Kent Conrad: “Again, I don't know what could be more clear. What some are endorsing is a continuation of the policy that failed…”

“Again, I don't know what could be more clear. What some are endorsing is a continuation of the policy that failed catastrophically on September 11. Some would say that system is good enough; stay with the status quo and have some of these same private contractors, who have failed abysmally, continue. We saw an incident with one of the companies in Chicago where a guy got on board with seven knives and a stun gun. That system is not working. I don't know what could be more clear. We need tighter airport security. That costs money, but it is an expenditure that we need to make. Yes, it will stimulate the economy. More than that, it will provide greater security to the American people. As chairman of the Budget Committee, I have had many people come to me with things that need to be done to strengthen local law enforcement, strengthen our national defense, strengthen protection of our borders through the Border Patrol. Those need to be done. We need to do a better job of policing those who come into our country with visas. Right now people come and say they will go to school and nobody checks to see if they showed up at school. One terrorist who engaged in the attack on September 11 was scheduled to go to a school and never showed up. We have no system for tracking to find out if somebody doesn't show up, why they didn't show up. That costs money. That also will strengthen the security of this country.”