Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act, 2012

Floor Speech

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Mr. CLARKE of Michigan. Mr. Chair, this amendment provides $3 billion to the State and local Homeland Security grant program. The effect of this amendment would be to fully restore the funding of this program to fiscal year 2010 levels. We have got to do this. American families are at risk right now. They are at risk of having their homes and their businesses demolished, of being injured or even killed, either by a natural disaster as occurred in the past few weeks as a tornado swept across this country, or by a terrorist attack, which is more likely to come from within our borders.

So we need this funding to hire new firefighters, police officers, emergency medical providers and to properly equip them, and to provide the radio and communication systems that allow our first responders to communicate with their counterparts in other jurisdictions.

The problem is this: our local governments and our State governments don't have the money to fund homeland security investments. It is in part because this Congress chose not to effectively address the foreclosure crisis. The property values upon which our locals are depending to fund first responders have fallen so dramatically, they really don't have the resources to do this. It's up to us. This Congress, it is our duty to secure the safety of the American people.

My amendment will do so by taking a portion of the money, the billions of dollars we spend overseas in Afghanistan to provide that country's security. I say let's take a portion of that and redirect it back home to protect Americans right here in our country because it is American tax dollars in the first place.

Mr. Chair, I appreciate your support, and I urge this Committee to support this amendment.

I yield back the balance of my time.

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Mr. CLARKE of Michigan. I would like to address the point of order.

The Acting CHAIR. The gentleman from Michigan is recognized on the point of order.

Mr. CLARKE of Michigan. Mr. Chair, what I heard is my amendment may not be in accordance with the rule; but I know one thing, it's in accordance with what we need in this country.

We need to take a share of that money that we are spending in Afghanistan to secure those people to secure our people here back home. That money that you say is not being spent, give it to me. The city of Detroit, we'll spend that money. We need the police officers, the firefighters, the emergency medical providers and radios to talk to each other.

The Acting CHAIR. The gentleman must confine his remarks to the point of order.

Mr. CLARKE of Michigan. I will do so, Mr. Chair, and to that end, I ask unanimous consent to withdraw my amendment and will offer separate legislation to protect the American people. We need to redirect that money from Afghanistan and bring it back home. Our people need it. It is our money in the first place.

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Mr. CLARKE of Michigan. Mr. Chairman, what this amendment does is remove the restriction that the Urban Areas Security Initiative funding should be restricted to the top 10 urban areas by risk. You see, there are other metropolitan areas in this country that I believe are at similar or even higher risk of terrorist attack or damage through any other type of catastrophe.

The metro Detroit area is one of those. That area, the area that I represent, has the busiest border crossing in all of North America and has an international airport. It has a huge metropolitan population center. It has the world headquarters of General Motors. We are at high risk of an attack; but yet right now, according to the Homeland Security risk metrics, we are not rated in the top 10. We should be eligible for this funding, as well as other metropolitan areas.

Here's the point: even though bin Laden is now gone, we are still at risk of a terrorist attack in this country. But it is more than likely that terrorists will likely come from within the borders. So the first defense we have against terrorism or any other natural disaster is our first responders. We need more firefighters, more police officers, more emergency medical providers. They need to be properly trained and have the equipment, the radios and communication devices to communicate with each other.

The best way to protect our citizens, it is not spending it only overseas, all of our tax dollars, but investing it right here at home. This amendment will make sure that urban areas that are at high risk of an attack, such as metro Detroit, get the funds that they need.

The bottom line point is this: the reason we should step in and support our local units of government is because this Congress in the past did not effectively address the foreclosure crisis which has really robbed local units of government of their power to fund their first responders. The property values have dropped so low the money isn't even there.

I am asking Congress now: don't turn your back on this obligation to the
American people. Let's redirect money to the Homeland Security budget, to our first responders, our people there at the first line of defense against an attack from a terrorist or any type of natural disaster that could impact our people.

Mr. Chairman, I urge this committee's support for this amendment, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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