Strengthening our Homeland Security

Strengthening our Homeland Security

Friday, July 22, 2005

Homeland Security is about protecting targets, minimizing damage, and assisting victims; it also is about detecting and arresting terrorists before they can strike. Terrorists are inherently unpredictable, aiming at vulnerable targets wherever they find them-in large and small communities alike. While the September 11th terrorists completed their murderous mission in the metropolitan areas of Washington, D.C. and New York City, we have learned that they began their deadly work in smaller communities. Two of the terrorists began their mission in our own state of Maine - at the airport in Portland; others organized and trained in communities such as Lawrenceville, Georgia, and Norman, Oklahoma. The Senate recently approved legislation that I authored with Senator Joe Lieberman of Connecticut, which strikes the right balance between ratcheting up funding to New York, Washington, D.C., and other high-risk areas, and ensuring that we improve our capabilities in all states so there are no weak links in our homeland defenses. Our legislation recognizes that, while we increase security where we believe the risk of terrorist attack is greatest, risk-assessment is an art, and not a science. It is an educated guess. We do not know with certainty where terrorists will attack. They could choose to attack so called "soft" targets, such as malls, or schools, in Middle America to spread terror into the heartland. They could choose to attack our food supply, much of which is grown in rural America. As the Director of the FBI has stated, our country is "awash in potential targets." And, as we have seen in London, Madrid, Russia, Indonesia, Iraq, and Israel, terrorists have no qualms about exploiting any vulnerability anywhere, whether in metropolitan cities or small towns - in order to kill innocent men, women, and children and create fear and panic. Our legislation, for the first time, creates a framework for the distribution of billions of dollars in state homeland security grants that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) allocates each year to assist first responders and state and local officials in helping to prevent terrorism and prepare for an attack. It gives the DHS Secretary unprecedented authority to target funds based on risk. This grant formula doubles the amount of funding allocated to high-risk states while ensuring that all states receive a guaranteed minimum level of funding so that they may attain a minimum level of preparedness. Under our legislation, California will receive a baseline amount of funding five and a half times greater than smaller states. New York and Texas will receive a baseline amount more than three times greater. In addition to the minimum level of funding, states are eligible to receive additional grant funds to address their unique risks, threats, and vulnerabilities. The Congressional Research Service has determined that altogether, the Collins-Lieberman proposal would allocate roughly 80 percent of the total funds to states based solely on risk factors. Our formula also recognizes that states' efforts to address homeland security vulnerabilities and needs are most often long-term projects that will require many years to complete. For example, creating a communications network that all first responders can use is a complicated, expensive, and lengthy process. Multi-year planning is critical for states to develop a successful prevention and response strategy. Maintaining a predictable level of state grant funding each year will allow states to plan and budget in order to meet their preparedness needs. Finally, our legislation would subject homeland security grants to tough new accountability measures, such as an independent Government Accountability Office audit and a requirement that all purchases help achieve levels of prevention and response capabilities. In this way, the amendment would prohibit wasteful spending on items such as leather jackets and air-conditioned garbage trucks as has occurred in the District of Columbia and New Jersey. This legislation dramatically improves the homeland security state grant process by instituting a clear set of risk-based factors that do not exist now. This way, the entire nation will be better prepared to prevent, and if necessary, respond to the next terrorist attack. This funding formula is a well-reasoned, intelligent strategy to protect all Americans against the terrorist threat. Terrorists will strike wherever there is a vulnerable target, and it is our duty to better prepare, so we might prevent, attacks on our homeland.

http://thomas.loc.gov/home/r109query.html