Return to Transcripts main page

Live From...

Top Cabinet Secretaries Testify to Congress About Homeland Security

Aired July 11, 2002 - 14:13   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Four of Washington's heaviest hitters are concerned about Homeland Security. The cabinet's secretaries are testifying before lawmakers today, showing their support for the creation of a department for Homeland Security.

CNN Congressional Correspondent Kate Snow is on Capitol Hill with more -- hi, Kate.

KATE SNOW, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Kyra, how are you? The hearing today, as the chairman said at the very beginning of this House panel getting underway, was pretty exceptional. It is not often that you see four really heavy hitters, four of the top cabinet- level officials, all sitting together in one room, but that's what we had here today. Even the pain of thumb surgery was not enough to keep Donald Rumsfeld away. You see him in that shot with a big cast on his hand. He was here along with the attorney general, John Ashcroft, the secretary of state, Colin Powell, and Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill, the four of them sitting side by side, and in large part, that picture of all four of them being here on Capitol Hill was the real point, if you will, of this hearing. They wanted to show that the administration is behind this plan to create a new Homeland Security Department.

For the most part, all four of them defended what the president wants to do, in terms of the structure, and for the most part, the congressmen and women didn't get real picky about the details, but there was one issue that came up, the INS, the Immigration and Naturalization Service. A Democrat asked about that.

The White House wants that entire agency, INS, to be moved into Homeland Security, into this new giant department. Both the enforcement side, like border patrol, and the people that do visa services, green cards -- not visas, excuse me -- immigrant services, green cards, and that sort of thing. Representative Bob Menendez asked how a family of immigrants could feel that they could still bring their sister or brother to the United States, if those same people doing services are now under the watch of security people. Ashcroft responded, it is the best way.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The real issue is coordination and information sharing. JOHN ASHCROFT, ATTORNEY GENERAL: Absolutely. It is an issue, and I believe that is best undertaken if you don't have these two functions in different cabinet agencies, but that they remain in a single cabinet agency, although they have this separate capacity to operate, so that you have a culture of service in one, and a culture of enforcement in the other.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SNOW: Ashcroft saying that he wants both parts of INS, enforcement and immigrant services, to be under this new Homeland Security Department. Kyra, that is just one of the things that the Congress and some here on Capitol Hill are questioning. There are other issues coming up as they work through the nitty-gritty details of this plan. They are trying to get it through the house, Kyra, by the time they leave for August recess -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right, Kate, speaking of questions, I did get some e-mails. They want to know what's up with Rumsfeld's thumb. Surgery, right?

SNOW: Well, he had -- yes, he had surgery on his thumb. Interesting story. We were told early this morning by aides to Rumsfeld over at the Pentagon that he wasn't going to show up here today because he was still in some pain.

Then I was told by the people on the committee staff that the White House had sort of told these guys that they all needed to be here, at least for some amount of time. He only stayed about 15 minutes. I did ask him in the hallway how he was feeling, and he said, Terrific, but I thought he might be being a little bit sarcastic. He did look like he was in a little bit of pain.

PHILLIPS: So he didn't get in a brawl with anybody over Homeland Security, and getting more money?

SNOW: No.

PHILLIPS: OK, we are just double checking. Kate Snow live from the Hill. Thanks, Kate.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com