James M. Jeffords: “I will never forget my visit to Ground Zero. I hope that September 11 is an event that will never be repeated, on any…”

“I will never forget my visit to Ground Zero. I hope that September 11 is an event that will never be repeated, on any scale, in our country or anywhere in the world. I share the goal of all my colleagues that our Nation be as prepared as possible, should such an event occur. However, in seeking to improve our capability to respond to terrorism, it is critical that we do not lose our capability to respond to natural disasters, which happen much more frequently than terrorist events. The Inhofe-Jeffords second degree amendment to the Collins' amendment will ensure that as we seek to enhance our ability to respond to terrorist events, we do not lose our ability to respond to natural disasters. The role of a first responder, whether responding to a terrorist event or a natural disaster is, for the most part, the same. For decades, the Federal, State, and local governments in this Nation have partnered together to plan, prepare, respond, and recover from both minor and major natural disasters.”