Homeland Security

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and House Democrats, are playing politics with the security of the American people with today’s votes on “adopting Read more...

"Great is the guilt of an unnecessary war." --John Adams*

Tomorrow I hope that President Bush decides to take his Iraq War in a direction that brings our troops home, rather than to grasp at military straws to recover from a political error. If instead he escalates American participation in Iraq's civil war, every American who dies in Iraq from this day forward is a patriot lost because one American leader cannot admit mistakes.

We are at a crucial turning point in Iraq and Afghanistan, and before the president decides to send more American troops in harm's way in Iraq, he needs to make his case to the American people, a case he has never convincingly made. No more lives lost for reasons and goals uncertain. Read more...

Some provisions in the proposed law drafted by the House Democratic leadership may weaken the important work of the Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI) by making it subject to a UN Security Council mandate.

PSI is a voluntary working group consisting of more than 70 countries and has been credited with halting more than two-dozen weapons-related transfers from 2005-2006.

The Democrats want the President to work with the UN Security Council to authorize the initiative under international law and place it under a "multilateral regime" in order to increase coordination, cooperation, and compliance among its participants.

The initiative has been a success in its existing form, and considered critical in uncovering Libya's weapons program and the A.Q. Khan proliferation network in 2003. Read more...

In response to the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, Congress formed the bipartisan 9/11 Commission. In August 2004, the Commission released its recommendations to prevent another terrorist attack. In the years after the commission released its recommendations, the Republican-controlled Congress failed to implement many of them, leaving our nation and our communities vulnerable.

As part of our 100-hours agenda, House Democrats will bring legislation to the floor to implement most of the commission’s recommendations. As the only N.C. member of the Homeland Security Committee, I strongly support this legislation.

The recommendations we plan to implement include:

• requiring major improvements in aviation security, border security, and infrastructure security;


• providing first responders the equipment and training they need;


• beefing up efforts to prevent terrorists from acquiring weapons of mass destruction;


• significantly expanding diplomatic, economic, educational, and other strategies designed to counter Islamic terrorism;


• strengthening privacy and civil liberties protections

Keeping all Americans safe should the top priority of Congress. I hope that the rest of my colleagues will join me in supporting these critical reforms.

I introduced a bill that would require Congressional approval before Social Security benefits could be paid to foreign workers who were employed in the United States. The U.S.-Mexico Totalization Agreement is unacceptable and threatens the retirement benefits of hardworking Americans while rewarding those who have committed a felony such as identity theft. My legislation is important to ensure that public debate, scrutiny and analysis take place before vital Social Security dollars are sent overseas. We should not be rewarding people for illegal work. This is a matter of fairness to the American people and a matter of fiscal responsibility.

I’m ready to work with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to make a difference for my constituents in Illinois and the nation as a whole.  There are two principles I urge my colleagues to adopt: Our national security and the future of our economy is dependent on achieving energy independence; and lower taxes have created record economic growth.

Tax cuts played a key role in the statistics released by the Administration today.  Job creation and wages are up, and unemployment is down.  I believe taxpayers’ money belongs to them, not to the government.  When you allow for people to keep more of their own money, you free up investment and hiring, and raise take-home pay for working families.

I urge the new majority to look at the past and continuing economic momentum as a lesson of the past to apply to its plans for the future, and keep the tax cuts in place. Read more...

On Christmas day, I celebrated with Nevadan soldiers who are away from their families serving on the battlefields in Iraq. Contrary to the impression from the media, troop morale was high with many soldiers on their voluntary second or third tour. The CODEL was led by incoming House Armed Services Committee Chairman Ike Skelton. The message we heard from the intelligence community is that many of the attacks perpetrated against our soldiers are by individuals who do not necessarily hate the United States but are coerced into carrying out attacks on the behalf of separatist groups for a paycheck equal to that of a one or two month’s salary. Therefore, much of the violence is a problem of economics with not enough jobs available to fulfill a young population hungry for work.

Imagine being a Canadian citizen connecting at JFK Airport in New York on your way home from a flight overseas and being grabbed by CIA agents.  Before you know it, you're in a jail cell in Syria, a country the U.S. acknowledges practices torture, accused of being a terrorist.  After ten months of torture, your captors admit you don't know anything about terror and let you go.

Of course, it's widely known that this is exactly what happened to Maher Arar, a Canadian citizen, in 2002.  Yesterday, I sent a letter to U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales asking the Administration to provide the legal basis for this revolting practice known as extraordinary rendition.  (In fact, I asked him for this at a hearing last April, at which time he promised to get back to me.  He hasn't). Read more...

The Iraqi people have been given an opportunity. They have the opportunity to take a step beyond the evil legacy of Saddam Hussein and begin a new legacy of democracy and unity under the rule of law for all Iraqis.

We know the history. Saddam was a person who had no qualms in terrorizing, torturing, and killing his own people – sometimes for the smallest of offenses. His brutality towards the people of Dujail, as well as Shi’as, Kurds, and even his fellow Sunnis, demanded punishment to the fullest extent of Iraqi law. It is ironic that he was afforded more legal rights in the new Iraq than he gave to those whom he ordered killed. Read more...

On my recent trip I was intensely impressed with the morale and optimism of our troops. They are aware that we have accomplished a great deal in Iraq, and it is clear that we cannot give up the fight now. However, the violence in and around Baghdad continues to increase, which in turn increases the stakes of our mission. Our mission in Iraq continues to be important for America; however the Iraqi government must do more to protect and provide for its citizens. It is important that we work in a bipartisan manner to do what is best for our troops, as well as for the Iraqi people. I want to personally thank each and every soldier for their deep commitment and sacrifice, and let their families know what a great job they are doing. It was an honor to spend Christmas with our brave men and women.