pd06oc03 Remarks on Signing the Department of Homeland Security Appropriations...

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Dear Mr. Speaker:

    In accordance with provisions of the Consolidated Appropriations 
Act, 2001 (Public Law 106-554), and the Consolidated Appropriations 
Resolution, 2003 (Public Law 108-7), I hereby request and make available 
$38,100,000 for the Department of Homeland Security's Counterterrorism 
Fund. Of these funds, I hereby designate $28,748,918 as an emergency 
requirement pursuant to Public Law 106-554.
    These funds would allow the Department of Homeland Security to 
continue to improve the security at our Nation's ports by deploying 
radiation monitoring devices nationwide and strengthening the system 
that is used to identify potential threats posed by international cargo 
shipments and international passengers.

[[Page 1289]]

    The details of this action are set forth in the enclosed letter from 
the Director of the Office of Management and Budget.
     Sincerely,
                                                George W. Bush


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[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents]
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[Page 1289-1290]
 
Pages 1273	1323
 
Week Ending Friday, October 3, 2003
 
Statement on Signing the Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 2004

September 30, 2003

    Today, I have signed into law H.R. 2658, the ``Department of Defense 
Appropriations Act, 2004.''
    Sections 8007 and 8103 of the Act prohibit the use of funds to 
initiate a special access program or to initiate a new start program, 
unless the congressional defense committees receive advance notice. The 
Supreme Court of the United States has stated that the President's 
authority to classify and control access to information bearing on the 
national security flows from the Constitution and does not depend upon a 
legislative grant of authority. Although the advance notice contemplated 
by sections 8007 and 8103 can be provided in most situations as a matter 
of comity, situations may arise, especially in wartime, in which the 
President must act promptly under his constitutional grants of executive 
power and authority as Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces while 
protecting certain extraordinarily sensitive national security 
information. The executive branch shall construe sections 8007 and 8103 
in a manner consistent with the constitutional authority of the 
President.
    Section 8065 of the Act provides that, notwithstanding any other 
provision of law, no funds available to the Department of Defense for 
fiscal year 2004 may be used to transfer defense articles or services, 
other than intelligence services, to another nation or an international 
organization for international peacekeeping, peace enforcement, or 
humanitarian assistance operations, until 15 days after the executive 
branch notifies six committees of the Congress of the planned transfer. 
To the extent that protection of the U.S. Armed Forces deployed for 
international peacekeeping, peace enforcement, or humanitarian 
assistance operations might require action of a kind covered by section 
8065 sooner than 15 days after notification, the executive branch shall 
construe section 8065 in a manner consistent with the President's 
constitutional authority as Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces.
    A proviso in the Act's appropriation for ``Operation and 
Maintenance, Defense-Wide'' prohibits implementation of and purports to 
prohibit planning for consolidation of certain offices within the 
Department of Defense. Also, sections 8010(b), 8041(b), and 8115 purport 
to specify the content of a portion of a future budget request to the 
Congress for the Department of Defense. The executive branch shall 
construe these provisions relating to planning and making of budget 
recommendations in a manner consistent with the President's 
constitutional authority to require the opinions of the heads of 
departments and to recommend for congressional consideration such 
measures as the President shall judge necessary and expedient.
    Section 8005 of the Act relating to requests to congressional 
committees for reprogramming of funds shall be construed as calling 
solely for notification, as any other construction would be inconsistent 
with the principles enunciated by the Supreme Court in INS v. Chadha.
    A proviso within the appropriation for ``Operation and Maintenance, 
Air Force'' earmarks an amount of funds for a grant to a college for the 
purpose of funding minority aviation training, and section 8089 of the 
Act provides that, in implementing a healthcare interagency partnership 
under that section, Native Hawaiians shall have the status of Native 
Americans who are eligible for healthcare services. The executive branch 
shall implement the proviso and section 8089 in a manner consistent with 
the requirement to afford equal protection of the laws under the Due 
Process Clause of the Fifth Amendment to the Constitution.
    Sections 8082, 8091, 8117, and 8131 of the Act make clear that the 
classified annex accompanies but is not incorporated as a part of the 
Act, and therefore the classified annex does not meet the bicameralism 
and presentment requirements specified by the Constitution for the 
making of a law. Accordingly,

[[Page 1290]]

the executive branch shall construe the classified annex references in 
sections 8082, 8091, 8117, and 8131 as advisory in effect. My 
Administration continues to discourage any efforts to enact secret law 
as part of defense funding legislation and encourages instead 
appropriate use of classified annexes to committee reports and joint 
statements of managers that accompany the final legislation.
                                                George W. Bush
 The White House,
 September 30, 2003.

Note: H.R. 2658, approved September 30, was assigned Public Law No. 108-
87. This statement was released by the Office of the Press Secretary on 
October 1.


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[Page 1290]
 
Pages 1273	1323
 
Week Ending Friday, October 3, 2003
 
Remarks Prior to Discussions With Prime Minister Mir Zafarullah Khan 
Jamali of Pakistan

October 1, 2003

    President Bush. Listen, Mr. Prime Minister, thank you. It's my honor 
to welcome you to the Oval Office. I look forward to our discussions. We 
will have discussions here in the Oval Office. Then we'll go to have 
lunch. And over lunch we'll discuss a wide range of issues: Our mutual 
desire to fight terror; our keen desire to bring stability and peace 
throughout the world; look forward to discussions about our bilateral 
relations in regards to commerce and opportunities to enhance the 
livelihood of our fellow citizens.
    There's a lot of Pakistani Americans who are pleased you are here 
today, sir. And on their behalf, I welcome you to the Oval Office. And 
it gives me a chance to say publicly how much we appreciate the 
friendship of Pakistan.
    Prime Minister Jamali. Thank you, Mr. President.
    President Bush. You're welcome.
    Prime Minister Jamali. Well, I can see you're pleased. I'm sure that 
the Pakistan community is pleased that I'm here. And Pakistan is helping 
as a partner--is a partner as far as the fight against terrorism is 
concerned, as far as our bilateral relations are concerned. We want a 
long, lasting friendship with the United States, and that is why I'm 
here, to bring a message of the new democratic setup which I set in 
Pakistan the last 10 months. And in short, we intend getting that 
through--of course, with a pat on the back as far as President Bush is 
concerned. [Laughter] Will that be all right?
    Thank you very much.
    President Bush. Thank you, sir. Glad you're here.

Note: The President spoke at 11:41 a.m. in the Oval Office at the White 
House. A tape was not available for verification of the content of these 
remarks.


<DOC>
[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents]
 [frwais.access.gpo.gov]
                         

[Page 1290-1292]
 
Pages 1273	1323
 
Week Ending Friday, October 3, 2003
 
Remarks on Signing the Department of Homeland Security Appropriations 
Act, 2004

October 1, 2003

    Thank you for the warm welcome. Please be seated, unless you don't 
have a seat. [Laughter] I'm proud to be with the men and women of the 
newest agency of our Government. And today I'm honored to sign the first 
appropriations bill for this Department.
    Many of you have served your country for years, in agencies with 
proud histories and honored traditions. Some of you are new to the 
Federal service. All of us share a great responsibility. Our job is to 
secure the American homeland, to protect the American people. And we're 
meeting that duty together.
    On September the 11th, 2001, enemies of freedom made our country a 
battleground. Their method is the mass murder of the innocent, and their 
goal is to make all Americans live in fear. Yet our Nation refuses to 
live in fear. And the best way to overcome fear and to frustrate the 
plans of our enemies is to be prepared and resolute at home and to take 
the offensive abroad.
    The danger to America gives all of you an essential role in the war 
on terror. You've done fine work under difficult and urgent 
circumstances, and on behalf of a grateful nation, I thank you all for 
what you do for the security and safety of our fellow citizens.
    I appreciate Tom Ridge agreeing to lead this important Department. 
I'm honored to call him friend, and I'm proud of the job he

[[Page 1291]]

is doing. I appreciate General John Gordon, who is the Homeland Security 
Adviser in the White House. I want to thank the very capable Department 
of Homeland Security leadership who are with us today.
    I'm also honored to share this bill signing with Members of the 
United States Senate and the United States House of Representative who 
did an excellent job of getting this bill through. I appreciate so very 
much the Senator from Mississippi, Thad Cochran, the chairman of the 
Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Homeland Security. I'm also 
honored that three Members of the House are up here to join in the bill 
signing ceremony, starting with the chairman of the House Appropriations 
Committee, Bill Young of Florida; Hal Rogers of Kentucky, the chairman 
of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Homeland Security; 
Congressman Martin Sabo from Minnesota, the ranking member of the House 
Appropriations Subcommittee on Homeland Security. I want to thank you 
all for a job well done.
    I'm also so pleased that Members in the Senate and the House of both 
political parties are with us today. The stage wasn't big enough to hold 
you. Thank you for coming. Thanks for your hard work, and thanks for 
working together to do what's right for America.
    This time 2 years ago, America was still in the midst of a national 
emergency. Smoke was rising from Ground Zero; recovery teams were 
carefully sifting through debris; and chaplains were comforting families 
and blessing the dead. Our Nation does not live in the past; yet we do 
not forget the past and the grief of that time. We do not forget the men 
and women and children who were lost that day. We do not forget the 
enemies who rejoiced as America suffered or those who seek to inflict 
more pain and grief on our country.
    September the 11th, America accepted a great mission, and that 
mission continues to this hour. We will do everything in our power to 
prevent another attack on the American people. And wherever America's 
enemies plot and plan, we'll find them, and we will bring them to 
justice.
    The war on terror has set urgent priorities for America abroad. We 
are not waiting while dangers gather. Along with fine allies, we are 
waging a global campaign against terrorist networks, disrupting their 
operations, cutting off their funding, and we are hunting down their 
leaders one by one. We're enforcing a clear doctrine: If you harbor a 
terrorist, if you feed a terrorist, if you support a terrorist, you're 
just as guilty as the terrorists, and you can expect to share their 
fate.
    We're determined to prevent terror networks from gaining weapons of 
mass destruction. We're committed to spreading democracy and tolerance. 
As we hunt down the terrorists, we're committed to spending--spreading 
freedom in all parts of the world, including the Middle East. By 
removing the tyrants in Iraq and Afghanistan who supported terror and by 
ending the hopelessness that feeds terror, we're helping the people of 
that region, and we're strengthening the security of America.
    The war on terror has also set urgent priorities here at home. 
Oceans no longer protect us from danger. And we're taking unprecedented 
measures to prevent terrorist attacks, reduce our vulnerabilities, and 
to prepare for any emergency. That's what you're doing. Each of you 
plays a vital role in this strategy to better secure America. Agencies 
that once worked separately to safeguard our country are now working 
together in a single Department, and that's good for America. You have 
the authority to quickly put the right people in place as we respond to 
danger. You've got good leadership. Every member of this Department has 
an important calling, and you need to know, when you come to work every 
day, your fellow citizens are counting on you.
    Those in Customs and Immigration are performing essential work in 
controlling our borders and, at the same time, in reducing the backlog 
of immigrant applicants as we move toward a standard of 6-month 
processing time for all applications. At the Transportation Security 
Administration and the Coast Guard, you protect the vast road, rail, and 
sea and air networks that are critical to the American economy. DHS 
scientists and engineers work to detect deadly chemical, biological, and 
nuclear weapons. DHS experts help the public and private sectors to 
identify and address vulnerabilities in our power

[[Page 1292]]

grids, chemical plants, communications systems, and transportation 
networks. At FEMA, you joined forces with State and local authorities to 
respond quickly and effectively to any emergency.
    All of you have been given a hard job, and you're rising to the 
challenge. The American people understand the importance of your work, 
and so does the United States Congress. The Homeland Security bill I 
will sign today commits $31 billion to securing our Nation, over $14 
billion more than pre-September 11th levels. The bill increases funding 
for the key responsibilities at the Department of Homeland Security and 
supports important new initiatives across the Department.
    We're providing $5.6 billion over the next decade to fund Project 
BioShield. Under this program, DHS will work with the Department of 
Health and Human Services to accelerate the development and procurement 
of advanced vaccines and treatments to protect Americans against 
biological or chemical or radiological threats.
    We're providing $4 billion in grants for our Nation's first-
responders. We're focusing $725 million on major urban areas where it is 
most needed. We're also providing $40 million for Citizen Corps Councils 
through which volunteers work with first-responders to prepare their 
communities for emergencies. We're ensuring that America's firefighters 
and police officers and emergency medical personnel have the best 
possible training and equipment and help they need to do their job.
    We're better securing our borders and transportation systems while 
facilitating the flow of legitimate commerce. Our Container Security 
Initiative will allow for the screening of high-risk cargo at the 
world's largest ports and intercept dangerous materials before they 
reach our shores, supporting the efforts to strengthen our air cargo 
security system for passenger aircraft, to expand research on cargo 
screening technologies. We're making sure the Coast Guard has the 

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