John Tierney: “I rise to support a bill to help local officials and our emergency responders better protect our communities. I am a…”

“I rise to support a bill to help local officials and our emergency responders better protect our communities. I am a proud cosponsor of H.R. 4598, the Homeland Security Information Sharing Act. We need this bill so we can promote the sharing of critical homeland security threat information between Federal law enforcement and intelligence agencies and State and local officials, including our first responders. We need to do this for the families who lost loved ones on September 11 and in the October anthrax attacks, for the American people who expect us to protect them, and for our children so that future generations can grow up in a free and open society. We can and must do so while protecting people's constitutional rights and civil liberties by requiring that any information that is shared must not be used for any unauthorized purpose, and that the procedures must ensure the security and confidentiality of the information, as well as remove or delete obsolete or erroneous information. I cosponsored this bill because first responders from across my district have contacted my office asking for the means to receive credible and specific threat information in order to prevent or respond to terrorist attacks. The fact is, our local first responders face real threats. They need real information and real resources to protect our communities. This bill is an important first step. It says we will be full partners in this action against terrorism.”