National Bombing Prevention Act of 2008

NATIONAL BOMBING PREVENTION ACT OF 2008 -- (House of Representatives - June 18, 2008)

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Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Madam Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H.R. 4749, the National Bombing Prevention Act, introduced by my distinguished colleague from New York, Representative KING This important legislation establishes the Office of Bombing Prevention within the Protective Security Coordination Division of the Office of Infrastructure Protection of the Department.

This legislation is a bipartisan bill, whose lead sponsor is the Ranking Member of the Committee on Homeland Security, Representative KING, and is also cosponsored by Chairman THOMPSON. The function of the Office of Bombing Prevention already exists in the Department, and this bill establishes it in statute. The Office is responsible for coordinating the Government efforts to deter, detect, prevent, protect against, and respond to terrorist explosive attacks in the United States. As we all know, the most likely terrorist threat to our Nation's critical infrastructure and transportation modes is from explosives.

Madam Speaker, we need to ensure that the Office of Bombing Prevention has the protection of being established by the force of law, so the Department can more readily meet the threats to our Nation. This legislation requires the Secretary to develop and periodically update a national strategy to prevent and prepare for terrorist explosive attacks in the United States due 90 days after the date of enactment. The Secretary is further required to report to Congress regarding the national strategy. This strategy is also called for by Homeland Security Presidential Directive-19, Combating Terrorist Use of Explosives in the United States, issued by the President in February of 2007. This legislation also authorizes the Office to support technology transfer efforts as well as research into explosives detection and mitigation.

I did, however, have one reservation with regards to this legislation, regarding canine procurement, which is why I introduced an amendment, which was accepted by the full Committee, to address that issue. Dogs are used to detect illicit and illegal substances every day. They are used to: detect illegal narcotics; find money that is being smuggled out of the country; and locate explosives that may be concealed in cargo, within vehicles, on aircraft, in luggage and on passengers.

There is no doubt that every day, the actions of these dogs and their handlers significantly contribute toward deterring threats and protecting our Nation from terrorists. While the contributions of our canine forces are priceless, they are not without cost. We must place a price on what we are willing to pay for untrained dogs.

The Department of Homeland Security's Inspector General has found that from April 2006 through June 2007, Customs and Border Protection spent $1.46 million on purchasing 322 untrained dogs--that is about $4500 per dog. Most of these dogs are purchased in Europe and brought to America. These are not fully trained animals. They are puppies that will be trained to provide valuable service. I think most people would find $4500 for an untrained dog an exorbitant amount.

However, I cannot deem this amount out of bounds because the Department of Defense pays $3500 for each untrained dog. The Secret Service pays an average of $4500 for each untrained dog. Therefore, the price paid by CBP is within the acceptable range of current practice. However, I think that if we are to be good stewards of the American tax dollar, we must change the current practice. When one considers that domestic breeders offer the same kinds of dogs for $500-$2000, we cannot justify what I can only call a puppy tariff.

My amendment would require the Secretary to explore ways to reduce the amount we pay for each dog we purchase by considering the use of different breeds, procuring dogs from domestic breeders and seeking out dogs from animal shelters or rescue groups. If this Department can successfully implement a new method to obtain capable dogs for our homeland security needs, we could begin a trend that would save the American people millions of dollars each year.

With the inclusion of my amendment, I am deeply satisfied with this legislation. I am proud to support this legislation, which brings our great Nation closer to its goal of securing the homeland, and I encourage my colleagues to support this important legislation.

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