Political Quotes

“I will speak up to 5 minutes on an amendment that is not in the first package of amendments we will vote on, but since we will have no opportunity in the second and third package of amendments, I will speak to it now. I have an amendment that is fashioned to deal with the 9/11 Commission Report that came out less than 2 months ago, on December 5, 2005. It was the so-called report card where this prestigious bipartisan Commission, led by former Republican Governor Tom Kean and former Democratic Congressman Lee Hamilton, took a look at what we have done based on what they recommended in the 9/11 Report. It tells how little we have learned and how little we have done to actually make the homeland safer. Most Americans, at least in my State, believe at least the most obvious steps have been taken to close the gaps in our homeland defense. They believe, at the very least, we have a plan, that we have set priorities, and we know what the next step will be. Let me quote from the Commission's report, which is only 6 or 7 weeks old, on what we have done to assess the risks and vulnerabilities of our critical infrastructure--transportation, communications, industrial assets. Here is what they say: No risk and vulnerability assessments actually made; no national priorities established; no recommendations have been made on allocation of scarce resources. All key decisions [on homeland security] are at least a year away.…”