Mike Levin: “the second degree amendment which I have offered expresses the determination and decision of Congress that the war on…”

“the second degree amendment which I have offered expresses the determination and decision of Congress that the war on terrorism should be ``the top priority'' for spending the additional funds identified by the pending Warner amendment. The Warner amendment specifies two possible purposes for the expected additional funds following the inflation recalculation in the midsession review. The first specified purpose is ballistic missile defense programs. The second specified purpose is combating terrorism at home and abroad. My amendment is based on the large number of unmet needs in our war against terrorism, including those identified by the members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. We should put additional resources where the greatest threats exist, and the terrorist threat is clearly the number one threat that we face. There have been a number of efforts in the last twenty-four hours to persuade me to weaken my amendment or to dilute its intention away from focusing resources on combatting terrorism. I, along with my colleagues, including Senators Harry Reid and Jack Reed, have resisted these efforts.”