James Norton: “I have an amendment pending in a package we have not gotten to. My pending amendment would in fact have relevant regions…”

“I have an amendment pending in a package we have not gotten to. My pending amendment would in fact have relevant regions across the United States, whether within the same State or not, engage functionally in what I think this amendment would do. I would have a coordinator and the coordinator could be chosen by whoever were the various officials, whether across State lines or within a State. Yes, it is true that the national capital region is the model for how it should be done. Here we have three States: Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia. The portions of those States closest to where the security is of greatest need and where the Federal presence is, because the Federal presence is as much in Virginia, Maryland and the District of Columbia, and in some cases more so, witness the Pentagon. This region has a long history of cooperating. But after 9/11, even that long history of cooperation was not enough. Because of the uniqueness of the national capital region, Congress has said there has to be a paid coordinator for this region.”