On November 25, 2002, President George W. Bush signed into law the Homeland Security Act of 2002, which placed various Federal agencies under one department with the goal of providing "homeland security." A preliminary challenge was writing legally binding definitions of "terrorism" and "homeland security." Under the Homeland Security Act, disparate agencies are centrally managed in their work toward the common goals of preventing terrorist attacks within the United States, reducing the Nation's vulnerability to terrorism, minimizing the damage and assisting in recovery from terrorist attack, ensuring that overall economic security is not diminished by homeland security efforts, and contributing efforts to prevent and interdict drug trafficking linked to terrorism. Each piece of legislation related to homeland security has a similar concept of "terrorism" as a violent or dangerous act intended to intimidate or coerce a civilian population, to influence the policy of a government through intimidation or coercion, or to affect the conduct of a government by mass destruction, assassination, kidnapping, or hostage-taking. Regarding State responses in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks of September 11th, 2 States (Alabama and Washington) have adopted definitions of homeland security; however, 18 States have adopted the Federal definition of homeland security, and the remaining States have adopted some concept of terrorism as acts intended to intimidate, coerce, influence, and affect the civilian population or the government, as described in 18 U.S. Code section 2331. Alabama and Washington State have adopted different terminology in their definitions of homeland security, but agree that homeland security involves preparation for, prevention of, protection against, response to, and recovery from threats of terrorism and terrorist acts. 37 notes