Senator Sarbanes Supports Appropriations Amendment

Mr. SARBANES. Mr. President, I rise today in strong support of the amendment proposed by Senator BYRD, which would restore a portion of the devastating cuts to this year's Senate-passed appropriations measures that are contained in the pending Republican omnibus appropriations package.

In my own State of Maryland and across the Nation, State, local, and regional authorities are struggling to make even the most basic of homeland security improvements. In many cases, these communities have taken exhaustive measures to identify their areas of greatest vulnerability, and have made commendable advances in enhancing their own preparedness and response capabilities.

Last year, this body made a series of nearly unanimous legislative commitments to assist these local security efforts in several important areas. Moreover, while the House of Representatives passed only a portion of its spending measures, the Senate completed action on all 13 of its own appropriations bills. After months of hard work on behalf of both my Democratic and Republican colleagues on the Appropriations Committee, difficult decisions were made, and spending levels were agreed to. Contained in these bipartisan commitments was critical Federal support in several key homeland security areas.

The Republican omnibus appropriations proposal slashes an astonishing $9.8 billion in Federal support—funding that was overwhelmingly agreed to in the Senate during the 107th Congress. A disturbingly large portion of these cuts—approximately $1 billion—were made in the area of homeland security. Senator BYRD'S amendment would restore this important funding.

Maintaining these funding levels becomes even more critical in light of the regrettable decision made by President Bush this past summer to short-change many of our vital security needs by not spending $2.5 billion in emergency supplemental funding passed by the Congress. Senator BYRD'S amendment would also restore much of this important support.

Since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, we have become increasingly aware of the woefully inadequate safeguards to our Nation's 361 seaports. Last November we took a significant first step in improving this aspect of our homeland security by passing the Maritime Transportation Security Act. I joined 94 of my Senate colleagues in supporting the passage of this measure, and the bill was signed into law by President Bush soon thereafter.

A critical section of this legislation reaffirms the importance of providing funding to the Nation's seaports for security upgrades. The omnibus appropriations package introduced yesterday by my Republican colleagues would cut this program significantly. Senator BYRD'S amendment would restore these dangerous cuts, providing $585 million for port security grants to implement the Maritime Transportation Security Act—which, I again remind my colleagues, we overwhelmingly approved a mere 2 months ago.

In my own state of Maryland, the Port of Baltimore is an important and vulnerable point of entry for the country. Indeed, handling over 30 million tons of cargo each year, it is one of the busiest seaports on the East Coast. Clearly, the volume and traffic associated with this distinction present considerable security challenges for the port. While the port has made important progress in this area, the grants provided are vital for making some of the most basic of security upgrades.
Unfortunatley, the cuts made in the Republican spending package are not confined to our Nation's seaports. As the outgoing chairman of the Congressional Fire Services Caucus, I have heard many of the concerns of first responders in Maryland and around the country.
First responders were devastated last summer when they learned last that the President would be withholding $100 million in grant funding. Another $155 million was withheld from State and local law enforcement. Now we learn that the administration and my Republican colleagues are proposing further cuts to the Senate-approved funding for first responders. This time, first responders would lose an additional $132 million. This amendment would merely provide some of the basic promises the Congress has already made to those Americans who we call on to provide our most vital emergency preparedness and response needs.
Mr. President, I urge my colleagues to support Senator BYRD'S amendment. If the Congress and the administration are to enact legislation signaling our commitment to securing the homeland, we must provide the resources to provide even the most basic levels of protection. We must demonstrate steely resolve in our efforts to protect our citizens and critical infrastructure, and this will not be achieved if the resources committed to the task are inadequate.