Tommy Thompson on Homeland Security

Former Secretary of H.H.S.; former Republican Governor (WI)

Maintain vigilance against terrorism

Q: Halloween is tomorrow night--worried about children trick-or-treating?

A: I'm always worried about children trick-or-treating but I am not more worried because of what's going on right now. All I'm asking people to do is be very careful; watch what they receive, and check it out and be vigilant with their activities.

Q: How about safety of the food system overall?

A: We have been reviewing all of the sensitive intelligence that is coming in from overseas and around the US, that we have been working tremendously long hours to get prepared. But there are always problems, and we want people to be vigilant and that is what the president wants, and that is what I want.

Q: Is there an end in sight for the anthrax mailings

A: I hope there's an end, and I hope that the FBI is able to arrest the individuals behind it. But until that happens, we have to stay vigilant. We have to make sure that we examine our mail in a very strenuous manner.

Source: CNN Larry King Live interview Oct 30, 2001

24-hour-a-day war on bioterrorism

TOM RIDGE, HOMELAND SECURITY DIRECTOR: The president has been conducting a 24-hour war on terrorism, not just with our troops located in Afghanistan and with the eyes of this country toward Afghanistan, but it's been a 24-hour-a-day war on terrorism here in the US. As we continue our round-the-clock war on terrorism at home, we think it's very appropriate to bring some of these principals together on a regular basis to respond to questions

TOMMY THOMPSON, H.H.S. SECRETARY: Currently, the Department of Health and Human Services has 575 individuals in the field responding to acts of threats of bioterrorism. More resources and help are only a phone call away, we're going to be very aggressive as possible in responding to acts of threats or bioterrorism. We understand that people are very concerned about anthrax, and we're going to continue to respond with the personnel, the expertise and the medicine necessary to deal with these acts and threats of bioterrorism. We're going to err on the side of caution

Source: Press conference with Homeland Security Director Tom Ridge Oct 29, 2001

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