Jon L. Christensen: “I am proud to join my fellow committee members of the Committee on Homeland Security in strong support of H.R. 1544, the…”

“I am proud to join my fellow committee members of the Committee on Homeland Security in strong support of H.R. 1544, the Faster and Smarter Funding For the First Responders Act of 2005. This bipartisan legislation was unanimously supported at both the subcommittee and full committee levels of the Committee on Homeland Security. The chairman of the Committee on Homeland Security, the gentleman from California (Mr. Cox), and the gentleman from Mississippi (Ranking Member Thompson) should receive high praise, as they have on the floor already this morning, for the skillful manner in which they worked so swiftly to shepherd this important bill through our committee and to the floor of the House. Over the past 2 years, the committee has traveled around the country to listen to the first responders. We used the information garnered from these meetings as a guide in developing the first piece of legislation. H.R. 1544 seeks to remedy the problems first responders face because of a lack of guidance and standards, the need for flexibility in how they can use first responder funding, as well as just getting the money to them in the first place. It also provides a vehicle for ongoing first responder participation and planning and updating essential capabilities with the department and responds to the issue of how grants will be distributed and on what basis. My own district, the U.S.…”