Sylvester Turner: “we consider today, of course, for the first time the appropriations for the new Department of Homeland Security. Just as…”

“we consider today, of course, for the first time the appropriations for the new Department of Homeland Security. Just as the new Department is taking its first steps to make America safer, we are also embarking on an effort to try to secure the resources that we need for the longer term to ensure victory in the war against terrorism. This bill is a good start, and I support dedicating resources above the President's request to prepare our communities by training and equipping first responders and securing our ports and our transportation systems. However, as we have been finding in the hearings before the Select Committee on Homeland Security, serious deficiencies remain in the Department's ability to carry out its mission of protecting all Americans from those harms that could come our way through terrorism. Testimony before our Select Committee on Homeland Security revealed that there is one, precisely one, person in the Department of Homeland Security assessing the bioterror threat to America and determining how to match that threat against our vulnerabilities and then make plans to protect America from bioterrorism. It is clear we must move faster and we must be stronger to protect America. We have learned that, while over 4,000 port facilities and 10,000 ships that enter our ports are required to undergo security reviews, there is no funding to fulfill that mission. We must move faster and be stronger.”