During Maine visit, president stumps for borders, ports

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SOUTH PORTLAND – There was a strut in his step Friday as the President of the United States walked before an immaculate U.S. Coast Guard honor guard on his way to the podium in the gymnasium at Southern Maine Technical College.

As he looked out at the audience of about 1,000 civilians and Coast Guard personnel from the USCG cutter Tahoma and the Marine Safety Office in Portland, Bush set his jaw and delivered a stern warning.

“My biggest job is to make sure our homeland is secure,” he said. “The enemy still wants to hit us and therefore this nation must do everything in our power to prevent it.”

Near the city that only four months earlier had been a departure point for terrorists bound for New York on a suicide mission, Bush sent a clear message that no expense would be spared to keep the nation’s borders and ports safe from another attack. In a preview of next Tuesday’s State of the Union address, the president said he would ask for a doubling of homeland security funds to $38 billion annually.

“Under this budget we will be spending $11 billion for controlling our borders,” he said. “It is so important for our nation to work with our friends to the north, Canada, and our friends to the south, Mexico, on border initiatives that don’t tie up commerce but prevent illegal drugs, terrorists and arms from flowing across our border.”

Noting that Maine’s 611-mile long border with Canada poses special challenges for law enforcement authorities, Bush said U.S. and Canadian officials have nearly agreed upon a new border initiative to achieve greater security. The new policies are expected, he said, to improve communication, enforcement and interaction between both countries. The policies will be bolstered by a 29 percent increase in funding worth $1.2 billion for the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service to modernize systems for tracking foreign visitors and by another $619 million for the U.S. Customs Service.

“Forty percent of the people who are here illegally have overstayed their visa,” he said. “They were given a period of time in which they could stay and then they didn’t leave. One of the things that we want to make sure of is that we find the 40 percent to make sure they’re not part of some al-Qaida network that wants to hit the United States.”

Maine has the longest shared border with Canada of all U.S. states, and its craggy coastline is largely unguarded. Portland Harbor is the busiest cargo port in New England in terms of tonnage. So Bush’s message about strengthening defenses resonated with many in the audience who often interrupted his speech with applause.

There were a few dissenters. About a dozen people protesting the war in Afghanistan stood outside the gymnasium while Bush spoke.

Inside, however, scores of those present were assigned to the Tahoma, the first command and control vessel to arrive at New York harbor immediately after the Sept. 11 attacks. The vessel stayed there for 40 days, monitoring water traffic around ground zero and protecting the Statue of Liberty and surrounding bridges into lower Manhattan.

Bush toured the vessel earlier in the day while it was docked in Portland in honor of the president’s visit. The crew welcomed their commander in chief aboard with three dings of a bell and the booming announcement, “United States arriving!”

Behind Bush was Transportation Secretary Norm Mineta whose first step aboard the vessel was greeted with: “Transportation arriving!”

Bush sat with the uniformed men and women in the mess hall, telling them the United States is winning the war on terrorists. “But we got a lot to do,” he added.

Flanked by Mineta and Homeland Security Director Tom Ridge while he spoke at the technical college later, Bush said he was recommending the largest annual increase for the Coast Guard in its history, an additional $282 million.

“Our men and women in uniform are brave and they’re skilled and they must have all our support,” he said. “The price of victory is well worth it.”

With a chuckle, he referred to the Kennebunkport home on the Maine coast where he visits his mother and father, the 41st U.S. president.

“Now, you probably think I’ve had a sweet spot in my heart for the Coast Guard because when I spend the night at 41’s house down the coast, I wake up and see the cutter sitting out there,” Bush said.

“Well, that’s some of the reason why I support the Coast Guard so strong.”

Coast Guard personnel who attended the president’s speech said their resources have been stretched thin since September. Boats now must spend far more time on seaport security, while still attending to routine duties including search-and-rescue missions, marine inspections and oil cleanups.

“We need exactly what he said they’re going to give us,” said Robert Coon, a Coast Guard machinery technician. “We need funding, people and ships.”

“I think the president hit it on the dime,” added Jeremy Baxter, a petty officer on the cutter Willow in Newport, R.I. “We are multi-, multi-, multi-tasked.”

Gov. Angus S. King, who was present during Bush’s remarks, said he couldn’t have been happier to hear about the president’s request for increased appropriations for domestic security. Since Sept. 11, the governor has made no secret of his concerns about border security with Canada and the vulnerability of Maine’s enormous coastline.

“It’s very good news on the border and very good news about the Coast Guard,” he said. “We have a major Coast Guard presence in Maine. It’s the most significant increase for them in my memory.

“We really need Washington to step up to this responsibility,” King said, “because it’s become quite a strain on our resources.”

Jeff Monroe, Portland’s transportation director, also was heartened by the president’s emphasis on seaport security.

“Now all of a sudden, people realize the Coast Guard’s the first line of defense,” he said. “They’re going to give them the resources they need.”

Members of Maine’s congressional delegation also were pleased with the president’s message. Sens. Olympia J. Snowe and Susan M. Collins had planned to fly back to Maine from Washington with the president, but were forced to remain at the Capitol due to pending votes in the Senate on Friday morning. U.S. Rep. Tom Allen also had meetings that required his presence in Washington, but 2nd District Rep. John Baldacci was able to attend the presidential speech in Portland.

Those members of the delegation not in Maine were able to watch the televised speech and supported the new security measures. Snowe said she was “impressed” with Bush’s efforts to boost funding for the Coast Guard, INS and customs which she described as “right on target.”

Collins said she was pleased the president has paid special tribute to the U.S. Coast Guard and she was looking forward to hearing more of Bush’s details regarding homeland security. Baldacci said that since so many decisions concerning funding for the states are based on population, it was advantageous to Maine that the president had a chance to get a better appreciation for the state’s extensive coastline.

“He saw the depth and breadth of the area,” he said. “We think his proposals are a good step forward and we want to work with the administration in fighting the battle against terrorism here at home.”

Allen said he plans to support the president’s homeland security initiative, but he wanted Bush to provide more details on exactly how the country will pay for the added defense costs.

“Hopefully during the State of the Union address, we will get some insight into those numbers,” he said.

The new money Bush spoke of Friday will be part of the budget request he plans to give to Congress on Feb. 4. It would come on top of a $48 billion proposed increase for the Pentagon and other big increases on homeland security.

Portland is where Mohamed Atta, suspected organizer of last fall’s terrorist attacks, and partner Abdulaziz Alomari boarded a flight to Boston on the morning of Sept. 11. In Boston, they caught American Airlines Flight 11 – the jetliner they flew into the World Trade Center. Bush did not mention the men in his speech.

From here, Bush flew directly to the Camp David presidential retreat in rural Maryland, where he was entertaining 20 congressional Republicans overnight.

On the agenda: strategy sessions over dinner then breakfast, and a screening of “Black Hawk Down,” the intense combat thriller about the U.S. military mission gone awry in Somalia.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.