Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act, 2006--Continued

DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2006--Continued

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. MARTINEZ. Mr. President, I rise today in support of the Feinstein-Cornyn amendment to the fiscal year 2006 Department of Homeland Security appropriations bill.

The concept of this amendment is simple--to direct homeland security dollars to the areas where the threat of attack is greatest.

It was no accident that when the terrorists attacked our Nation on that September morning they chose to strike at our two most powerful cities, our center for capitalism and commerce, New York, and our center of Government, Washington.

Since that fateful day, we have been fortifying our Nation in order to prevent another attack--and so far we have succeeded--but we must remain vigilant.

And just last week London was hit by a string of deadly terrorist bombings, another heinous and despicable act performed by outlaws too weak to show their face and too nai 4ve to know that this recent attack will only strengthen our resolve to hunt and destroy terrorists and their sympathizers wherever they lie. My heart goes out to our allies and friends in Great Britain and I know all of my colleagues join me in expressing our sympathy and solidarity with the British people.

It was no accident that when the terrorists attacked our Nation on September 11, 2001, they picked powerful, high-profile, and heavily trafficked targets.

Terrorists target areas where they can inflict the most damage and get the most attention, and for those reasons they focus on urban centers, areas of national importance, areas that are highly populated.

But if you include the interests of a region--be they tourist attractions, amusements parks or resorts, at anyone time there can be millions of visitors.

For instance, Orange County, FL, is one of the top vacation destinations in the world. In 2003 the region played host to over 45 million visitors.

On March 18, 2003, the Federal Aviation Administration imposed a no-fly zone over the Walt Disney World Resort area--because, according to an FAA spokesperson: ``The Disney parks are a potential target of symbolic value .....'' Florida is also home to 14 deepwater ports, many of which are nationally significant and critically important parts of our country's shipping infrastructure.

For example, at the Port of Miami nearly 4 million cruise passengers passed through the Port and over 9 million tons of cargo transited through the seaport. This combination of cruise and cargo activities supported approximately 98,000 jobs, and has an economic impact in Miami-Dade County of over $12 billion.

The Port of Tampa had over 800,000 cruise passengers and handles nearly 50 million tons per year, or half of the State's total seaborne cargo tonnage. The Port of Tampa is also the largest economic engine in west central Florida.

Again, these examples highlight the issues associated with regional influx.

The whole State of Florida, in fact, now plays host to 77 million tourists a year. That is on top of our 17 million person population.

We cannot overstate the importance of regional concepts and that models created by this amendment will encourage funding to be spent not only on our major cities, but also on those regional centers that require certain protections.

One more point. In a letter. In a letter dated today from Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff, he writes:

Funding our first responders based on risk and need gives us the flexibility to ensure our finite resources are allocated in a prioritized and objective manner.

Secretary Chertoff adds:

The Department of Homeland Security strongly supports authorization language that would distribute Federal homeland security grant funds based on risk and need, rather than on static and arbitrary minimums.

This amendment, the Feinstein-Cornyn amendment, meets Secretary Chertoff's desire, and that is to require the Department of Homeland Security to allocate grants to States based primarily on threat assessment and vulnerability. I believe that kind of discretion to the Secretary of Homeland Security will only enhance his ability to keep our country safe and to respond to the areas of most critical and immediate need and concern.

As a Congress, we must be prudent in appropriating funds to meet our essential capabilities. The ability to meet the risk to our Nation by reducing our vulnerability to attack is essential to our success in defending America in this war on terror.

Mr. President, I ask my colleagues to join me in supporting this important amendment. It is currently a time in which we have been reminded by the events of last week of the importance that we must place on our homeland security, on the security of our Nation in order that we might be able to forestall any future terrorist designs upon our Nation.

I believe the people of Florida will be best served by an approach that bases the decision on the Department of Homeland Security of where the grants may go on the risk and the perceived assessment of that risk and not on some static formula.

Thank you, Mr. President. I yield the remainder of my time back to the Senator from California.

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