Homeland Security

Despite countless assurances from the president that we're safer now than we were before 9/11 this past week we learned the truth - the world is more dangerous today than it was pre-9/11, and the war in Iraq is the main reason why.

This weekend, on 60 Minutes, reporter Bob Woodward will report that our intelligence agencies predict that 2007 is going to be more deadly for American troops than 2006. That's a dire prediction considering that insurgent attacks against our troops are now occurring every 15 minutes.

These reports from our intelligence agencies should serve as a wake-up call to House Republicans, who, for three years, have sat on the sidelines, neglecting their oversight responsibility of the war in Iraq.

How bad do things have to get in Iraq before this Republican Do-Nothing Congress actually takes action? When will they finally begin asking questions? When will they finally begin to hold Secretary Rumsfeld and others in the president's war cabinet accountable for their incompetence?

The American people deserve a Congress that will take its oversight responsibilities serious. It's time for a change here in Congress, and it's coming this November.

The new version of my Iran Freedom and Support Act provides U.S. officials with the necessary tools to prevent Iran from acquiring the technical assistance, financial resources, and political legitimacy to develop nuclear weapons and support terrorism. It enjoys Administration, Senate, and bi-partisan support and provides critical leverage to secure cooperation from our allies in countering the Iranian threat.

The practice of loading up emergency appropriations bills with pork and other non-emergency items has become all too common in Congress.  That's why I have introduced the Responsible Emergency Appropriation Limits (REAL) Supplemental Act.  My bill mandates that a supplemental can only provide for a single emergency, contain only emergency spending, and must be free of earmarks.

This past spring, Congress took up two emergency appropriations bill.  The first was to fund the War on Terror.  The second was to help Gulf Coast Recovery efforts.  Not only were these two bills lumped together, but additional, unrelated spending was added.  While member and senator projects in states like Hawaii, California and Illinois may be worthwhile, they had nothing to do with winning the War on Terror or helping the people along the Gulf Coast get back on their feet.

There are times when emergencies or other unforeseen events take place. And often Congress has a responsibility to respond quickly.  But when it does, Congress should do so while spending taxpayer dollars responsibly. Considering each emergency bill on its own merits and keeping earmarks far away from the bill will help us reach these goals.

Congress this week will pass the massive FY07 Defense Appropriations Bill, which will include almost $3 billion critically needed by our Air National Guard and Army National Guard.  Since 9/11 we have been asking our Guard members and Reservists (and their families, and employers, and communities) to take on more and more missions here and abroad.  And they have delivered spectacularly.  But along the way, in some ways we have neglected our side of the contract with them.

The National Guard at one point accounted for almost 40 percent of the troops on the ground in Iraq.  The hard duty of Iraq and Afghanistan has created a desperate need of replacements for equipment lost, broken, or left behind on the battlefields of Iraq and Afghanistan.  These shortfalls mean less equipment to handle emergencies at home, like natural disasters.  It's irresponsible and counterproductive to simply neglect the needs of one of the country's premier and primary defense forces, on which we rely so heavily.

As the co-chairs of the Senate's National Guard Caucus, Senator Kit Bond and I have seen it as our responsibility to blow the whistle on these shortfalls and to try to convince Congress to do something about it.
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Years ago, Secretary Rumsfeld in a probing internal memorandum asked about the metrics for measuring success or failure in the war on terror and the Iraq war. He raised an important question whether we were creating more terrorists than we were capturing or killing. Reports about the National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) give a clear indication that the tragic answer to the Secretary's inquiry is ‘yes, the problem is getting worse not better.’

Contrary to the President's public declarations over the last several weeks, the Administration's ‘stay the course’ doctrine is failing under almost every metric including the most important -- whether we are reducing the number of jihadists bent on killing Americans.

The White House asserts that these reports are ‘not representative of the complete document.’  Congress should test that optimistic assessment with real oversight hearings, something this majority has thus far been unwilling to do. But unless we are willing to confront the cold hard facts, the Administration will continue to make the same mistakes over and over again.

During the past two weeks, the House has overwhelmingly approved five bills that will secure our borders and restrict the flow of illegal aliens into our country. The comprehensive Reid-Kennedy plan has proved to be incomprehensible. It is time for the Senate to act on the House-passed border security legislation.

This week, I voted to support three major pieces of legislation that will help increase border security and crack down on illegal immigration.  The three bills, which all passed the U.S. House of Representatives, were the Community Protection Act of 2006, the Immigration Law Enforcement Act of 2006, and the Border Tunnel Prevention Act of 2006.

These three bills can make an immediate impact in securing our borders and securing our nation.  Every day, criminals successfully exploit our immigration laws and the results have been more drugs and violence in our neighborhoods.  The legislation we passed today is a good first step at addressing the problems created by illegal immigration.  The next step is adopting strong interior enforcement measures and policies that punish employers who knowingly hire illegal immigrants.  I call on the Senate to listen to the American people and support the stronger border enforcement policies the House passed this week.

The Electronic Surveillance Modernization Act includes new provisions to further strengthen congressional authority and oversight, and provide clear rules for electronic surveillance if the President notifies the Congress that he has reason to believe that an attack is imminent that would result in death or serious injury or substantial economic damage. The rules will include time limits, written notification, full justification, and clear identification of the groups and their affiliates believed to be about to launch an attack.

We listen to our enemies. Our intelligence community must be able to gather information to protect us, and react rapidly to threats. At the same time, we must ensure that the liberties of Americans are protected. We can do both.

We should not allow another Congress to conclude without ensuring that our troops and their families are protected from profiteers.  Currently, the exploitation of our troops' names and images is allowed in commercial endeavors.  For this reason, I introduced H.R. 5755, the Soldiers Targeted by Offensive Profiteering (STOP) Act, which will require that our troops or the families of our fallen soldiers give written permission for any commercial use of their name or image in connection with their military service.

The STOP Act directs the Secretary of Defense to prohibit the unauthorized use of a soldier's name and image in commercial activities, and gives the Attorney General the authority to seek an injunction for violations.  H.R. 5755 has 94 cosponsors in the House - 50 Democrats and 44 Republicans - and has gained wide support from the veteran and military communities, including endorsements from the American Legion and the Military Officers Association of America.

The STOP Act isn't about supporting the war or opposing it.  It's about respecting the rights of our men and women in uniform.  Our soldiers serve, and some give their lives, to protect the freedoms we enjoy today.  At the core of those freedoms is freedom of speech guaranteed in the First Amendment.  I would not dream of going against everything these men and women are bravely fighting for by trampling on that right.  The bill specifically targets commercial speech.  It would only apply to people selling merchandise containing the names or images of our soldiers.

This bill isn't about financial restitution or even putting more people in prison.  It's about getting these vendors to respect the privacy of our soldiers and their families.  Nobody has the right to put the name or image of another private individual on a T-shirt or bumper sticker and sell it for a profit.

With the Senate taking up the border security bill we passed in the House last week to construct 700 miles of physical fence and a virtual fence along the entire border, now is the time it must be serious and follow through. It is clear to me that what we need to secure the border is the proper combination of boots, barriers and technology. I call on the Senate to join the House and take action to pass this meaningful legislation.

Last month, I took a trip to the Southern border, to see for myself just what was needed to secure that border. I saw, that if left unchecked, illegal immigration will continue to threaten our national security, have compounding affects on our public systems and corroborate a culture of lawlessness. In order to stop the harmful components of illegal immigration, we have to attack the problem at its root, our borders. If we don't secure our borders first, any other comprehensive reform will be undermined by those who wish to harm our country by finding safe haven on a
porous border.

The border agents I talked with while on the Southern border are ready and willing to do the job if given the proper tools. This bill is will provide some of those tools and we must provide them now to stop this growing problem.

Border security is long overdue and it has to be addressed before Congress can implement any sensible, comprehensive immigration proposals. As we continue to work toward a solution to stop illegal immigration, I will persist in supporting only limited, legal immigration to keep our economy stable and our families safe.