Chuck Schumer: “the first part of this amendment deals with homeland security. The additional homeland security requirements on every…”

“the first part of this amendment deals with homeland security. The additional homeland security requirements on every one of our localities are enormous. Just yesterday, the mayor of my city, Mayor Bloomberg, and Secretary Tom Ridge announced that the administration would be seeking additional funding for homeland security in the next supplemental budget. That is a great first step. I hope there are sufficient resources to deal with the problem, particularly with the first responders who are definitely suffering. Since September 11, the Congress has worked with the administration in a bipartisan fashion in many ways. I hope this homeland security issue can become a bipartisan one as well. But it does involve spending the dollars necessary. Words alone will not bring the homeland security that our people need. Let's first go to first responders. I know in New York City, first responders are stretched as far as they can be. Like most other places, we have fiscal problems. So the number, for instance, of police officers is 4,000 lower than it was before. Many other agencies have fewer people working. In all instances, our police, firefighters, being the patriotic people they are, have a high proportion in the reserves, so we are losing people going overseas to fight for us. At the same time, there are huge new responsibilities. For instance, the many bridges and tunnels of New York City, the many buildings, houses of worship have to be guarded more carefully.”