J.C. Watts: “I too want to commend the chairman, the gentleman from Texas (Chairman Armey) for I think using exceptional grace and…”

“I too want to commend the chairman, the gentleman from Texas (Chairman Armey) for I think using exceptional grace and exceptional composure and I think real balance in giving all the Members of the Select Committee a say, and I think as well giving all of the committees of jurisdiction a real voice in this process. Again, I think the gentleman did an exceptional job and he is to be commended for his work on this legislation. Mr. Chairman, I believe the best way to secure our homeland is to involve all sectors of society. By creating a working relationship between the public and private sectors, the best available technologies and the greatest amount of knowledge can be brought to the table to achieve a common goal of protecting our Nation from those who seek to inflict terror within our borders. We have discussed at length in this process the role of the government in homeland defense and that is good. At the same time, we need to integrate the private sector into an overall agenda of homeland defense.”