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United States Secretary of Homeland Security
Agency overview
Formed	January 24, 2003
Employees	183, 000 (2004)
Annual Budget	$36.5 billion (2004)
Agency Executives	Michael Chertoff, Secretary   Paul A. Schneider, Deputy Secretary
Website
DHS Official site]

The United States Secretary of Homeland Security is the head of the United States Department of Homeland Security, the body concerned with protecting the American homeland and the safety of American citizens. The Secretary is a member of the President's Cabinet. The position was created following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. The new department consisted primarily of components transferred from other cabinet departments because of their role in homeland security, such as the Coast Guard, Border Patrol, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). It did not, however, include the FBI or the CIA.^[1]

Traditionally, the order of the presidential line of succession is determined (after the Vice President, Speaker of the House, and President pro tempore of the Senate) by the order of the creation of the cabinet positions, and is mandated as such under 3 U.S.C. § 19.

On March 9, 2006, President Bush signed HR 3199 as Pub.L. 109-177, which renewed the Patriot Act and amended the Presidential Succession Act to include the Secretary of Homeland Security in the line of succession after the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (§ 503). In the 109th Congress, legislation was introduced to place the Secretary of Homeland Security into the line of succession after the Attorney General but that bill expired at the end of the 109th Congress and has not been re-introduced. www.dpisd.org

Prior to the establishment of the Department of Homeland Security, there existed an Assistant to the President for the Office of Homeland Security, which was created following the September 11, 2001 attacks. The Office was led by Tom Ridge,^[2] then John A. Gordon, and is presently led by Frances Townsend.^[3]

The order of succession for the Secretary of Homeland Security is as follows:^[6]

1. Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security
2. Under Secretary of Homeland Security for National Protection and Programs
3. Under Secretary of Homeland Security for Management
4. Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security (Policy)
5. Under Secretary of Homeland Security for Science and Technology
6. General Counsel of the Department of Homeland Security
7. Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security (Transportation Security Administration)
8. Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency
9. Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection
10. Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security (U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement)
11. Director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services
12. Chief Financial Officer
13. Regional Administrator, Region V, Federal Emergency Management Agency
14. Regional Administrator, Region VI, Federal Emergency Management Agency
15. Regional Administrator, Region VII, Federal Emergency Management Agency
16. Regional Administrator, Region IX, Federal Emergency Management Agency
17. Regional Administrator, Region I, Federal Emergency Management Agency

1. ^ "Search Results - THOMAS (Library of Congress)". Retrieved on September 25, 2007.
2. ^ ^{a b} "DHS: Tom Ridge, Homeland Security Secretary 2003 - 2005". Retrieved on September 25, 2007.
3. ^ "Personnel Announcement". Retrieved on September 25, 2007.
4. ^ "Remarks by Acting Secretary of Homeland Security Admiral James Loy at the Border Trade Alliance Annual Conference". Retrieved on September 25, 2007.
5. ^ "DHS - Secretary: Michael Chertoff". Retrieved on September 25, 2007.
6. ^ "Executive Order: Amending the Order of Succession in the Department of Homeland Security". Retrieved on September 25, 2007.

v • d • e United States Secretaries of Homeland Security
Ridge • Chertoff

v • d • e Agencies under the United States Department of Homeland Security

Secretary of Homeland Security Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security Coast Guard • Immigration and Customs Enforcement • Citizenship and Immigration Services • Customs and Border Protection • Federal Emergency Management Agency • Federal Law Enforcement Training Center • Secret Service • Office of Operations Coordination • Transportation Security Administration Under Secretary of Homeland Security for National Protection and Programs Office of Cyber Security and Communications • National Communications System • National Cyber Security Division • Office of Infrastructure Protection • Office of Intergovernmental Programs • Office of Risk Management and Analysis • US-VISIT Under Secretary of Homeland Security for Science and Technology Research Division • Transition Division • Innovation Division (Including Homeland Security Advanced Research Projects Agency) • Explosives Division • Chemical and Biological Division • Border and Maritime Security Division • Command, Control, and Interoperability Division • Human Factors Division • Infrastructure/Geophysical Division Under Secretary of Homeland Security for Management Under Secretary of Homeland Security for Intelligence and Analysis