Maxine Waters: “I rise in support certainly of H.R. 1817, but it is not enough. It is not good enough. This administration claims to…”

“I rise in support certainly of H.R. 1817, but it is not enough. It is not good enough. This administration claims to make fighting terrorism its top priority, and that is why we set up the Department of Homeland Security. You are not supposed to tell us from homeland security what it is we cannot do, but what we can do. I agree that maybe Secretary Ridge did not have enough information, did not have enough at his disposal, so he told us about the alerts; the yellow lights, the orange and the red and all of that; told us to go out and buy flashlights, duct tape, water, and plastic sheeting. But it is time to get serious. Homeland security should not be a sound bite or a reelection strategy. We have got to do something about the border. This President promised us 2,000 border agents. We have citizens who have taken it upon themselves to protect our border, and here we are talking about we do not have enough money to fund 2,000 agents when we are giving a bonus to Halliburton. Give me a break. We need money for first responders. We need money for our ports and our containers. This substitute will help to fill that gap. It is time we put our money where our mouths are. The Acting CHAIRMAN. The gentleman from Mississippi (Mr. Thompson) has 30 seconds remaining.”