Political Quotes

“I rise to commend the Budget Committee for its efforts to fund a strong homeland defense, and to introduce an amendment with my friend Senator Collins on one issue where we think additional work is needed--funding to continue building the new Federal Emergency Management Agency. First, I want to praise the Budget Committee for working within our difficult budget environment to find adequate funding for critical homeland security needs, especially support to our State and local partners in homeland security. The President's fiscal year 2009 budget request for the Department of Homeland Security, DHS, includes some useful increases for targeted programs, but comes up short overall. It is basically a steady State budget with the glaring exception of homeland security grants, where the administration has once again proposed aggressive and unwise cuts to core Federal grant programs that States, tribes, cities, and towns rely on to keep their citizens safe. If the President's budget were enacted, it would mean a 48-percent drop in overall grant funding--seriously limiting the ability of State and local officials to prevent, prepare for, and respond to acts of terrorism and natural disasters and to protect their communities the way they should be protected. The threats we face have not diminished over the years and neither should the funding to combat those threats.”