Homeland Security

Defense operations are moving into a new era using smaller, highly-trained units to complete missions, making our Special Forces troops more essential and in greater demand than ever before. Recent recommendations from the Quadrennial Defense Review call for a 15% increase in our Special Forces. Unfortunately, you cannot train a Special Operator overnight. The best way to grow our Special Forces is to retain current forces while we initiate new recruits in their extensive training requirements. I am introducing the Special Operations Forces Retention Improvement Act to provide incentives for current SOF to stay in military service because their experience is essential to our success. My legislation will allow special pays including, hazard duty pay, to be computed into an increase in retirement compensation.

The recent arrests of 17 Canadians charged with plotting to attack targets in and around Ontario with ammonium nitrate fertilizer-based bombs is just another compelling reason why Congress must act to regulate the ammonium nitrate fertilizer industry. A material of choice for domestic terrorists, ammonium nitrate was used in the 1995 bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City that killed 168 people and has been used in terrorist bombings around the world.

The ammonium nitrate industry has acted responsibly in asking for Congress's help and they should be commended for their proactive effort to protect ammonium nitrate from being abused or stockpiled by those wishing to do America harm. I also applaud the leadership of the House Homeland Security Committee for moving this bill forward for a full committee vote. This legislation will empower the Department of Homeland Security to regulate the sale of ammonium nitrate and help keep this potentially dangerous substance out of terrorist hands.

I think that the American people are quite relieved that the terrorists are interned in Guantanamo, not in the United States. I do not think the suicides will generate any sympathy for them and I think that this is one of the issues which works in Bush's favor. Iraq is costing him votes. But anything about homeland security, including Guantanamo, gains him support.

Last week on the House Floor...[HR:5441], the Fiscal Year 2007 Homeland Security Appropriations bill.This bill would provide $33.1 billion for the Homeland Security Department and related activities. The bill includes $7.7 billion for customs and border protection; $6.4 billion for the Transportation Security Administration, including fees; $8.1 billion for the Coast Guard; $1.3 billion for the Secret Service; and $2.6 billion for response and recovery efforts conducted by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. H.R. 5441 passed the House, with my support, 389-9.

[HR:5521], the Fiscal Year 2007 Legislative Branch bill.

This bill would appropriate $3 billion for legislative branch operations, excluding Senate operation. It would provide $1.1 billion for operations of the House of Representative, $570 million for the Library of Congress, $488 milllion for the Government Accountability Office (GAO), $259 million for the Capitol Police, and $131 million for the Government Printing Office. It would abolish the office of Architect of the Capitol and transfer its functions to the GAO. H.R. 5521 passed the House, with my support, 361-53.

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First and foremost, we are a nation at war. One of our most important weapons in this war against terror is information. The Terrorist Surveillance Program is crucial to gathering intelligence on terrorist activities.

The terrorists are smart and have adapted to our old modes of information gathering. For now, we are far better at gathering information than our enemy. It is an advantage we must exploit, and it is keeping us safe. Every time a leak of properly classified national security information occurs, our ability to gather information on those who would do us harm is eroded.

Preventing the NSA from legally using the tools at its disposal to monitor terrorist activities will only make the United States more susceptible to attack.

This weekend's raid in Canada proves the point that terrorists are plotting to attack us, right under our noses. Through my briefings in the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, I am confident the NSA is acting not only within the law, but also in the best interest of Americans. Our civil liberties are not being violated. The American people are not the target of any of our information gathering efforts; al-Qaeda is the target.

It is no accident we are almost five years removed from 9/11 and our nation has not been hit again. We are using every legal source of information to fight this war and help keep this country safe. The American people in poll after poll have supported this, and they have every right to expect the government to use every tool we can to protect them. The Terrorist Surveillance Program is one of the many legal tools we have, will and must use!

Everyone knows that on September 11th 2001 nearly 3000 New Yorkers were killed in the attack on the World Trade Center and of course several hundred here in Washington D.C. at the Pentagon. Yet the Department of Homeland Security has chosen to cut both New York and Washington by 40% of Homeland Security funds for this year. It is absolutely mind boggling, unbelievable and outrageous that New York and Washington would face these cuts.

New York’s money is scheduled to go down from $207.6 million in 2005 to $124.5 million in 2006, and now to add insult to injury we hear the Department of Homeland Security is cutting New York Bio Terrorism money 15% as well. So that per capita in New York, we would receive $2.99 per resident to fight bio terrorism, while the good people of Wyoming would receive $9.72 per person to fight Bio Terrorism, and the good people of North Dakota would receive $8.09 per person to fight terrorism. We all know the threat in North Dakota and in Wyoming is not nearly as great as New York.

What is Secretary Chertoff thinking? What are they thinking over there? Their policies and their thoughts need to change.

When the 9/11 Commission tells us the government has earned more F's than A's on implementing their recommendations, it means we have some serious work left to do. We are safer, thanks to progress reforming the intelligence community, but we are still not safe. Almost two years after the Commission released its 41 thoughtful proposals, there are 27 for which the government received an average, near-failing or failing grade. Today we are reminding the American people and Congress that the 9/11 Commission's work cannot be in vain; it's time for more action.

In its current form the immigration bill the Senate passed would not make it through the House. I'm just glad the Senate was able to actually pass legislation that we can work through with the House and actually get a bill done this year for the American people.

Today the President continued the call for comprehensive immigration reform and I applaud his determination to fix our broken system. The bipartisan Senate reform plan will strengthen our national security, protect our borders better, and crack down harder on smugglers and employers who break the law. The President understands that our plan is even tougher and more effective than the House bill because not only does it include these strong enforcement provisions but it will also break the cycle of illegality by creating pathways to earned citizenship.

We know that an enforcement-only approach to solving our immigration problems may make a good campaign slogan. But in reality, it’s a failed strategy that threatens our security and threatens American wages. To truly strengthen our national security we must enact a common sense plan that includes earned citizenship for those who are here, a temporary worker program for the future, and enhanced enforcement.

Bills Recently on the House Floor...

[HR:5385], the FY07 Military Construction-VA Appropriations bill. This bill would provide $136.1 billion for the VA, military construction and military housing, including $21 billion for the Defense Health Program and$13.5 billion for the basic military housing allowances. It would provide $77.9 billion for the VA, including $32.7 billion for the Veterans health Administration; $.1 billion for military construction; $4 billion for military family housing and $5.3 billion for the latest round of base closures. This bill passed the House unanimously.

[S:1235], the Veterans' Housing Opportunity and Benefits Improvement Act of 2006. This bill would indefinitely pass the bill that would indefinitely increase, to $400,00, the federally subsidized life insurance payment for servicemembers killed in the line of duty. It would temporarily extend post-separation group life insurance coverage for disabled veterans to two years. This bill passed the House unanimously.

[HR:4681], the Palestinian Anti-Terrorism Act of 2006. This bill would restrict most aid to the Palestinian Authority as long as it is controlled by the organizations that have ties to terrorism and fail to recognize Israel's right to exist. I was a cosponsor of this bill, and it passed the House 361-37.

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