Joe Lieberman: “I will speak on the substitute on homeland security introduced yesterday by Senator Thompson on behalf of Senators Gramm…”

“I will speak on the substitute on homeland security introduced yesterday by Senator Thompson on behalf of Senators Gramm and Miller. My feelings about this substitute, to put it as directly as I can, are mixed. The substitute would create a single strong Department of Homeland Security under the leadership of an accountable Secretary, which many Members have supported, actually, for more than a year now in response to the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, and the dangerous vulnerabilities in our federal homeland security system that those attacks revealed. The substitute is also problematic in many ways. I categorize them in four chunks. First, this substitute contains several provisions that are just ill-conceived, missed opportunities to close vulnerabilities in our security or that otherwise make the wrong choice. Second, the bill contains provisions that are unrelated to homeland security legislation. Apparently, as often happens in Congress, some of our colleagues have decided to put the provisions on what they assumed was the last bus out of town during this session rather than waiting for the right ride. Third, the bill contains provisions that do seem, as we approach December, to be gift wrapped by lobbyists to satisfy some special interests, not carefully considered to improve the security of the American people.”