Kent Conrad: “Precisely. I do not know what could be more clear. There are some on the other side who will stand up and decry…”

“Precisely. I do not know what could be more clear. There are some on the other side who will stand up and decry spending. I did not hear them decrying spending to increase our military preparedness. I think we are all joined as one, understanding we have to strengthen our military to respond to what is happening. But it is not our uniformed military that is on the front lines of response to this crisis. It is also our firefighters and our policemen and all local law enforcement, and those elements of this fight against terrorism need to be buttressed. Does anybody doubt we need to add money to fight bioterrorism? Does anybody really believe we are prepared to do all of the things necessary to cope with bioterrorism? I do not believe there is a single Member who can possibly believe we do not need to spend more money to protect ourselves against anthrax and smallpox and all the other things that could be used as weapons against this Nation. Now, that happens to give a double hit. Not only is that spending stimulative to the economy because it buys goods and services; it also provides people greater protection, and we need to do that. We need to strengthen national defense. We need to strengthen law enforcement. We need to strengthen our ability to wage war against those who would engage in terrorist attacks against us. Yes, that is spending but it is spending for a purpose, and it is an important purpose.”