Bureaucratic Thrfs Shaping Up.During the past several months, Rep. Mac Thornberry William McClellan "Mac" Thornberry (born July 15, 1958), American politician, has been a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives since 1995. He represents the 13th congressional district of Texas, which includes much of the Panhandle and stretches as far has been working to implement a recommendation of the Hart-Rudman U.S. Commission on National Security/2lst Century -- the creation of a National Homeland Security Noun 1. Homeland Security - the federal department that administers all matters relating to homeland security Department of Homeland Security executive department - a federal department in the executive branch of the government of the United States Agency. Thornberry, together with Sen. Pat Roberts Charles Patrick "Pat" Roberts (born April 20, 1936) is the junior United States Senator from Kansas. A member of the Republican Party, he was formerly the Chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee. , R-Kan., introduced legislation to include sections of the Coast Guard, Border Patrol, Customs Service and the National Guard in a new "beefed-up Federal Emergency Management Agency The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is the federal agency responsible for coordinating emergency planning, preparedness, risk reduction, response, and recovery. The agency works closely with state and local governments by funding emergency programs and providing technical " to protect the United States United States, officially United States of America, republic (2005 est. pop. 295,734,000), 3,539,227 sq mi (9,166,598 sq km), North America. The United States is the world's third largest country in population and the fourth largest country in area. from terrorist attacks. Thornberry, reached for comment after the September 11 disaster, said that momentum was building to create a National Homeland Security Agency, and that the Congress would be "doing something legislatively," even though a cabinet-level post to address homeland security had been created by the president. The commission report, produced between 1998 and 2001, concluded that a national security agency focusing on homeland defense was needed. "There are some things you don't want to ever be right about," he said. "It's hard, when you're in the middle of a war, to think with a cool head about the proper role of these various entities. If Thornberry's bill were enacted, federal law enforcement entities would be placed under a non-Defense Department umbrella of other civilian organizations, which would specifically address threats to American soil. |
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