Vito Fossella: “the threat to the United States is still very real. Just yesterday it became public that one of the terrorists…”

“the threat to the United States is still very real. Just yesterday it became public that one of the terrorists responsible for the Madrid train bombings had sketches of New York City's Grand Central Station on his computer. A few days ago it was reported that Osama bin Laden was caught urging some of his associates to take the threat to the United States once again. Clearly the threat to our country is real, and it is essential that we have a comprehensive strategy for distributing our homeland security grant funding to confront it. That is why today I am introducing the Responsible Funding For First Responders Act of 2005. The bill reforms the current formula used to distribute homeland security grant money. Yesterday, our newly confirmed Homeland Security Secretary said, ``I think we owe the American people a more focused and priorities driven'' funding formula. This bill aims to achieve just that. Over the past few years, we have gone a long way in fighting terrorism. Last year, Congress passed a meaningful intelligence reform which implements many of the 9/11 Commission's recommendations. However there was one recommendation that we did not address adequately. The 9/11 Commission explicitly stated ``homeland security assistance should be based strictly on assessment of risks and vulnerabilities.'' This bill would put that recommendation, which I think is common sense to most Americans, into effect.”