The U.S. Senate yesterday voted 94-0 to confirm Tom Ridge as the first U.S. secretary of homeland security, two days before the organization formally begins its existence (see GSN, Nov. 25, 2002).

The 57-year-old Ridge will lead the third-largest federal department, and he will be faced with the task of consolidating 22 agencies, 170,000 workers and a $38 billion budget, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported today.

While Ridge must establish his office and nominate aides by tomorrow’s deadline, most agencies will be brought into the organization March 1.  Officials will integrate other agencies into the department during the summer and the consolidation is scheduled to be complete by Sept. 30.

During his Senate Governmental Affairs Committee confirmation hearing, Ridge testified that the United States must secure its border with Canada and tighten security for shipping containers that enter U.S. ports, according to the Journal-Constitution.

Senator Robert Byrd (D-W.Va.) warned that Ridge must control the department’s power.

“It is essential that Governor Ridge understand that he will be responsible not only for defending the homeland but also for defending against the abuse of power within the new department,” Byrd said.

Ridge said that domestic security has improved since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, but warned that “we are only at the beginning of what will be a long struggle to protect this country” from a “hate-filled, remorseless enemy that takes many forms.”

Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle (D-S.D.) criticized the Bush administration for underfunding domestic security issues while aggressively spending money on military operations overseas.  Senator Susan Collins (R-Maine) said the Senate is working on a supplemental spending bill that will provide $2.5 billion for homeland security (Eunice Moscoso, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Jan. 23).

Democratic senators praised Ridge, but criticized the Bush administration during the confirmation hearings.

Ridge “needs the tools to do this job,” said Senator Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.).  “You can’t do that on the cheap,” he added.

“Cuts have been made that devastate our ability to deal with homeland security,” Daschle said.  “In spite of what we all profess to be our goals, there is a lack of willingness, a lack of commitment on the part of the administration to provide the resources,” he added (Philip Shenon, New York Times, Jan. 23).

The new department will initially have headquarters in Washington, the Washington Post reported today.  Earlier reports indicated that the department would be housed in Washington’s Virginia suburbs.

The “initial headquarters” for the department will be in a four-story building at the U.S. Naval Security Station in Washington, according to Gordon Johndroe, Ridge’s spokesman.

The naval station site gives the new department an existing security perimeter, established communications infrastructure and convenient access to the White House, which is five miles away, the Post reported.

The location is also a few blocks from U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney’s residence.

While 100 key staff members will immediately move into the new headquarters, it is not clear how many workers will ultimately be at the headquarters or how long the department will remain at the naval site.

“The most important thing was to be operational Monday,” Johndroe said.  “And this facility provides that,” he added (Hsu/Irwin, Washington Post, Jan. 23).

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