On the recordMarch 10, 2025
I thank Representative Correa for yielding. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of my bill, the Securing the Cities Improvement Act, a critical piece of legislation designed to help us build and maintain our Nation's security capabilities. Specifically, this bill provides participating cities with more reliable guidance and support from the Department of Homeland Security's Securing the Cities program, which seeks to reduce the risk of terrorist attacks in high-risk urban areas, like my hometown of New Orleans. I want to specifically thank Ranking Member Bennie Thompson and Congressman Clay Higgins for their support and for cosponsoring this bill. I also thank Lou Correa for managing the bill today and Chairman Green for his leadership, as well as the Homeland Security Committee staff, especially Lauren McClain, who tirelessly led us through this effort. The need for this legislation has been tragically underscored by the recent terrorist attacks in the city of New Orleans on New Year's Day, which claimed 15 lives and left dozens of others injured. In the early hours of New Year's Day, a 42-year-old U.S. citizen from Texas drove a rented Ford F-150 pickup truck into a crowd on Bourbon Street in the French Quarter neighborhood during the city's New Year's Eve celebration.…





