Dianne Feinstein: “As this Nation wages our war against terrorism, I rise today in support of the Lieberman substitute amendment to H.R.…”

“As this Nation wages our war against terrorism, I rise today in support of the Lieberman substitute amendment to H.R. 5005, the Homeland Security Act. We must take this critical step now, in a way that protects both our liberties and our lives. I commend my colleague, Senator Lieberman, and the entire Committee on Government Affairs for drafting such meaningful and comprehensive legislation. The Government Affairs Committee reported the bill on a strong bipartisan vote of 12 to 5--a clear sign of substantial support. It is unfortunate that the President has threatened to veto this legislation. It fills me with a deep sense of sadness that it took the tragedy of 1 year ago to bring us this far. The deaths of nearly 3,000 people showed us, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that our Government was ill-prepared to tackle the multifaceted threat of terrorism. We would be doing a great disservice to the memory of those that perished on September 11--and to the citizens this new department will be sworn to protect--if we fail to adopt a more effective system to combat terror. As a member of the Senate Select Intelligence Committee and chairman of the Judiciary Subcommittee on Technology, Terrorism, and Government Information, I have been immersed in the debate on homeland security for a long time now. I believe that we need to reorganize agencies to better fight the war on terror and I think that the creation of a Department of Homeland Security is a good first step.”