|
|
| |
| Mon, Sep. 8, 2008 |  |
 |
|
||
| | Asa Hutchinson resigns from Department of Homeland Security
Monday, Jan 24, 2005 By Alison Vekshin Stephens Washington Bureau WASHINGTON -- Arkansan Asa Hutchinson said Sunday he is resigning from a top-level post at the Department of Homeland Security, saying "it's an appropriate time now for a change" following four years as a federal manager. Hutchinson said he was submitting a letter of resignation to President Bush on Monday, making his departure effective March 1. He said he informed White House chief of staff Andrew Card and Homeland Security Secretary-designee Michael Chertoff of his decision over the weekend. Hutchinson has served as under secretary for border and transportation security at the Department of Homeland Security since the department was established in 2003. Before that, he headed the Drug Enforcement Administration for two years. "The foundation work for the Department of Homeland Security has been accomplished and it's an appropriate time now for a change," Hutchinson said in a telephone interview. "You never know what the future holds," Hutchinson said. "For the time being, I am leaving the administration for other opportunities." Hutchinson, 54, a former U.S. congressman from Fort Smith, said he has not decided what he will do next, although he has been widely mentioned as a potential candidate for Arkansas governor in 2006. "I hope to make some decisions fairly quickly," he said. "I'll be looking at a broad range of options from the private sector whether it be a law practice or other options in the private sector and also will continue to examine future opportunities for public service." Hutchinson said "all options are on the table," including a run for governor. "I will soon get back to Arkansas and talk to folks and examine that possibility," he said. Hutchinson, and his wife, Susan, plan to visit Arkansas in early February. He declined to say whether they planned to move back to the state. "There are a lot of different options I have to evaluate from a family perspective, a financial perspective and a public service perspective," he said. Hutchinson said his resignation letter to Bush would reflect on his time in "two of the toughest jobs in Washington. "My letter will reflect the great honor that it has been to serve the American people and this president as both head of the Drug Enforcement Administration and in establishing the historic Department of Homeland Security," he said. "The letter will reflect on a couple of things that I believe this administration has achieved in both areas that I've been a part of." Among his accomplishments, Hutchinson listed a two-year decline in teenage drug use and improvements in border security through the use of digital technology. Part of the US-VISIT visitor screening program, biometrics technology allows customs and border officers to check visitors' digital finger scans and photographs against a database of known criminals and suspected terrorists and to confirm their identity. "We've utilized high-technology information sharing and biometric identification to better secure our border and to know who is entering and leaving our country," Hutchinson said. As the department's third in command, Hutchinson is charged with protecting the nation's borders and transportation systems from terrorism. He oversees more than 110,000 of the department's 180,000 employees. Overall, Hutchinson said the nation is safer today than when the department was set up two years ago. "We are also as an organization much more capable of protecting our borders and transportation systems and sharing intelligence," he said. "Those were the major challenges the department had when we were created." Hutchinson planned to go to Nogales, Ariz., on Monday to announce the next phase of the US-VISIT program. -- 30 -- |
