Chris Dodd: “I rise this morning to offer this amendment that seeks to meet some of the domestic security needs of our Nation as…”

“I rise this morning to offer this amendment that seeks to meet some of the domestic security needs of our Nation as demonstrated by a distinguished group of experts in public policy, national security, and public health. This is not an amendment that I have crafted on my own. Rather, this amendment reflects the tremendous work done by our former colleague, the Senator from New Hampshire, Warren Rudman, who authored this report under the auspices of the Council on Foreign Relations back in 2003, along with a very distinguished group of Americans who brought a wealth of talent to that report, making significant recommendations as to how we might strengthen the ability of first responders in this country to deal with the national security threats posed by terrorist organizations. Obviously, all of us here are more than aware of these threats not only because of the events of 9/11, when we were victimized by the attacks of al-Qaida, but because we have witnessed the tragic events in Madrid and London, and most recently, the train bombings near Mumbai, India, where terrorist attacks have taken the lives of innocents. Once again, we realize that we are very, very vulnerable. Warren Rudman has warned us of this vulnerability. A distinguished group of Americans, who I will identify in a moment, have warned us.…”