. For over a half century, Americans have felt safe and secure being isolated by sheer distance from our enemies. As we have all found, we are no longer safe inside the borders of our own country. We feel vulnerable, and we are vulnerable. We must rethink how we do business and in doing so re-organize our Government to meet the challenges of the future. We did this with the passage of the Homeland Security bill. Now we must find strong leadership to help us manage this process. I believe Governor Tom Ridge is immensely qualified to be the first Secretary of the new Department of Homeland Security, and to begin the arduous tasks of securing our Nation against the threat of terrorism, not to mention the challenge of consolidating 22 agencies into a 170,000-employee-strong Department--the largest Government re-organization in 50 years. Tom Ridge selflessly left his own political career as Governor of the great State of Pennsylvania, where he was his own boss, to become the point man for President Bush on homeland security and now reporting to 100 Senators. We in Congress should all make an effort to work with Mr. Ridge. It will be our job to give him the tools in order to do his job properly. I look forward to working with Secretary Ridge and his new organization.”