Robin Carnahan: “as the last few months have shown, America's citizen soldiers and airmen are vital to Homeland Security. Air Guard…”

“as the last few months have shown, America's citizen soldiers and airmen are vital to Homeland Security. Air Guard fighter pilots have patrolled the skies over our largest cities. Army Guard units police our air terminals and ports of entry. These brave men and women stand sentry over our Nation. They are making America safer. But we must be ready to respond if terrorists again succeed in bringing harm to American people. We must be ready to rescue the victims, care for the sick, and aid the injured. This will take cooperation from every level of government--local, State, and Federal agencies. Dr. Jeffery Lowell is the St. Louis Mayor's Chief of a special team called the Medical Critical Incident Response Group. He is responsible for determining how the region's 30-plus hospitals will provide medical aid to the 22 million residents of the St. Louis metropolitan area. Dr. Lowell reports only that 70 to 80 critical care beds are available at any one time. But we need to prepare for the possibility that an attack could generate hundreds, perhaps thousands, of injuries. Additionally, the entire St. Louis metropolitan area does not have enough emergency responders to care for so many victims. Help would need to come from other cities, other States. This would take time, many hours, even days. In situations like this, lost time means lost lives. There is an answer to this problem, and it involves the same Guard men and women I mentioned earlier.…”