The Homeland Security Bill - Admission/Application Essay Example

The Homeland Security Bill The Homeland Security Bill, also known as the Homeland Security Act of 2002 was sponsored by 118 members of Congress in response to the twin terrorist attacks on the United States on September 11, 2000 and the anthrax spores attacks that followed soon after. This bill was signed into law by then President George W. Bush in November 2002 in order to prevent terrorist attacks within the United States, reduce the vulnerability of our country to terrorism, and minimize the damage, assist in the recovery from terrorist attacks in the United States (“Homeland Security Act of 2002”, n.d.) .

This bill created new divisions within the government that were empowered to directly handle any perceived or actual threat to the United States (Homeland) by international terrorist organizations such as the Al-Quaeda. Being a new department within the government, there was a need to create 4 new branches under its umbrella organization in order to ensure the security of all Americans in the country and its territories. These departments and their respective duties are (2003) : 1. Border and Transportation Security - this group manages and guards our national borders and transportation systems including those inside U.S. territories overseas.2. Emergency Preparedness and Response - oversees domestic disaster preparedness training and provides federal support for recovery from terrorist acts and natural disasters. 3. Chemical, Biological, Radiological, & Nuclear Countermeasures (Science and Technology) - The group is charged with establishing a national emergency strategy and guidelines for state and local governments as well as chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear attack response teams.

, the division is responsible for developing diagnostics, vaccines, antibodies, antidotes and other countermeasures designed to mitigate the nation’s vulnerabilities to WMD attacks. 4. Information Analysis & Infrastructure Protection - This division is responsible for collecting and analyzing information and intelligence data relevant to domestic security obtained from multiple organizations, such as the CIA, FBI, National Security Agency, Defense Intelligence Agency, and the Justice Departments Drug Enforcement Agency, among others.

The directorate has two main units: Threat Analysis and Warning and Critical Infrastructure Protection. The division centralizes all information relevant to domestic security in an attempt to resolve some of the errors made in intelligence-gathering and analysis before the Sept. 11 terror attacks. SourcesN.A. “Homeland security act of 2002”. Homeland Security. Retrieved from http://www.dhs.gov/homeland-security-act- 2002N.A. “The homeland security act”. PBS News Hour. Retrieved from http://www.pbs.org/newshour/indepth_coverage/terrorism/homeland/securityact.html