Hal Rogers: “This is a good bill. As I said before, what we are after is sensible spending on a sensible plan. We are spending a lot…”

“This is a good bill. As I said before, what we are after is sensible spending on a sensible plan. We are spending a lot of money on homeland security. This bill is $29.4 billion. Is it enough? I think it is enough for the plan that we have, and I would urge the Members to support the conference report. Now, on this issue of cargo on passenger planes, it has been beaten to death today; and there have been some irresponsible statements made, in my judgment, about it. Here are the essential facts. Technology does not exist to x-ray the cargo going on passenger planes in those large pallets. It just does not exist. We are directing the Secretary and giving him the money immediately to go out and begin procuring that information and that kind of machinery. The money is there, and the direction is there; and we are telling him to do it posthaste, at the earliest possible date. I do not know how much more direct we could be. In the meantime, we say we do not want any cargo going on a passenger plane from somebody we do not know about.”