Jim Baird: “I thank the gentleman and I rise in strong support of his amendment. In the aftermath of September 11, our whole Nation…”

“I thank the gentleman and I rise in strong support of his amendment. In the aftermath of September 11, our whole Nation has learned to be more watchful. The Federal Government has increased its efforts as well, and the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Obey) has developed an amendment which would plug many remaining holes in our security system, and I believe we should pass it. I would like to address one particular part of that amendment which would have been especially important because it deals with one of the most basic elements of our daily lives, the safety of our water systems. Our drinking and waste water systems are now extremely vulnerable to terrorist attack. Early this month in the Committee on Science, I helped put together a bill which passed that committee unanimously and would authorize $60 million for research and development of methods to monitor and protect our facilities and our water. The amendment of the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Obey) would have taken this idea one step further by providing $190 million for vulnerability and security assessments, and, importantly, for the implementation of protections.”