George Bush's stance on Homeland Security

Homeland Security: On November 25, 2002, President George W. Bush signed a bill into law that created the Department of Homeland Security and appointed Gov. Tom Ridge of Pennsylvania the Secretary of Homeland Security.

GEORGE W. BUSH

Description of Candidate's Position: The President has consolidated a number of agencies responsible for matters of security and established one department within the Cabinet to oversee all domestic threats to national security. Bush also is in support of the PATRIOT Act, which aims to fund counterterrorism programs as well as aid the families of those who have been impacted by terrorism. The President is also in support of the labeling of U.S. citizens as enemy combatants while increasing the budge to enforce immigration laws.

Quotation from Candidate: "We're fighting a new kind of war against determined enemies. And public servants long into the future will bear the responsibility to defend Americans against terror. This administration and this Congress have the duty of putting that system into place. We will fulfill that duty. With the Homeland Security Act, we're doing everything we can to protect America. We're showing the resolve of this great nation to defend our freedom, our security and our way of life." link

Assessment of the Proposal:

Positive: According to the Homeland Security Act, a major responsibility of the department will be to match intelligence gathered on terror threats by the CIA, FBI, and National Security Agency. It will work with other agencies as well as authorities on a state and local level to grow tougher against terror threats.

Negative: Nancy Chang, a senior litigation attorney at the Center for Cultural Rights in New York, suggests that the Patriot Act gives too much authority to the executive branch. She suggests that the PATRIOT Act is a suspension of an individual's civil liberties, such as freedoms of speech as well as violating an individual's Fourth Amendment privileges.

Comparison: John Kerry has suggested that the PATRIOT Act is not comprehensive enough and needs to expire in order for it to be revamped. He is also against labeling of U.S. citizens as enemy combatants and wishes to speed the immigration process to unite families while reforming domestic intelligence.

Link to Kerry's Homeland Security brief