Department Of Homeland Security Authorization Act For Fiscal Year 2008
Floor Speech
DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY AUTHORIZATION ACT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2008 -- (House of Representatives - May 09, 2007)
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Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Chairman, this amendment would require the Department of Homeland Security, or DHS, to report on a plan for fulfilling its infrastructure commitments at our national laboratories.
I want to thank my two Washington State colleagues, Mr. Norman Dicks and Mr. Dave Reichert, a member of the committee, for their co-sponsorship of this amendment.
This amendment ensures that national laboratory infrastructure changes will not interrupt security programs needed by DHS.
When DHS was established, it inherited facilities around the Nation and from other agencies, some of which were aging and in need of repair. These capital facilities include critical components involving radiological and nuclear countermeasures, threat vulner abilities and threat assessments, as well as work on biological and chemical countermeasures. In order for DHS to carry out its mission to protect our Nation, it is critical that the Department have the facilities that it needs.
At the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, PNNL, in Washington State, critical DHS research and development will be transferred to new facilities as existing labs are torn down for environmental cleanup activities at the 300 Area of the Hanford Federal nuclear site in my district.
In 2006, the DHS Under Secretary for Science and Technology signed an MOU with the Department of Energy and National Nuclear Security Administration that established funding commitments for the agencies involved in the transition of PNNL's facilities from the 300 Area to new lab space. This MOU underscores DHS's critical role in making sure national security related work at PNNL will not be interrupted by this transition.
This amendment I have introduced is not only important to the State of Washington and my constituents but also to our overall national security. I understand that this has been accepted on both sides, and I want to thank Chairman Thompson and Ranking Member King for agreeing to agree with that.
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