Homeland Security

The University of Miami Hurricanes are not the only hurricanes frequenting Florida recently.  In just the last two years, Florida has had to endure the devastation from eight hurricanes that severely impacted families, farmers, homes, businesses and schools.



This year, we already had one storm become a hurricane, though Hurricane Chris thankfully dissipated without causing any damage.  While hurricanes are an unfortunate reality, better preparation for natural disasters can help communities rebound quicker.



To help people prepare for this year's hurricane season, I sent a hurricane preparedness checklist to those in the communities I represent.



The effects of a natural disaster can be reduced if you are aware of the steps families should take before, during, and after any natural disaster.  It is also important that every family member know the local emergency phone numbers.



Ultimately, the federal government can only do so much. Florida is blessed to have local and state authorities who understand their roles and respond quickly.  By taking personal responsibility, individuals can better ensure that their families and neighbors are protected during natural disasters.

Hold fast to the House position on immigration.

Hopefully we'll get a border security/immigration conference put together. We're looking at the port security issue. We've done the FEMA issue, for which we'll hopefully get a conference.

Let's get a comprehensive immigration reform this September. We will have severe repercussions if we don't act. Also, we need to have earmark reform. We're going to consider a reform this September that's now separate from lobbying reform.

The hearings on Immigration Reform, which the House Republican leadership
has been conducting, are a farce.

The purpose is not to seek compromise or common ground on immigration
reform or security.  The hearings are a political show road to divide this
Nation and try to maintain an inept Republican majority in Congress.

As cynical as this is, it just confirms that the Republican majority does
not want solutions, it prefers to do nothing.

It is completely irresponsible, it is reckless. This place is increasingly detached from reality. My Republican friends that used to be fiscally responsible have now turned their history on its head.

Every day they increase spending. They just added billions of dollars to this defense bill, and then they cut the revenue, cut the revenue, cut the revenue. They just keep digging the hole deeper and deeper and stacking up more and more debt.

Where this ends, we all know: Higher interest rates and America in a weakened financial position.
If this isn’t reigned in, the next thing they are going to do is to propose shredding Social Security and Medicare. It is very clear that’s where this is all headed because it is the only way to balance the books after everything they have done.

It's very important to address immigration this year and it is my number one domestic priority. What I am concerned about is that, while Republicans are ostensibly in charge, we have yet to sit down and negotiate a compromise in the conference committee. I find that pretty disconcerting.

Funding the border fence is a partial response and what we need is a comprehensive response. You put up a 300-mile fence, and people are going to come around it or they enter the country legally and overstay, which is where 45 percent of illegal immigration comes from.

We need to deal with the work site verification issue, we need to deal with the border security issue, and we need to deal with a temporary worker program that is not a path to citizenship.

House Republicans have cut and run from one of their top national priorities, as the congressional cafeteria Freedom Fries and Freedom Toast reverted back to their original, unpatriotic nomenclature - French Fries and French Toast.

"Clearly, this turn of events has cast our nation out of the frying pan and into the fire," said House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi. "Considering the Republican Party has based its foreign policy and homeland security strategy on the naming of fast-food items, it is shocking that they would waffle on one of their most pressing agenda points."

In March 2003, Congressmen Bob Ney and Walter Jones bravely shoved aside time-wasting issues, such as putting together a realistic plan for victory in Iraq, in order to peel the façade away from a critical threat that was hiding in our midst. Thankfully, these brave, selfless solons led the charge on fried spuds and egg-battered toast and mashed the problem in its tracks.

Now the perils of pommes frites and pain perdu have reared their head once again to chip away at our national character. One can only hope that the Republicans will have the courage to once more grab this hot potato and put the concerns of the American people to rest. We need to send a loud, clear, crisp message to the world. With ketchup.

When it comes to our security, we don’t have time to waste. We don’t have money to waste either. Sadly, this administration is wasting both. Last week, a bipartisan congressional report was released that showed a glut of wasteful spending and gross mismanagement as a result of no-bid contracts with the Department of Homeland Security. In addition to wasting billions of dollars, these contracts also showed that several homeland security programs are inadequate. This points to a two-fold failure in DHS, characteristic of how this administration and Republican-led Congress have handled homeland security: wasted money and inadequate security measures.

The report noted that 32 DHS contracts worth $34 billion have “experienced significant overcharges, wasteful spending, or mismanagement.

The Republican vision for the future is a safer, healthier and more prosperous America.

The Republican-led Congress is making real headway in securing America's homeland, securing America's prosperity and securing America's values.

In the Senate this year, we've passed legislation to prevent a $70 billion tax increase on the American people and continue record economic growth, improve health care quality through electronic medical records, secure our homeland by strengthening our borders, expand the energy supply through new exploration in the Gulf of Mexico and fund the War on Terror.

As the legislative session winds down, much is left to be done. This week presents another opportunity for senators to join together in addressing the pressing needs of the American people. We must pass a strong, fiscally responsible Defense appropriations bill that funds our military and supports our troops serving overseas. We must past legislation reforming our nation's pension system and providing retirement security for millions of Americans. And we must pass legislation that includes a permanent solution for the Death Tax, an extension of valuable tax incentives, and an increase in the federal minimum wage. Combining these measures offers a timely and effective way to address issues important to both sides of the aisle.

I ask my colleagues to put politics aside and pass these three bills making our country safer and improving the lives of millions of Americans.