The bottom line is, we've got to get our strategy right. It's not just about military forces, and it's not just about attacking states, and it's not just about being on the offensive. It's about working together with other nations in police and law enforcement activities. It's about taking care of security here at home.

The Homeland and Economic Security Fund would invest $40 billion over two years to directly fund jobs that immediately improve our security. The Bush Administration has shortchanged vital areas of homeland security. The Council on Foreign Relations released a bipartisan study this summer that said that the nation is dramatically underfunding efforts to prepare police, fire and ambulance personnel for terrorist attacks.

This fund would improve our defenses against terrorist attack by paying to train more firefighters and police officers, hire more Coast Guard, customs Service, and law enforcement personnel. The fund would also pay for construction projects to safeguard bridges, ports and tunnels; and fund high-tech efforts to develop ways to detect biological and chemical weapons and materials.

Over and over again, the Bush Administration has claimed that it had the right policies to spur the economy - but over and over again experience has shown these claims to be wrong. The time has come for the nation to set a new direction on the economy. General Clark would do just that. If Wes Clark were President, he would implement a three-part, $100 billion plan to create American jobs in the next two years:

The Homeland and Economic Security Fund: $40 Billion Over Two Years. Wes Clark proposes to create a Homeland and Economic Security Fund of $20 billion per year (or $40 billion total over the next two years). General Clark's Homeland and Economic Security Fund would take the crucial immediate steps that America needs to secure our homeland. This Fund is a win-win strategy for both homeland security and job creation. By moving quickly to fill gaps in America's homeland security, Wes Clark believes that we can help to protect our country and provide a jumpstart for job creation.

While some progress has been made, the Bush Administration has invested too little in protecting and preparing America for possible future attacks by terrorists. Prominent think tanks have identified a number of areas where the Federal government has fallen short on homeland security. Examples include:

• Too little focus on, and investment in, training and equipment for first responders (e.g., fire fighters, policemen, hospital workers, etc.);
• Too little focus on, and investment in, the Coast Guard and Customs services (including the Customs Service's Container Security Initiative);
• Too little focus on, and investment in, America's domestic law enforcement agencies (in terms of personnel and information technology);
• Too little focus on, and investment in, improved security measures for the nation's toxic chemical plants, biological research facilities, and major buildings and other large facilities; and
• Too little focus on, and investment in, protecting America's critical infrastructure (e.g., electricity infrastructure).

General Clark's Homeland and Economic Security Fund would create jobs by making critical investments in protecting America's homeland and preparing for a possible terrorist attack.

The Fund would be in place for two years to accelerate investments in homeland security, including

• efforts to train and equip first responders;
• better prepare hospitals and healthcare systems for potential biological and chemical attacks;
• hiring more Coast Guard, Customs service, and other domestic law enforcement agency personnel;
• construction projects to secure ports, bridges, and tunnels; and
• investments in high-tech efforts to detect and respond to biological and chemical threats.

General Clark's Homeland and Economic Security Fund will have three beneficial effects:

1. First, it will create jobs directly (e.g., construction projects to secure ports, bridges, and tunnels, and the hiring of more law enforcement personnel).
2. Second, it will create a jobs multiplier effect, as the investments in homeland security ripple through to other sectors of the economy causing jobs to be created in those industries.
3. Finally, it will better protect the homeland, which reduces uncertainty regarding terrorist attacks and therefore helps to boost economic performance.

General Clark believes in expanding existing opportunities for service to the country. He endorses the efforts of Congressmen Tom Osborne and Harold Ford in this regard, and the bipartisan Call to Service Act of 2003 introduced by U.S. Senators John McCain, Evan Bayh and Ted Kennedy.

This proposal more than triples AmeriCorps from 50,000 volunteers today to 175,000 volunteers by 2008.

Furthermore, it directs AmeriCorps to work closely with the Department of Homeland Security to make America safer. General Clark also endorses the Senators' efforts to expand the Senior Corps and Peace Corps, enhance the service component of college work-study programs, and bring a new generation of citizen soldiers into the military through a short-term enlistment option.