Department of National Protection (Al Gore's 9/11)

The United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is a Cabinet department of the US Federal Government with the primary responsibilities of protecting the territory of the U.S. from terrorist attacks and responding to natural disasters. DHS works in the civilian sphere to protect the United States within, at, and outside its borders. Its stated goal is to prepare for, prevent, and respond to domestic emergencies, particularly terrorism.

The creation of DHS constituted the biggest government reorganization in American history, and the most substantial reorganization of federal agencies since the National Security Act of 1947. DHS also constitutes the most diverse merger of federal functions and responsibilities, incorporating 22 government agencies into a single organization.

Creation of DHS
In response to the September 11 attacks, President Al Gore announced the establishment of the Office of Homeland Security (OHS) to coordinate "homeland security" efforts. The office was headed by former Clinton Administration Chief of Staff Leon Panetta, who assumed the title of Assistant to the President for Homeland Security. The official announcement stated:


 * The mission of the Office will be to develop and coordinate the implementation of a comprehensive national strategy to secure the United States from terrorist threats or attacks. The Office will coordinate the executive branch's efforts to detect, prepare for, prevent, protect against, respond to, and recover from terrorist attacks within the United States. Panetta began his duties as OHS director on October 8, 2001.

The Department of Homeland Security was established on XXXXX, 2002, by the Homeland Security Act of 2002. It was intended to consolidate U.S. executive branch organizations related to "homeland security" into a single Cabinet agency. The following 22 agencies were incorporated into the new department:


 * United States Customs Service
 * United States Coast Guard
 * United States Secret Service
 * United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (formerly Immigration and Naturalization Service)
 * United States Border Patrol (formerly Immigration and Naturalization Service)
 * U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (formerly Immigration and Naturalization Service)
 * United States Federal Protective Service
 * Transportation Security Administration
 * Federal Law Enforcement Training Center
 * Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
 * Office for Domestic Preparedness
 * Federal Emergency Management Agency
 * Strategic National Stockpile and the National Disaster Medical System
 * Nuclear Incident Response Teams
 * Domestic Emergency Support Teams
 * National Domestic Preparedness Office
 * CBRN Countermeasures Programs
 * Environmental Measurements Laboratory
 * National BW Defense Analysis Center
 * Plum Island Animal Disease Center
 * Federal Computer Incident Response Center
 * National Communications System
 * National Protection and Programs Directorate (NPPD) (formerly the National Infrastructure Protection Center)
 * Energy Security and Assurance Program

Prior to the signing of the bill, controversy about its adoption centered on whether the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Central Intelligence Agency should be incorporated in part or in whole (neither were included). The bill itself was also controversial for the presence of unrelated Rider (legislation), as well as for eliminating certain union-friendly civil service and labor protections for department employees. Without these protections, employees could be expeditiously reassigned or dismissed on grounds of security, incompetence or insubordination, and DHS would not be required to notify their union representatives. Congress ultimately passed the Homeland Security Act of 2002 with the union-friendly measures by a 50-50 vote (with VP Lieberman casting the tie breaking vote), and President Gore signed the bill into law on XXXX, 2002. It was the largest U.S. government reorganization in the 50 years since the United States Department of Defense was created.

Leon Panetta was named secretary on January 24, 2003 and began naming his chief deputies. DHS officially began operations on January 24, 2003, but most of the department's component agencies were not transferred into the new Department until March 1.