REMARKS FOR
THE HONORABLE NORMAN Y. MINETA
SECRETARY OF TRANSPORTATION
NATIONAL LEAGUE OF CITIES’
ANNUAL CONGRESS OF CITIES
ATLANTA, GEORGIA
DECEMBER 7, 2001

Good morning.  Thank you, Mayor Archer for the warm and welcoming introduction.  Thank you also for this opportunity to discuss transportation security issues with you this morning.

Eight short months ago, I had the privilege of addressing the League’s Congressional Conference, my first opportunity to speak to you as Secretary of Transportation.  As I said then, the National League of Cities and the U.S. Department of Transportation have a long and productive history of working together to improve our Nation’s transportation system. 

Now, more than ever, we need to build on this strong partnership to meet the extraordinary challenges confronting our country today.

When I spoke to you last March, the DOT’s primary focus was on closing the gap between transportation demand and the capacity of our transportation infrastructure.  Having once served as a mayor, I share with you a full appreciation for the vital importance of transportation links — and especially air links — to the economic well being of our cities. 

Capacity and demand issues remain important, and we maintain a steadfast commitment to that agenda.  However, our priorities have substantially expanded since I last spoke with you. 

In the aftermath of the outrageous attacks of September 11^th, we have entered a new era in transportation, an era in which a remorseless enemy has challenged one of America’s most cherished freedoms — namely, the freedom of mobility. 

Under the leadership of President Bush, I am proud to tell you that the Administration is rising to meet the challenge.  Throughout the Department of Transportation, across every mode, we level of protection for the most critical of our high-value, high-consequence transportation assets.    

In particular, as you know, these have been difficult days for American aviation.  Together with city-run airport authorities and the entire airline industry, we started taking steps to improve aviation security immediately after the attacks of September 11^th, and we have worked at it every day since. 

Some of these steps are readily visible to the public, and some of them are more behind the scenes.  For example, we immediately made funds available to the aviation industry to fortify cockpits, and all major domestic carriers completed the necessary modifications by the first of November.

We have initiated complete criminal background checks on all employees with access to secure areas at our airports.

We established a zero tolerance policy for airport security breaches, a policy we will continue to enforce during the transition to the newly authorized federal screening system, and beyond.

Today, more federal air marshals ride our planes, and the National Guard has joined local law enforcement officers in patrolling our airports.

Now, with the passage of the Aviation and Transportation Security Act, the USDOT stands poised to take the next important steps.  For the first time, aviation security will become a direct responsibility of the government — not one under the control of the airlines. 

This new statute directs the DOT to build and staff a new law enforcement agency, called the Transportation Security Administration, starting essentially from scratch — an agency with more people than the FBI, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and the Border Patrol combined —   and to get it up and running in the next 365 days.

We will "think globally" in designing this new federal aviation security system, but we must "act locally" to make it happen.  In every airport, we expect federal and local law enforcement officers will operate side-by-side, both during the transition to federal screeners and after.  Accordingly, federal and local officials will function as a team, sharing information and performing these critical tasks in a mutually supportive manner.

We do not intend to build another Washington bureaucracy.  Instead we will design the TSA as a "distributed" organization.  Only a small percentage of its personnel will reside in Washington — the rest will live and work in your communities.

Neither will we micro-manage these new federal law enforcement and security officials from Washington.  I can assure you that our people will arrive in your communities ready to listen to, and to work closely with, your law enforcement officials.  Quite frankly, I can't imagine this effort succeeding in any other way.

Although implementing this new statute will entail monumentally complex processes, we do have precedents for the job before us — a job where government at all levels must work together to once again quickly mobilize a large, efficient force to meet an immediate threat. 

In the short time since President Bush signed the Act, we have started putting into place the management structure and the key personnel necessary to coordinate this process, both internally and externally, with our federal colleagues and with our partners in state and local governments.

We intend to move crisply, but carefully, to build a strong foundation for this new Transportation Security Administration.  The new law sets a number of extremely tight deadlines, and we will hit each of them as soon as humanly possible.

While the new statute provides DOT with considerable flexibility, we want to have constructive involvement from transportation community stakeholders, including local government officials.

I also expect to hear from the naysayers, and those who will have a thousand reasons why we can’t do it one way but should wait and do it some other way.  Self-styled experts will undoubtedly compete with one another to see who can make the most controversial statement — usually in an effort to get on the evening news.

But, the threats posed by terrorists against our transportation systems continue.  We all must avoid the mistake of hesitating, of believing that we can pause to catch our breath or proceed at a slower pace. 

By working together, not only will we accomplish this task in an expeditious manner, I pledge to you today that we will create an organization that can do its job with outstanding efficiency, and one that enjoys an esprit de corps and record of achievement other federal agencies will seek to emulate. 

While much of the media attention has focused on aviation safety, the name of this new agency is the Transportation Security Administration, not the Aviation Security Administration.  This new organization will develop better security procedures and heightened awareness across every mode of transportation — including rail, highways, transit and maritime.

For example, our maritime transportation systems, whether at port facilities in coastal waters or along inland waterways, play a vital role in America’s transportation network.

Since the attacks of September 11^th, the Coast Guard has aggressively established near shore and port domain awareness.  They have also provided an offshore protective force, interdicting suspicious vessels before they reach U.S. shores.  One aspect of these additional measures has involved the “Sea Marshal” ship-rider program in place at several ports — the maritime equivalent of federal air marshals. 

But we need to do more.  We must improve the emergency planning structure and response capability in maritime transportation, and we must develop a set of standardized procedures and protocols to follow if, God forbid, terrorists strike again.  We will look to coordinate these efforts with local port authorities.

As another example, the Federal Highway Administration has begun working with local and state transportation agencies to identify their most high-value, high-consequence, high-vulnerability facilities.  These assessments consider how the loss, or partial loss, of these facilities would affect large population centers, as well as key industrial sites, and energy and communications corridors.

Protecting transportation infrastructure, and improving our ability to quickly respond to future attacks, is crucial to daily life in America.  Local government, and in particular local emergency responders, will remain on the front line in this part of the war against terrorism.  However, the Department of Transportation, through the Transportation Security Administration, will assist and support you in this effort in any way we can. 

In the days ahead, as we phase in these new security measures, some of the traveling public may experience a few minor inconveniences.  We intend to do all we can to minimize the hassles.

But, the USDOT will do what we must to protect the traveling public — with safety and security as our highest priorities.  And, I trust that the public will understand the need for patience, and recognize that today patience represents a new form of patriotism.

Today, we commemorate the 60^th anniversary of the bombing of Pearl Harbor.  History records that America responded to that attack, not with fear, but with action.   That event drove us not into isolation,  but into leading a global fight against fascism and totalitarianism.

Once again, America finds herself at war against those who seek to destroy our way of life.  And, as President Bush has said, “This conflict was begun on the timing and terms of others, but it will end in a way, and at an hour, of our choosing.”

Providing for the common defense of our Nation lies at the very core of what we expect from our government, so much so that the Founders enshrined the principle in the preamble of our Constitution. 

The Transportation Security Administration will help to fulfill this fundamental Constitutional responsibility, and we have set about the job of creating this new agency with resolve, a firm sense of mission, and an unshakable commitment to excellence.  I ask for your help in this endeavor.

As we move forward from September 11^th, by working together, we can ensure that all Americans will continue to enjoy a transportation system that is safe, secure and stable.  Thank you, and God bless America.

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Briefing Room